Every Emotion this Holy Week
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” – John 16:32
Dear Friends,
The time has come!
It’s Holy week – full of celebration and mourning and waiting – a whole lot going on all at once.
We kicked it off here with a wonderful celebration, led by our kids on Palm Sunday and then for Kenton’s 50th in the evening. If you weren’t able to be in here in person, check them out online! Now, we have Maundy Thursday tomorrow evening, a Prayer Vigil midday Saturday and our Easter Sunday worship at 8:30a and 11a, with a brunch in Fellowship Hall in between!
It’s a packed week, and we hit every emotional state.
One includes apologies.
If you walk through the Christian Education & Office building, you’ll probably notice some “holes” in our walls where old radiators used to exist. They’re pretty glaring. And if you do, you might also think “Didn’t we just complete a major renovation?” And you would be correct. Kind of.
You see, the work is never done. Last month, we had a huge celebration to re-dedicate our sanctuary after a major renovation… and yet there are a couple of projects still incomplete. We’re working on replacing windows in both buildings, and flooring in the CE building. That’s where the radiators come in. In order to replace the floors the right way, we’re removing radiators that haven’t been operable in over a decade. It creates a mess for now, but it will be patched up in the coming months and look better than it did before!
It reminds me of our journey with Jesus. We have many opportunities to celebrate – Easter is a prime example. We celebrate what Christ has done, overcoming the grave… and then we go back to our lives and realize… there’s still some messy work that God’s doing in our lives. Yes, we’re forgiven, yes we’re free, yes we’re loved… but the process is ongoing. The Holy Spirit is still shining light into dark corners of our lives where we’ve not quite experienced that love, forgiveness and freedom.
Sure, we’re not completely what we want to be, but we can thank God that we’re not what we used to be either!
The messy walls and floors and radiators doesn’t mean that the renovation work prior didn’t happen. It just means there’s still more to do. There’ll always be more to do. And by God’s grace, we’ll keep doing it. One step at a time.
It’s part of the reason we need both Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. We need to experience both the reminder of our sin and brokenness, and the reminder of our forgiveness and freedom. We live, constantly, in the tension between the two. And in the middle of it, we’re loved.
I’m truly looking forward to celebrating with you this week, and to being challenged as we experience all that God is doing among us. It’s really good to be together!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus, this Holy Week especially!
Pastor Don