Holy Week: Sunday's Coming
Holy week began this past Sunday with Palm Sunday. But I went through that day without really thinking about that. Sure, I knew it on the back of my mind, but it was sitting nestled between my usual, daily obligations (getting to work on time, getting the baby fed and dressed, meetings, etc.) and other more global preoccupations (bombings at Coptic Christian churches in Egypt, the aftermath of the strike on Syria, the terrorist attack in Sweden).
But that’s life, right? We barrel through it dealing with the mundane tasks, as well as the disturbing and strange events that remind us of the upheaval and troubles in this world.
How does Holy Week factor into brushing teeth, news headlines, and busy schedules?
In a famous Good Friday sermon he gave, Martin Luther King Jr. focused on the refrain: “Sunday’s Coming.” He acknowledged that life now is difficult, that we’re in the darkness that can overwhelm us, but we can’t forget that Sunday’s coming. Easter Sunday.
And Holy Week acknowledges the highs, lows, mundane, and difficult parts of life in life through Jesus’ last days before the resurrection: a huge, kingly reception on Palm Sunday, a meal with friends, betrayal, arrest, abandonment and suffering.
But we also remember: Sunday’s Coming.
On Maundy Thursday, we remember the Last Meal Jesus shared with his disciples, and the events that followed: his betrayal, arrest, and judgment.
On Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus faced punishment, was tortured, broken, and sentenced to death by crucifixion.
In many ways, those are tough days. Those are days of sadness. Even though, yes, it is Good Friday because Jesus laid down his life willingly for our sake, it is still a solemn day. A day where it seemed darkness had won.
But Sunday’s coming.
Holy Week is a time when we can pause and realize that much of life (the boring, the every day, and the tragedy and the struggle) is pointing us toward something better. Even on our best days, there is something more.
Consider setting aside some time this week to remember Jesus and the events of Holy Week. Although we don't have a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service planned at Harbor, there are many local churches that do! Consider visiting Grace Chapel in Lexington to experience and observe Holy Week. You can find out more on their services here.