In less than two weeks, we have Easter Sunday and that’s a time of great celebration to remember Jesus’ resurrection. Leading up to Easter, we have Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. No doubt that the days that precede Easter are important to help us remember the journey that Jesus took to go to the cross and also experience resurrection.
However, I think that it’s important to take some time to prepare for Holy Week so that it doesn’t fall into the quagmire of religious observance without personal engagement. To be sure, Holy Week can be full of good reflection when we consider Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem and His confrontation at the temple to clear it from distortions and duplicitous motives. Holy Week is also when Jesus did the Last Supper, washed the feet of His disciples, and did His Last Supper discourse that’s found in John 14-17. In Holy Week, we remember our human frailty as we consider Peter’s strong words of allegiance to Jesus (Matthew 26:35) and his fickle betrayal less than twelve hours later. And the most powerful thing to consider during Holy Week is that Jesus knowingly and willingly went to the cross on our behalf as the ultimate expression of genuine love.
It’s clear that Holy Week has an abundance of valuable lessons and opportunities for our reflection. I think that we would also be wise, and it would increase our appreciation if we would take some time and purposeful attention to prepare for Holy Week. In this week that comes before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and His ultimate death and resurrection, let’s set aside some time and energy to consider what transpired during Holy Week.
Furthermore, let’s ask Holy Spirit to highlight various events that happened during the upcoming week, such that we could possibly have a deeper spiritual experience throughout this Easter season. Here are some ideas that you might consider:
- Reading various passages that happened during Holy Week and thinking about who you most relate to in those passages.
- Fasting a meal every day and using the time to consider Jesus’ journey.
- Taking a purposeful twenty-minute pause each day to experience God loving you in light of Jesus’ last week in human existence.
- Doing something selfless to benefit someone else, in cadence with Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.
- Taking communion on your own with purposeful time and attention to remember Jesus’ death on the cross.
- Making an inventory in your life of things that could be religious but not relational with Jesus.
- Expressing daily gratitude for God’s love expressed in the human existence of Jesus living among us.
- Consider Jesus’ intense conversation with the Father during the Gethsemane experience.
As we anticipate the upcoming Holy Week, let’s be purposeful to consider our relationship with Jesus and make some space to reflect on our connection with Him! It’s not only wonderful to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, but it can be extremely powerful in our daily living to contemplate His earthly journey in the last week of his human existence.
