Holy Week

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is Holy Week. Beginning with Palm Sunday and then we move towards Holy Thursday and Good Friday. We must stop and ask ourselves what it all means in our daily lives. I will spend time reflecting this week on what Christ’s passion means to me, what it represents in my own life and how I can be better for it. He told it would happen when he tells us in Matthew 26, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Already it was something he knew he could not avoid.

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It is during this time that he also predicted that one of His own would betray Him. He says in Matthew 26:21, “Truly I say to you one of you will betray me.” This is also when the Last Supper occurs. Then He went up to the Mount of Olives and in Matthew 26, “You will deny me three times.” This is when Peter denies Him. Peter declares, “Though they all fall away because of you I will never fall away.” Jesus replies, “Truly I say to you this very night before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” Peter says, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. So said all the disciples.” Matthew 26:31-35.

I reflect upon the fact that Christ endured some extremely difficult circumstances before he was given up to be crucified. He predicted that He would be betrayed, that He would be denied. I know there have been times in my own life when I have been betrayed and denied, and how it must have felt, and how it feels when it happens to each of us in our own lives. We must look to His example of forgiveness and acceptance of those betrayals and denials when they happen to us for the greater glory of God.

I have always found it interesting that when Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray, and He prayed to His Father in Matthew 26:39, “And going a little further He fell on His face and prayed, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’” To me that shows extreme obedience to something He did not necessarily want to take on but knew that He had to if it was the will of His Father. Just as all of us must carry certain burdens. We may not like the burden, but we must accept it as the Father’s will, to be obedient in those burdens.

There are so many things that we learn, so many interesting things that He teaches us this week. What is it about Holy week that makes it so special and such a reflective time? In a time when we should have embraced Christ fully humans tried to destroy Christ, no matter the reason no matter the why or scripture. The fact of the matter is that it happened and either way He changed the face of the earth forever. He changed my life and what it might have been had I not sought out Christ in the different ways over my lifetime that I have because of His crucifixion and wondering what in the world happened and caused this to happen. For example, I reflect on when they took Him away, He said, “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” All the teachings and sayings that He had, to me they are astounding in their wisdom. No violence.

So that is what I will do this week, reflect on scripture, reflect on Christ’s actions and words as the week progresses, the denials and the betrayals, ultimately the Crucifixion, the Ascension into Heaven, and then of course the Resurrection which is what we will celebrate this coming Sunday. Thanks be to God.

Yours in Christ,

Br. Michael