Letter 3/25

March 25, 2010
Pastor Steve Mathewson
  

Are you ready for Holy Week? It begins three days from today on Palm Sunday when we remember Jesus’ final entry into the city of Jerusalem. Crowds gave Jesus a royal welcome by spreading garments and palm branches on the road before him. Are you ready for this most important week of the spring to begin? Last week, a close friend of mine, Dave Wyrtzen, expressed concern over whether or not he is really ready for Holy Week. He wrote: “Am I ready to join with Christians around the world to kneel at the foot of the cross on Good Friday and then to allow the shout of joy to burst from my lips on Easter morning because there is one tomb in history where death didn't win?”

It seems a bit odd to me that Dave does not feel ready for Holy Week. After all, he a pastor in Texas. Not only that, Dave he grew up in a strong Christian family. His dad, Jack Wyrtzen, even founded an organization – Word of Life – to teach people the message of the gospel. Not surprisingly, Dave cannot remember the first time he heard about the crucial events of Holy Week. Those events were etched into his mind from infancy. So why is Dave concerned about being ready for Holy Week? He writes: “My problem? Familiarity breeds a detached ‘I already know all that!’ It's easy for me to stand on the outskirts of the crowd with my arms folded. It's easy to no longer cut the branches, remove my tunic and place it on the path, and join the children shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ It's easy not to hear the money tables crash to the floor, the clatter of shekels, and the shout of the ultimate High Priest, ‘You're making my Father's House a den of thieves instead of a holy place of prayer.’”

That is my problem, too. I suspect that it can be yours as well. We can be so familiar with the events of Holy Week that we are not moved as we should be.   I pray that God’s Spirit will stir our hearts as we revisit the events of Holy Week, particularly Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray that the Spirit will lift the fog of our indifference to these world-changing, life-changing events! 

Of course, we have a role in this. It starts by making our gatherings a priority during Holy Week. This is a bigger challenge this year because Holy Week and spring break for many of our schools coincide. If you are heading somewhere warmer, make the effort to find a good church and gather with believers on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. If you are staying here, make these same times a priority. This Sunday, March 28, I will preach one of the most stunning accounts in the Bible. It is the account of Jesus’ anguish in Gethsemane before he was betrayed. The text is Matthew 26:36-46. Then, we will gather at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 2 for a Good Friday service. The centerpiece of this service will be communion. Then, on Sunday, April 4, we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! The sermon text will be 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, so you might spend some time reflecting on that passage and even on the entire fifteenth chapter. Please note that we will have communion on Good Friday rather than on Easter Sunday morning. There will be a Question and Answer session with Don Carson on the resurrection at 10:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday. So bring your questions!

Speaking of preparations for Holy Week, I have been blessed by the daily readings in Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper. I especially appreciated this morning’s reading. Scripture tells us that Christ’s death has left us with an example. We cannot minimize this, yet we cannot reduce Christ’s death to mere example. Piper writes: “Christ is not given to us first as model, but as Savior. . . . Only when we experience the pardon of Christ can he become a pattern for us.” Well said!

Finally, on the personal side, Holy Week this year is also ‘Birthday week” for our family! Our twins, Anna and Ben, celebrate their 23^rd birthdays this Sunday, March 28. Then, on Easter Sunday, April 4, Erin turns 25. When she was a little girl, Erin could never understand why her siblings’ birthday came first – a week earlier – since she is the oldest. I’ll have to remind her about that when I call her on her birthday. I think she has it figured out by now! I’ll see you on Sunday!