We have another week or two on this journey of Lent, and we will enter Holy Week. The is the week that redefines every other week. It is a week, which should stand out to us, slowing us down and grabbing our attention.
When we gather on Sunday for worship, we keep time differently. Our daily routine is interrupted by gathering in the sanctuary. Worship feels and sounds different than our other days. We shift our focus on the Lord’s Day, paying attention to the love of God and its bearing upon our lives.
We can approach Holy Week in a similar manner. We can allow it to interrupt our lives, calling us again to pay attention to the steadfast love of God. We can ponder what happened during this week. We can reflect on its meaning for our lives. We can gather and worship, remember and give thanks together.
It is why we gather at different times and for specific reasons during Holy Week. We begin by waving palms and shouting “Hosanna in the highest!” on Palm Sunday. We will then gather like the disciples did on Maundy Thursday, partaking of the bread and the cup, as we remember Jesus washing the disciples feet. On Good Friday, we will witness the light of Christ go out, as we feel the weight of that moment.
On Holy Saturday, we will not gather because we will hear only silence. But on Easter, we will rise to give thanks for the risen Lord! We will gather to sing hallelujah and to celebrate the grace of God.
We gather at different times and for specific reasons to walk through the events of Holy Week together, so that on Easter, our hallelujahs are full of the joy of God’s steadfast love.
-Tripp