TAPPING INTO THE EMOTIONAL RANGE OF HOLY WEEK

An attitude of positivity is rampant in the Christian Church. We sing songs of celebration. We tell stories of victory. We remind people that God is the great Healer by shining light on those who have been healed. We focus on the end of the story – GOD WINS! 

While this is true, God is a God of so much more than victory and celebration. If we go straight from Palm Sunday (woohoo, celebrate, the Messiah has come!) to Resurrection Sunday (woohoo, celebrate, Jesus arose and has conquered sin and death!), then we miss the broken fellowship of Judas’ betrayal on Maundy Thursday, the agony of the cross on Good Friday, and the pensive confusion and loss on Holy Saturday. We would miss the full range of profound emotion experienced by Jesus and those close to him duringHoly Week. God DOES win and we SHOULD celebrate, but glossing over pain and sadness can be inaccurate and detrimental.

Before we can truly grasp the full impact of the joy of the resurrection, we must take time to sit in the other varied emotions of this week. This year, we would like to invite you to join us as we take an intentional journey through the raw, emotional experiences of Jesus and the disciples as depicted in these major milestones of Holy Week. 

Christian communities throughout the ages have celebrated these events in various ways. How Missio recognizes each day will be noted below. 

PALM SUNDAY

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem occurs on this day. Jesus sent a couple disciples to collect a colt that he could ride into Jerusalem. As he entered, the crowd covered the path with their cloaks in a gesture of honor, singing praises to celebrate the arrival of the messiah! The story is told in multiple Gospel accounts, but I love the retelling in Luke 19:28-40. 

As a brief note, Luke includes a lament of Jesus as he approaches Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). Even on this day of celebration, Jesus takes time to lament. This will be important for our discussion later. 

Missio celebrates this day with a traditional Sunday morning gathering. This year, we are returning to the traditional pre-covid communion celebration; we now have the opportunity to break the bread and drink from the cup. 

HOLY MONDAY AND TUESDAY

Monday is a busy day. Jesus drives merchants out of the Temple, curses a fig tree while walking, and weeps over the lack of faith present in Jerusalem. The Messiah has returned and is demonstrating what his new kingdom might look like.

Now that the Temple has been cleared, Jesus takes time to fill the people with good teaching. Tuesday involves a LOT of Temple teaching and parables.

You can read about it in Luke 19:45-21:38. 

Learning from Jesus is a key part of the preparation we undertake during Holy Week. Have we taken the time to truly understand his motivations for what he said and how he acted in his last week on earth? What might this demonstrate about what our priorities should be?

HOLY WEDNESDAY

This is often considered a silent day, with no recorded history in the gospels. Many think Jesus and his disciples rested this day (it’s been a busy week!). In amongst the hubbub, Holy Wednesday reminds us of the importance of silence and rest.

MAUNDY THURSDAY

The disciples prepare an upper room in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover meal together. Jesus demonstrates to them the upside-down nature of his kingdom by washing their feet (a task usually reserved for slaves). This shocking act sets the tone for the remainder of the meal: Jesus shares many surprising things with the disciples to prepare them for the time to come. Judas leaves the gathering early to initiate his betrayal of Jesus.

Read about it in Luke 22:7-46

Maundy Thursday reminds us to contemplate our spaces of fellowship. How do we interact with our intimates, even when we do not understand what they are saying or doing? Can we imagine the pain caused by betrayal after such a cozy scene?

Though Missio doesn’t celebrate a Passover meal in a specific gathering, community group leaders often organize one for their groups. This is often a special time of learning about traditional practices while growing in fellowship.

GOOD FRIDAY

This is a day filled with betrayal, denial, pain, and loss. Following an all-night vigil of arrest and trial, Jesus is sentenced to death on a cross. Judas’ betrayal complete, many disciples flee the scene and hunker down in hiding. Jesus relinquishes his spirit (quoting Psalm 22), and his body is placed in a tomb. The emotional toll of this agonizing day is high; there seems to be little room for hope - the victorious, temple-cleansing Messiah is gone.

And yet, all is not lost. Some of the women who followed Jesus made preparations to anoint Jesus’ body before the Sabbath (Holy Saturday) began. We leave this day on a bit of a cliff hanger, waiting, with the women, to enter Jesus’ tomb.

Read about it in Luke 22:47-23:56

Many aspects of our lives are filled with agony and pain; Good Friday reminds us that Jesus is not foreign to this experience. Can we take the time to truly sit in our pain and feel our feelings before zooming on to the hope of the resurrection?
Missio recognizes Good Friday with a gathering at 7pm. The tone is not happy and upbeat, because the day is not happy and upbeat. This year, our band is planning a musical journey through the last phrases of Jesus. 

HOLY SATURDAY

On the sabbath day, very little activity is documented in the gospels. The disciples are in hiding and the women are waiting to enter the tomb. Meanwhile, the Pharisees approach Pilate to station a guard at the tomb. They remember the words of Jesus and attempt to prevent any funny business!

Luke does not contain text specific to Holy Saturday (it’s Sabbath and the disciples are laying low), but you can read about the Pharisee’s activity in Matthew 27:62-66.

This year, we are initiating a new prayer gathering to celebrate Holy Saturday in recognition of an often overlooked aspect of the human experience: lament. 

At this juncture, the disciples are silent, confused, and lost. They thought they were following a victorious Messiah, and he just suffered a traitor’s death and is buried in a lonely grave. This is not the ending that anyone wanted or expected. 
So now, they wait and watch. Huddled. Unclear what the future holds. Lamenting the future they envisioned, but don’t get to enjoy. Taunted by their broken dreams. Crying out to God for answers.
Many of us may find ourselves in this place today. Wondering where God went. Is he truly for us as he says he is? How can we faithfully gather in community in moments when we don’t know what the future holds? Can we wait for him in faith and hope, despite abounding uncertainty and grief? 

No one likes to sit in sadness and pain. But it’s inaccurate to the human experience to ignore it, and inaccurate to the Christian experience to think the agony of Good Friday is the end. The Old Testament is riddled with examples of lament prayer that can give us words to describe our feelings and find a path forward to hope and healing.

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

The day is finally here: Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave! This fact was discovered by women who came to anoint Jesus’s body with spices. Mary Magdalene is often called the apostle to the apostles, as she was the first to declare the news of the resurrection to the disciples! 

Read along in the story in Luke 24:1-12.

Christ has won a victory over the grave, and we are thrilled to celebrate this with you! Join us at one of our two Resurrection Sunday gatherings; we look forward to celebrating with our whole selves in our gathered community!

Let us carry the good news to our neighbors and friends, just as Mary carried it to the group of praying disciples.