“Holy Week”

            We find ourselves in the midst of Holy Week. This is the week that we remember the “passion” of Jesus, the week when He completed His teaching to His disciples, when He ate His last meal with them prior to His death, when He was arrested and tried, and finally when He was taken to Calvary and crucified.  “Good Friday” (quite the interesting name, right?) is the final act of this week. Saturday was cold, dark and filled with sorrow.

            I fear that sometimes, in our rush to get to Easter (after all, this was the most joyous occasion on earth) that we forget, or neglect, the days leading up to it.  Don’t get me wrong. On Sunday I want to sing with all my heart, “He lives, He lives,” and “Because He lives I can face tomorrow,” and, “Up from the grave He arose.”  Those songs remind us that Jesus is alive, and that because He is alive, we can live forever.

            But, let us remember that the week leading up the resurrection were days of sorrow and pain.  And I am speaking of more than the physical pain of the cross. If you have ever seen Mel Gibson’s, The Passion of the Christ you have a better understanding of the torture of the method of execution known as crucifixion.

            But I would say to you that the pain of carrying our sin was the greatest pain that Jesus faced. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin.”  And Jesus took on His shoulders the sins of the world, dying as if He were the worst sinner ever to live, when in fact, He had never sinned. 

            I hope and trust that you will remember this great sacrifice made on your behalf.  Know that Jesus died for you, in your place, to make a way for you to know peace.  Please, go to church Sunday and celebrate the risen Savior. But take a few moments prior to that morning and remember the great mercy and grace the Lord offers to us all.