Holy Week is upon us. This last weekend we celebrated Palm Sunday. I have always enjoyed the procession of the palms. I am never quite sure why we have made it that children carry the palms in and have not involved all the adults. Perhaps it is the hymn "Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang..." Maybe that is what has lead us to let the children carry in the palms while the adults sit passively in the pews, singing the hymn or just watching the children as they walk in with their palm branches.
Monday of Holy Week rolls around and it seems it is the day when everyone gets their breath and begins the push towards the end of the week. We all must go to work and school on this day. I am a realist. I know that if we tried to have worship services on each day of Holy Week we would have a handful of the same people showing up for each service. Even if there was no school and no work on these days, most would not attend worship. They would go on vacation, spend time in the yard, sleep in and think, "Easter is coming. I will go to church then." So perhaps it is better that we treat this day as though there is no meaning.
Tuesday is even worse. On Tuesday, if you didn't know better, you would think it was like all other Tuesdays. Not much takes place in the church at this time. When you read the Gospels about what was taking place on Monday/Tuesday, the concept of Holy Week doesn't sit well. All that happens is arguments. One group after another are trying to find some reason to have Jesus arrested. They try to argue points of doctrine with Him. And you know how it is when you argue doctrine, most people think, "Why bother? It doesn't matter anyway, does it?" I find those discussions, those times when the Pharisees and scribes argue with Jesus to be fascinating. They are trying to trap Jesus in His answers so as to show He is not worth following and yet, each time, Jesus is like Teflon. He comes out unscathed. I wish I could discuss doctrine so well. I know there are some today that think they are brilliant when it comes to arguing doctrine, but the reality is they come off sounding more like the opponents of Jesus than Jesus Himself. They will think of themselves as good as Jesus in arguing doctrine but that is just their egos getting in the way. But I digress.
So what about Tuesday? Why is it important? It is a day in which we have the opportunity to see Jesus in His teaching glory. On Monday and Tuesday Jesus shows Himself to be One who has great command of the Word. He understands the nuances, the inside and out of doctrine, the wonder of all that the Father has said through the writers of Scripture. He shows that when you are truly open to His word, listening to what He says, there is wonder and guidance. There is joy and life found in the midst of doctrine, if only we could set aside our sinful pride, our self-centered thinking and our desire to come out on top.
It' Tuesday of Holy Week. Help us to listen to You teach Lord. Open our hearts to Your word and lead us in the way of life eternal.
No comments:
Post a Comment