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Posts tagged ‘Holy Week’

Apr 14

Holy. Sacred. Path.

“It is not over,
this birthing.
There are always newer skies
into which
God can throw stars.”― Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem

Holy Week by Ann Weems

“Holy is the week …
Holy, consecrated, belonging to God …
We move from hosannas to horror
with the predictable ease
of those who know not what they do.
Our hosannas sung,
our palms waved,
let us go with passion into this week.
It is a time to curse fig trees that do not yield fruit.
It is a time to cleanse our temples of any blasphemy.
It is a time greet Jesus as the Lord’s Anointed One,
to lavishly break our alabaster
and pour perfume out for him
without counting the cost.
It is a time for preparation …
The time to give thanks and break bread is upon us.
The time to give thanks and drink of the cup is imminent.
Eat, drink, remember:
On this night of nights, each one must ask,
as we dip our bread in the wine,
“Is it I?”
And on that darkest of days, each of us must stand
beneath the tree
and watch the dying
if we are to be there
when the stone is rolled away.
The only road to Easter morning
is through the unrelenting shadows of that Friday.
Only then will the alleluias be sung;
only then will the dancing begin.”

The road to Easter.
No way to but through.
Walk the path, all of the way.
Love, the path and destination.

Mar 29

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The Heart to Weep

“I asked for strength that I might achieve; He made me weak that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things; I was given grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing that I asked for, all that I hoped for. My prayer was answered, I was most blessed.”― Pete Greig, God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer

THE COURTYARD SCENE by Ann Weems

“Over and over again
we sit in our courtyards,
our mouths speaking what our hearts are full of…
WE DO NOT KNOW HIM
DONOTDONOTDONOT
KNOWHIMKNOWHIMKNOWHIM echoes loudly
emphatically
filling time and space
heaven and earth;
and yet
the saddest part is
when the cock crows
we don’t have the ears to hear
TOHEARTOHEARTOHEAR.
At least Peter had the ears to hear
and the heart to weep.”

May your heart be pierced.
Broken open.
Softened.
To weep.
To heal.
To experience the greatest love ever, ever, ever.
Never beyond redemption.
Always held
Never alone.
Always loved.

“The Church is always God hung between two thieves. Thus, no one should be surprised or shocked at how badly the church has betrayed the gospel and how much it continues to do so today. It had never done very well. Conversely, however, nobody should deny the good the church has done either. It has carried grace, produced saints, morally challenged the planet, and made, however imperfectly, a house for God to dwell in on this earth.

To be connected with the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child molesters, murderers, adulterers, and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with the saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race, and gender. To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of soul…because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves.”― Ronald Rolheiser

Apr 3

When to Stop

“Blessed are we who are learning to hope. And how to let go. When to act. And when to stop.” — Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

“Things have changed. And it would be silly to imagine you haven’t been altered along with them. You are not who you once were. Bless that old self. They did such a great job with what they knew. They made you who you were—all the mistakes and heartbreak and naivety and courage. And blessed are you who you are now. You who aren’t pretending things are the same. You who continue to grow and stretch and show up to your life as it really is—wholehearted, vulnerable, maybe a tiny bit afraid. Blessed are you the changed.”— Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

This week is a week to not merely pause, but to stop.
No doing. No rushing. No fear.
Hope. Let go. Act. Stop.
Framework and foundation.
In the process, unfolding of change, of a new day.
May each of us be blessed, present, wholehearted today, this week.
To keep trying, coming up short, starting again and again.
A resolve, a promise kept.
Winter lingers longer, spring, resurrection coming soon.
Love, trust and faith to you in this moment and each step on the journey ahead.

“But bring me back to this moment, God. The gratitude that rises up within me lifts my eyes and settles my soul. Resurrection has happened again today—you made the sun rise, and brought love to the world already, in the shape of a cross. The hardest work is already done. The work that remains is simply more of it: more love, more trust, more faith in the unseen pleasure you take just gazing at us, sitting here.”— Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

Apr 2

Ashes to Palms

“When the world caves in
Still my hope will cling
To Your promise
Where my courage ends
Let my heart find strength
In Your presence”― Hillsong

“On this Palm Sunday, time is marked as one small donkey plods toward Jerusalem. One with a face set like flint, feet almost grazing the ground, walks forward toward the eastering of all sorrow—not in the power of horses and swift victory, but in small, steady steps toward the mystery that through suffering, healing comes, that through shame, dignity is restored, that through the cross, powers are disarmed, and death done away with forever. Blessed are all those walking forward into the great, small work they do: in hospitals, homes, grocery stores, classrooms, churches, and cubicles. And blessed are we joining the crowds waving palm branches to shout ourselves hoarse: ‘Hosanna! Save us! Save our world!”— Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

A story of sticking, staying, love.
A love beyond comprehension, fathoming, understanding.
Requiring trust, imagination, faith, grace, expansion, mercy, peace.
To die for a good person is big, massive.
To die, suffer excruciatingly, be humiliated, denied, deserted and hated, carrying others sins not your own.
Unbelievable, and true.
That’s love to fall down for, to pause, to kneel, to revere for at least one week.
Can we do that?
That’s what Holy Week invites us to partake in, to participate in, to stop our busy lives for.
To wait in the garden and not fall asleep.
To not accept 30 silver coins to give up a friend.
To not deny your best friend three times, run away, and still become the cornerstone of the church.
Stay awake, accept no bribe, deny nothing.

From Ashes to Palms.
8 days to Easter.
Sacred holy ground.
Walk with reverence.
Watch with rapt attention.
Hope is in reaching distance and demands a lot this week.
Take up a cross to witness The Cross.
Transforming souls still to this day.
Get in line.
No religion. No rules. No regulations.
An invitation to everyone, not just some, self-righteous, rich, church-goers.
All are welcome.

“Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”― N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church