Holy Week

I hate that I haven't been able to do this sooner, however my week has been a bit insane. More on that later, maybe.

So, just in case you haven't quite figured it out in talking to me or reading this blog, I am a Christian through and through. This week has been a big one in Christianity- it's Holy Week. This is the week when we remember the last days of Jesus Christ, and all that he did to save us.

The week starts out with Palm Sunday. My favorite depiction of Palm Sunday has to be a drawing that my younger sister did this year. It shows Jesus coming into town on the donkey, but unlike most depictions, it is a real party. Jesus is throwing candy and mardi gras beads (you would have to understand my sister to really appreciate that), children are racing to the street, and everyone around him is exuberant (and of course one person is playing trumpet...). I think this is my favorite because it shows that Jesus wasn't necessarily there to take over power and intimidate like many other rulers would have done. Jesus was there for and with the people. He didn't come in on a white stallion and wearing a suit of armor, he came in on a donkey and his everyday robes. He came in knowing what was getting ready to happen to him, but he came in anyway. How incredible is that?

So, after a few more adventures in the wonderful world of Jerusalem (that are not unimportant at all, but I am focusing on the key days), we arrive at Maundy Thursday. This is when Jesus and his Disciples gathered in the upper room and took part in the very first communion (I will limit comments about this, but for my view check out my communion blog). This is also the time when rather than having his feet washed, Jesus washes his Disciples feet. When one of the Disciples questions this, Jesus tells him and the others to do this even after he is gone- to go out and wash the feet of others. Kind of a gross, but humbling thought if you ask me. I am not a fan of feet, but it is an experience to wash someone else's feet (we did it in PCM a few weeks ago). I think the point here is not to literally "wash feet" though- I think it is to go out and SERVE others in whatever capacity.

After dinner and the feet washing, Jesus and the 12 go to the garden to pray. This is when Jesus was betrayed by the same man who questioned him earlier. Jesus was betrayed by a kiss. BUT if you ask me, I think we shouldn't hate this man. Hold on before you run away... in bible study a few weeks ago, we were talking about this situation and it was mentioned that in order for all of this to happen, Jesus needed to be betrayed. Judas had no control over this. Being the betrayer was what he was called to do, even if it was a really crappy job. Now, if he had some control over the matter, I would really kind of hate him. But because of his betrayal, the rest of the week was able to take place (no matter how sad it may be).

Following the betrayal, Jesus was put before the judges and after a long night of questioning, hung on a cross to die (Good Friday)

The thing here is that he KNEW what was going to happen. He KNEW that he was losing his life for a bunch of sinners, most of who were not even alive yet. But he still did it. This goes way beyond anything we could ever think of or even begin to understand. What an absolutely INCREDIBLE and AWESOME sacrifice. But, what an incredibly devastating one.

Three days go by. Jesus has been buried in a tomb and the people of Jerusalem are weeping. The ladies go to the tomb and the stone has been rolled away. Jesus Christ has risen! And thus, we have Easter. (If I had more time I would go into more detail here...)

What an absolutely incredible week. This is the week that the Christian faith is based on. The hard thing about it for me is that I can go through the stories and reflections of the week, but when I get to Jesus making this HUGE sacrifice, I think about all of the fighting that I do when I don't want to do something.

For those of you who don't know, I will be starting at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Fall 2011. Making the decision to follow this call was one of the hardest things I have done. I have spent a lot of time fighting it (why go for another degree when I will have 2 perfectly good ones?). Why am I fighting what is such a simple call compared to the one that Jesus Christ had or even Judas? It really puts a lot of things into perspective when you look at the sacrifices and incredibly hard calls that were made and followed throughout holy week.

SO... I hope that everyone will take some time today (in the time of Tenebrae), to reflect on the last days of Jesus Christ, and even your life.

And hey, it may be really sad right now, but as my pastor said last night... "I got a really good feeling about Sunday!"

off to rehearsal.