Holy Week

“For the average American Christian who is genuinely committed to his or her faith, the most a church can expect is 3 hours of participation each week.”

Before Incarnation opened its doors, I received this warning from a priest who reads surveys on church life and growth. Don’t ask me to cite the study (I don’t have it!), but the claim seems right. Sunday service, small group, Bible study—life is busy and most of us can only make two of the three (at least until retirement). Anything more endangers the balance on the scale and only dilutes participation at the rest. So why in the world are we about to enter a week where we have a Thursday evening service, a Friday evening service, a Saturday evening service (don’t forget the fasting on Good Friday and Holy Saturday!), a Sunday morning service, and a Sunday afternoon picnic?!!

We aren’t crazy, even if the full slate of services sounds a bit excessive!

Our hope is grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We have no hope except in what Jesus Christ has done for us. We cannot grow in the faith apart from his work, we cannot find peace except in him, we cannot be redeemed except by him.

We spend hundreds of hours every year making money, cooking meals, cleaning the home, going on vacation, watching TV, going to our kids’ activities, studying for school—the list of what consumes our time is large. But we cannot have hope except in the life of Jesus. Nothing else (as good and necessary as these things are) is a secure foundation for life.

We need a yearly moment when we rehearse and re-enter the foundation of our faith. During Holy Week, we are given the chance to center our life on Christ in an explicit way. Holy Week is when we remember our roots, rehearse our hope, and recenter our lives on the work of Christ. It is our yearly call to grow in the faith in the only way our faith can actually grow—through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The services work together to draw us into the week of Jesus’ passion and resurrection as we trace what he did that week. Each service is beautiful on its own, but together they are more than their sum as they give us the chance to follow Jesus.

Even though we are all busy, make a point to set aside every other pursuit during Holy Week. There is nothing more important for us to do! Let following Jesus from the Triumphal Entry to the empty tomb be the only goal for the week.

Steven+