Ken’s e-Pistle

April 5, 2023

As you read this, we are in the midst of Holy Week. After many years, it  has become one of those terms which has become a bit shop-worn.  We say it without the consideration it deserves, if we say it at all.  For many, we go blithely from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday with nary a thought of what we are doing.  Mores the pity.

The fact of the  matter is that this is the most holy week in all of Christendom and it well deserves a bit of deep thought, even in the midst of our planning for dinners, Easter Egg Hunts, and sartorial selections for Easter.  Not that this is unimportant, of course.  I am simply saying that it needs a bit of seasonal seasoning to add depth to the flavor profile.

This week, in its entirety, is what our faith is all about.  The triumphant entry into Jerusalem shows how fickle we are; quick to join the cheering crowds who are hoping that Jesus has come to set all things “right.”  They were expecting the Military Messiah who would cast out the Romans and other Gentile entities who, to their way of  thinking, had diluted and degraded the faith of  Abraham. Quick and easy, that is how we like our faith.

Maundy Thursday moves us  from the corporate crowd to the personal dimensions of Jesus and the Disciples.  The washing of their feet and  the sharing of a final meal reflect a deeply intimate relationship present between our Lord and His closest associates.  The hasty departure of Judas and his subsequent betrayal can cause us a bit of embarrassment as we consider the ways in which we, too, have betrayed the Savior.

Good Friday, the day of crucifixion, starts early.  The procession on what is now the Via Dolorosa likely began before dawn.  Torchlight illuminated the path as Jesus and the two other victims were led through a hostile crowd which yelled curses, spat, and threw waste in their path.  By sunrise, the three were being affixed to their respective crosses and then lifted up to die by exposure, suffocation, or, if they were lucky, a merciful breaking of the legs which hastened death

You know the story. Take a few minutes to think about it and really live it, if only from a distance.

Our Good Friday service will conclude with the removal of the paraments from the Pulpit, Communion Table, and Baptismal Font.  The Holy Bible will be closed and placed, face down, upon the Communion Table, signifying the closing of the Tomb and the silence of God’s Word while Jesus lies in the tomb.

All this is part of Holy Week.  This year, I invite you to think about it in a new way.  Consider the results of the events of these days:  The Holy God permits the death of Jesus so that the effects of sin may  be forever banished.  In this week, the Holy God comes to envelope us in His holiness.  The word “holy” simply means “set apart for specific, divine service.”  In the death and resurrection of Jesus, we become holy, set apart for divine service.

All things considered, this is, indeed, a holy week which empowers us to be a holy people.  Think about it.

I bid you peace!