Holy Week

by | Apr 11, 2019

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself. . .
Philippians 2:5

May God be praised for all those hard at work preparing for Holy Week observances and Easter celebrations across the diocese. These sacred rituals help us experience the foundational truths of the Christian faith: that God is with us through times of suffering, forgives us when we fail, and has the power to take the worst of what we do and can happen to us—even death itself—and bring new life.

Holy Week is not an easy observance, yet it reminds us of what we need in order to live as people of hope in anxious times. I pray that you may feel and experience the loving presence of Christ as you help us re-enact the last days of Jesus’ life on earth, his seminal teachings of service and forgiveness, his steadfast love even in betrayal and crucifixion, and God’s response, so wondrous we can barely take it in, resurrection.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, writes:

We tell the story of Jesus as the record of a life which not only embodied gift, meaning and freedom in a unique and definitive way, but also was crowned by a strange and elusive event which declared this life not to be over . . . The community of faith is charged with sharing this vision and this possibility of life with all the world.        

As we enter this most Holy Week, may you feel the presence of Christ in our midst. Thank you for your part in telling the story of Jesus and his love.