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From Rev. Brock Patterson
“Holy Week”
This is Holy Week, the final week of Lent that culminates in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For local churches and chapels like ours, it’s kind of like the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or World Series, whatever you wish to call it. The Christmas Season (Advent) is always the biggest total attendance of the year, but the biggest single day of attendance each year is always Easter.
Because we know it’s our Final Four, and especially because our snowbirds are beginning to fly back to their northern nests, we’re hoping that we accomplish enough this week to achieve our objectives of big numbers (attendance and offering) and superb performance (excellence in music, superb message, and fantastic prayers and readings).
Drats! I’ve already fallen for the trick! “What trick?”, you may ask. The trick of succumbing to the pressures of performance and not prioritizing the reason for the season. Easter is not about the “bang for the buck” that we churches seek. It’s about what God did for each of us and our response to meeting the LORD outside of the tomb.
There is a small catch, however. The tomb serves as a literal place, but it also serves as a metaphor. Six weeks ago, some of us ducked our heads and entered a darkened cave filled with personal sacrifices. When we emerge on Easter, God will be there. The lights will be bright and the fresh air will fill our lungs, but that’s still not the best part. The best part is that when we emerge from Holy Week and the Season of Lent, we look different than when we went in on Ash Wednesday.
Does all that make sense? If so, then, Woohoo! If it doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about it. Jesus gave lots of instructions before he entered the tomb, but until the disciples and followers encountered Easter firsthand, they didn’t get the point.
It’s okay if we don’t get the point of Holy Week. Our focus is really supposed to be on the Resurrection because it’s what makes everything okay!
I hope you have plans to join us at the Chapel this Holy Week:
- Good Friday (Apr 7, 6:00 p.m. also Livestream)
- Easter Sunday Sunrise Service in the Chapel Garden (Apr 9, 7:00 a.m.)
- Chapel main sanctuary (Apr 9, 10:00 a.m. also Livestream).
Come to Easter. Everything is different and everything is okay! Don’t worry about what you don’t fully understand. Come and know that God is ready and waiting for each of us at Easter!
God Bless,
Brock
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