Making Holy Week Holy
- Rev. Eric Kapur
- Mar 30, 2010
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The week that starts with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter has been called "Holy Week". It has been called "holy" because out of the 52 weeks of the year, this week provides us with the opportunity to set apart time dedicated to Jesus' death and resurrection. Holy week is a great reminder that the cross and resurrection stand at the center of human history as the culumination of God's saving plan for the world.
We have a unique opportunity to "re-center" our lives on the cross and resurrection during this week. We can walk with Jesus during the final days of his earthly ministry. We see him washing the disciples' feet and eating his last meal with them. We find him betrayed, alone and, finally, forsaken on the cross. We feel the confusion and the silence of the long Saturday after He died. Then, we experience the elation that sin, death and evil have been vanquished when we encounter the empty tomb.
This week take some time to reflect on the words that sometimes become mere religous jargon. Remember why Jesus died, receive afresh the benefits of the cross:
Atonement - Jesus' blood sacrifice to cover our sins
Justification - Jesus' acceptance of our legal sentence
Redemption - Jesus' payment to buy us out of slavery
Reconciliation - Jesus' absorption of pain to restore relationship
Salvation - Jesus' expenditure of life to rescue us from death
READINGS
John 13
Matthew 27-28
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Psalm 22
Isaiah 53
Hebrews 12:1-3
(adapted from Living the Christian Year by Bobby Gross)