“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 21:9
I don’t read many mystery books, but there is a good reason.
I skip ahead.
I get tired of waiting, and so I skip ahead to the end.
I want to know who did it.
I want to know the ending.
And so I skip all the dialogue, all the story, and jump right to the end.
then, once I’ve done that, I am remarkably less interested in reading the story.
I mean – there’s not much point once you know the ending, is there?
I’ve even gotten to where I will do that with movies from time to time.
While others fastidiously avoid online spoilers for a new movie, I will actively seek them out. I want to know how it ends!
I’m too impatient to wait.
I skip ahead.
I jump to the ending.
We do the same thing with the story of salvation.
We try and jump to the end.
Lent has been long enough, and we are ready for Easter!
Can we just skip ahead already?
Break open the candy, shout our Alleluias, and celebrate the power of the resurrection?
We can – but just like reading the last pages of a mystery novel – the story become remarkably less interesting.
When we jump straight into Easter we miss the power of the story of our salvation.
And so this coming week – Holy Week – invites us to savor the story.
Holy Week is our chance to immerse ourselves in the story and fully experience every moment.
From Christmas to now, we have rushed through the story of Jesus’ life. We have experienced 30 years over the course of three months.
But now we slow down, and live out this last week of Jesus’ life in real time.
It’s much like God’s commandment to set aside a Sabbath in our lives.
Sabbath is the practice of experiencing each moment, of living each day fully, without focusing on yesterday’s mistakes or tomorrow’s plans.
Holy Week is a Sabbath for our faith.
One week to slow down.
One week to savor the story.
One week to fully engage Jesus’ story.
So join the story this year during Holy Week.
Don’t rush ahead to the end.
Join with the joyful crowds as we start worship outside on Palm Sunday.
Experience the love that Jesus shared in his last meal in the upper room on Maundy Thursday.
Witness the grief of Good Friday.
Experience the whole story together, and then we will gather together to experience the last chapter of this story on Easter Sunday.
Read more about what Holy Week means in the life of faith and the church
You can subscribe to the weekly devotion that Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church emails out each week as we seek to grow deeper in faith.
