Holy Week
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the mix of emotions of Palm Sunday. The celebratory feel of so many disciples – some long-time followers, some new to the Jesus scene – while many tried to hold that excitement alongside the words of Jesus from days and weeks prior, warning them that this week would bring his arrest and death. It had to have been a charged moment of hope and excitement, grief and anxiety.
As is often the case in the gospels, I’m comforted by the expressions of faith of those disciples. Of those who cheered, yes, but especially of those who kept following. Of those who found enough hope in him to continue to follow, even as things got confusing, harder, scarier.
And I wonder if perhaps that will be a part of Holy Week for you this year. It already has become a bit of that for me, and I am praying that through my devotions and our worship experiences it will only continue. That I will recognize and not hide from the complexity of this time, this season, and continue to follow Jesus. That even as things are confusing, hard, scary,
and really, really frustrating, that Jesus continues to move, continues to speak, continues to live out a sacrificial love for me and all the world, towards the miraculously reconciling gift of resurrection.
I invite you to the same. I pray that we will allow this Holy Week to speak. Not simply to the traditions of this annual, liturgical event, but to April 2025. To this time and place. To you.
Mark your calendars and come be a part of this special season, this special invitation, as we journey into this Holy Week, following Jesus all the way.
Sunday, April 13, 10 AM – Palm Sunday Worship
Thursday, April 17, 6 PM – Maundy Thursday Worship
Friday, April 18, 4:30 PM – Good Friday Fish Fry (fellowship hall)
Sunday, April 20, 10 AM – Easter Sunday Worship
Rev. Ben Richards
