Dear St. Paul’s Pilgrims,
Don’t finish what you can’t start.
It’s an odd twist on an old cliché, but this is sage advice for a culture that is too quick to jump to Easter without moving through the Passion. Our stores are stocked with plastic grass and chocolate bunnies, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Maundy Thursday gift basket or a Good Friday greeting card.
Our propensity to skip past the pain and move to the reward is evident in how our culture manages its wealth, its health, and its fame. We are canvassed with headlines of greed on Wall Street, ads for the latest quick-loss diet fads, and stories of bulked-up athletes on steroids. In total, we want the praise without the pain, the celebrity without the sacrifice. We want to skip ahead, foregoing the disciplines of saving, exercising, grunting, and sweating.
We want the finish, without the start.
Maybe that’s why Palm Sunday is so important. It offers a formal invitation into a week of discipline and darkness that we would rather choose to ignore. But such avoidance turns the empty tomb into an empty victory. As my seminary theology professor frequently asked: “If Jesus is the answer, then what was the question?” If Easter is a day of victory, then what has been defeated?
The gospel’s answer to that question is embedded in its narrative. Following Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem:
· He cursed a fig tree for not being fruitful.
· He emptied the temple of self-serving moneychangers.
· He confronted religious leaders who questioned his authority.
· He challenged notions of financial stewardship by praising a poor widow.
· He warned his followers of imminent persecution and called them to vigilance.
And that’s before we even get to the upper room. If we have any inclination to jump ahead to Easter morning, the Bible proclaims, “Not so fast. You’re not ready. There is much you need to hear.”
It’s captured in the words of Medieval mystic Thomas a Kempis:
“There will always be many who love Christ’s heavenly Kingdom, but few who will bear his cross. Jesus has many who desire consolation, but few who care for adversity. He finds many to share his table, but few who will join him in fasting. Many are eager to be happy with him; few wish to suffer anything for him. Many will follow him as far as the breaking of bread, but few will remain to drink from his passion. Many are awed by his miracles, few accept the shame of his cross.
If you want to experience a truly powerful, meaningful Easter finish, then start the journey this Sunday with humility, repentance, and a renewed sense of obedience. Remember your membership vows, and use Holy Week as a time for spiritual renewal:
· Offer God your Prayers, using fewer personal pronouns and more divine ones.
· Worship God with your Presence, with less a need to be entertained and more a desire to praise.
· Present God with your Gifts, not with regard to personal benefit, but to the work of God’s Kingdom.
· Pledge to God your Service, knowing that your only reward may be a cross.
At the very least, I invite you to join us for all of Holy Week, not just for Easter morning. Allow the services of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday to stir your conscience and call you to discipleship. Through scripture, sacrament, and solemn ritual, let’s experience the drama, passion, and power of the week that turned the world upside-down.
See you at the starting line,
Magrey
Matthew 26:36-39
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’
37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.
38 Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’
39 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’
THE WEEK THAT TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN
April 5 , Palm Sunday
Obedience: Losing Life to Gain It
Matthew 26:36-46
April 9, Maundy Thursday, 7pm
Love: The Greatest Commandment
John 13:1-20
April 10, Good Friday, 7pm
Crucifixion: The Covenant of Grace
Chancel Choir Cantata
April 12, Easter Morning
Resurrection: The Great Reversal
Mark 16:1-8
Services at 7:00 and 10:10am
Fellowship Brunch, 8-10am
EASTER BRUNCH
The youth group will again be providing an Easter morning brunch, from 8:00-10:00am. To provide a breakfast item or help with clean-up, please contact Karla Wilkie.
EASTER LILIES
We are taking orders for Easter lilies from Rhoadside Blooming House, which you can purchase in honor or in memory of a loved one. The cost is $12.00. Write your order on one of the white attendance sheets, or contact the church office. Orders need to be received by next Monday.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
This year’s theme is “Crocodile Dock,” and promises to be the biggest and best VBS yet! Help put God’s love into action by providing material or financial donations. Check out the website starting Wednesday for the list of items, or see the display in the narthex. And for more information, contact Jill Chalstrom.
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