Beginning Holy Week

Monday of Holy Week. The week began with Palm Sunday, the procession of the palms. OK, so we didn't really have the procession of the palms, but in our hearts, we had that procession. "Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang..." Did you have your palm branch? Did you make a palm branch?

Palm Sunday begins what is called Holy Week. Each day brings us another day closer to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This brings us to the Passion of the Lord. We go from the Upper Room and the institution of the Lord's Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane. "Go to dark Gethsemane, you who feel the tempter's power..." Yes, go and watch what Jesus goes through as He prays to the Father. He feels the full weight of the Law. Do you want to see what Your sins deserve? Behold Jesus, kneeling in the Garden, praying, sweating great drops of blood, being attacked by Satan, and strengthened by angels. Know the depth of your sins. And then celebrate the wonder of what Jesus does for you. He takes Your sins, He takes all that You deserve, and He carries it. He is there to pay the price that you and I are unable to pay.

We need to remember this in the middle of this pandemic that we are facing. We look at the mess the world is in, the way our society is struggling, because of this virus. We find ourselves overwhelmed. We find ourselves frightened. We find ourselves looking over our shoulders, trying to keep away from people. And it keeps spreading. It is like we can't stop it.

Now, instead of thinking about the little virus and what it can do, change your thinking. See the way that sin is in the hearts and lives of everyone, that's right, everyone. We cannot avoid sin. We cannot wear enough masks and gloves. We cannot socially distance ourselves to keep from getting sin. It has infected us all! Completely. It is total corruption of each and every one of us. Worse than Covid-19, it actually kills everyone! No one survives sin. It destroys life and then robs us of life.

That, my friends, is why the Son of God came into the world. He came to save. We cry out "Hosanna!" That means, "Save us!" Yes, we cry out "Save us!" And He does. He takes our place. He is our Savior. He is your Savior, the Savior of all people. He alone can save from sin and death. He gives forgiveness and life. Through Jesus, we have hope. Through Jesus, we have life.

And so we begin Holy Week. We sing our hymns. We lift up our heads and rejoice. Oh, yes, there is still Covid-19 and we are doing what we can to keep it from spreading. We pray for healing of those who are ill. We lift up those who are in the medical field and those who are essential workers. We pray for our families. We pray that we won't get the virus. Through it all, we still sing. We sing of all that Jesus has done. "In the cross of Christ I glory," we sing. "Stricken, smitten and afflicted," we join. And then we sing, "Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia!"

What a powerful week we face as this pandemic in the USA peeks. We look to our Lord. And we find hope.