Often at Christmas time we talk about Easter. We celebrate the birth of Jesus with the shadow of the cross in the background. And then when we get to Easter, we look back at Christmas. So the manger has the shadow of the cross, and we remember Jesus’ birth at the same time we commemorate his death and celebrate his victory over death. Look for that in our services today and again on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
This week is called Holy Week. It focuses not just on Easter, but on Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and the people laid down their coats and palm branches as he passed by, proclaiming him their king (Matthew 21 and John 12). Five days later, these same people would be calling for his execution! This must have been a dreadful week for Jesus – he knew what was coming and what he would have to suffer. He prayed that it would pass from him, although he was willing to follow his Father’s will (Matthew 26).
Too often we quickly pass over Jesus' suffering and move on to the celebration of Easter. I encourage you to take some time in this week to reflect on what Jesus went through and suffered. Read the passion story in the gospels. On Thursday, think about Jesus eating a Passover meal with his disciples, then going out to pray to his heavenly Father. Think about his betrayal by Judas, one of his disciples. Think about His arrest and “trial”; His sentence of death; His total aloneness as he suffered and died on the cross. Remember that when we meet for our Good Friday Service here on March 29 at 6:30 p.m.
The story doesn’t end with Good Friday, though. It ends on Easter Sunday. Neither the manger nor the grave is complete without the empty tomb. So we leave our Good Friday service knowing that we get to come back on Sunday to complete the service. Then…oh then, we get to celebrate! We celebrate that Jesus paid for us the price that, if we lived a thousand life times, we could never pay. He broke the power of sin in our lives, and while we still live in a broken and fallen world, we have overcome! I can’t wait to celebrate the most hopeful story ever written with you next week Sunday.
This week is called Holy Week. It focuses not just on Easter, but on Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and the people laid down their coats and palm branches as he passed by, proclaiming him their king (Matthew 21 and John 12). Five days later, these same people would be calling for his execution! This must have been a dreadful week for Jesus – he knew what was coming and what he would have to suffer. He prayed that it would pass from him, although he was willing to follow his Father’s will (Matthew 26).
Too often we quickly pass over Jesus' suffering and move on to the celebration of Easter. I encourage you to take some time in this week to reflect on what Jesus went through and suffered. Read the passion story in the gospels. On Thursday, think about Jesus eating a Passover meal with his disciples, then going out to pray to his heavenly Father. Think about his betrayal by Judas, one of his disciples. Think about His arrest and “trial”; His sentence of death; His total aloneness as he suffered and died on the cross. Remember that when we meet for our Good Friday Service here on March 29 at 6:30 p.m.
The story doesn’t end with Good Friday, though. It ends on Easter Sunday. Neither the manger nor the grave is complete without the empty tomb. So we leave our Good Friday service knowing that we get to come back on Sunday to complete the service. Then…oh then, we get to celebrate! We celebrate that Jesus paid for us the price that, if we lived a thousand life times, we could never pay. He broke the power of sin in our lives, and while we still live in a broken and fallen world, we have overcome! I can’t wait to celebrate the most hopeful story ever written with you next week Sunday.
- Evelyn
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