Holy Week And Us
About two years ago at this time, in April of 2020, I started thinking about what it means when life begins to feel like Holy Saturday. In other words, the time when life feels like grief and suffering. When the Savior has died and we don’t know when or even if he will be resurrected. 2020 and 2021 felt like a long, extended Holy Saturday. The celebration of Easter Sunday felt distant as we faced the weight of pandemic, reckoned with racial injustice, and watched our plans change around us.
Lately, however, I’ve been considering that periods of our life might always reflect a certain day of Holy Week. In the highs of life when we feel on top of the world, we’re living into Palm Sunday. When we feel the holy anger stirred within us by the injustice in the world, we’re reflecting our Savior in the temple. Personally, I think life has been feeling like Holy Wednesday or Maundy Thursday.
The Bible doesn’t tell us what Jesus did on Holy Wednesday. A lot of theologians suggest that he was resting with those closest to him. How often do we wish we could disappear with those we love and allow our fatigued bodies and minds to rest? And how often do we allow ourselves this respite? In my life, I have been feeling the need for sleep, community, and nourishment that our Savior likely felt during that first Holy Week. Jesus likely rested on Holy Wednesday and so we are called to as well.
“As you consider which day of Holy Week your life currently resembles, I pray you feel the hope of Easter Sunday awaiting you. ”
At the same time, life also feels like Maundy Thursday. During their Last Supper feast, Jesus told his disciples about his upcoming suffering. The disciples did not know the weight of Jesus’ words or what was about to happen. On Maundy Thursday, like the disciples, we feel the anxiety of not knowing what the future holds. We’re waiting for the ball to drop, but we don’t know where it will land.
Thankfully, Holy Week doesn’t end with the Passover meal on Maundy Thursday, Christ’s sacrificial act on Good Friday, or the deep grief of Holy Saturday. Even when our life feels like a never ending, Maundy Thursday, period of anxious waiting, we know the tomb is empty! And when we are hiding away like our Savior on Holy Wednesday, we have hope knowing that Christ is risen. Easter is always coming.
As you consider which day of Holy Week your life currently resembles, I pray you feel the hope of Easter Sunday awaiting you. Christ is Risen indeed.