Holy Week
Over the past few days, I have been writing several blog posts in my head. I wanted to tell you that in this next week you needed to be repenting and lamenting and not sugar coating sin etc.etc.
And, while that might be true, I was acting a lot like the people on Palm Sunday. You know, instead of "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life", I was acting like "God loves you and I have a wonderful plan for your life." Not quite the right approach.
The people with their palms placed their own desires, assumptions, and agenda on Jesus. They wanted to tell Him what He could do for them and what His Kingdom would look like. They wanted to be rescued on their own terms.
They WERE right that Jesus was King and that He was going to save them. But within a week that same crowd was ready to kill Him.
Jesus was never going to be the King they wanted Him to be. He was going to be actually be so much more but His Kingdom was going to be for all the people of the earth and not just Israel. And it was not going to be an earthly political Kingdom.
No one expected how He was going to go about saving them. It was going to look a lot more like failure, at first, than triumph.
God is not bound to our ideas.
So - here is what God is teaching me about Holy Week. Rather than jumping to conclusions about what God might speak to you and I, in this week of Jesus’ suffering, God is asking me to surrender, be present, and listen.
Surrender -
In order to walk more fully with Jesus - I have to lay down my assumptions regarding: what Jesus might want to say to me this week, who Jesus is, and what Jesus was about.
I need to surrender my agenda of what I think God should be doing in our world, specifically in this chaotic time of pain and suffering.
And, instead, I need to work to be present with Him.
Being Present -
Holy Week is about being present with Jesus in His last week of earthly life. It is walking alongside Him as He stares down death and sin.
It is an opportunity to watch what He does, to sit at His feet, to taste, feel, smell, and experience His life on earth. It is a week to respond to Jesus' bidding “Come and see.” (John 1:39) - some of His first words to his disciples.
The way you are present with Jesus is by reading the events of Holy Week found in the Gospels. In each of the gospels, these events can be found here:
John 12-19 (I will be reading in John because Jesus’ sermon in John 14-16 is full of so many beautiful verses)
For some of you, you have read the gospels hundreds of times and you might feel like you know them inside and out. For others, this might be the first time you have ever read them. Either way, the Bible’s words will be made fresh to you by the Holy Spirit, if you take the time to read it.
Listening -
After surrendering, and working to be present with Jesus through the Bible - we listen.
We listen for His voice in our inner worlds.
It is a time to hear whatever it is that He wants to show you, tell you, remind you of, or reveal to you as you read the Gospels. Anything is on the table with Jesus and you might be surprised what He wants to talk to you about.
Listening requires quieting other voices and asking Jesus for help to do so.
Especially in this time of pandemic, our inner worlds are in turmoil. We are afraid and uncertain but it is my prayer for you that this week you will be able to quiet the noise outside and tune your ears to hear Jesus' words.
When I make an effort to cancel out the noise of the world and try and listen to Jesus, I am always surprised by what God says, what I am convicted by, and the words of comfort He brings to me. It is never quite what I am expecting but it is, also, always what I need to hear.
Will you join me in allowing yourself to surrender, be present, and listen this week?
Jesus is faithful and true to meet us when we turn to Him. May we all leave this week a little softer, a little more whole, a little more healed, and a little more Christ like.
May you encounter the living Jesus throughout the week ahead and may you have the courage to respond to whatever He is calling you into, as you read His words of life and listen for His voice.
May Jesus surprise you this Holy Week.