I was brought up in a church that went in for Holy Week in a big way. There was a short service to begin the day at 7. 45 am which some people attended before work and a longer service in the evening at 7. 30 pm usually attended by whatever organisation may have been meeting at that time. The whole parish was leafleted to make it known that here was an opportunity to reflect on the events that had shaped human civilisation like none before or since. I don’t recall a major response. It was largely church folk who attended the services but nothing is lost when we are telling the story of Jesus last week on earth. And surely that has to be a priority today. When Christmas and Easter come around ministers look for a new spin on things when preparing talks for special services. What can we do to grab the attention? We tend to forget the story itself has power as it unfolds in the Gospels.
There may be disagreement among scholars as to the exact chronology of Jesus last week but the traditional pattern of events is helpful enabling us to explore the themes of Jesus priorities, his response to conflict, his appreciation of rest, his suffering and death.
‘Tell me the old, old story
Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and his glory,
Of Jesus and his love.’
It’s a long time since I have sung that hymn but it highlights the need of the hour, for the Church to tell the story for it is through the story that faith is born and grows stronger. We cannot fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations unless we tell the story. Paul reminds us:
‘How . . . can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?‘ (Romans 10: 14)
The story has to be told so that men and women come to faith in the One at the heart of the story. That surely has to be the prayer that drives all our Holy Week and Easter devotions, that ‘Jesus and his love’ will dawn upon the souls of some and become stronger in the souls of those already committed. That has to be the double thrust of all Christian proclamation. Monday in Holy Week is traditionally the day to remember Jesus ‘cleansing’ the Temple. The dust of Palm Sunday has settled, expectations are still high with regard to Jesus’ identity and intentions. It would be entirely understandable if many expected some kind of political demonstration against the pagan Roman invaders. But Jesus first action after his entry to Jerusalem is to go to the Temple and highlight the spiritual decay of the nation. There may be political problems in Israel but the core problem is spiritual. There is dislocation in the relationship of God and His people.
It is this in the end that makes Jesus so much of a threat and so unpopular. He just went too deep for so many. But this is why he came.
‘O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.’
The fall away from God represented by Adam was to be reversed by Jesus as he exposed the sin of humankind and through his death made forgiveness and renewal possible.
With all the complex political problems facing our nation and the world at this time it may seem completely incongruous to be speaking in these terms. Decisions have to be made, practical measures carried out, let’s think about deeper things when we have time and leisure! But it was in the political heat of a tense Jerusalem that Jesus make clear what was the need of Israel and indeed the whole of humankind. Not reconstruction, not even reformation, but deliverance from that power within us all that stands against God. This is not an easy story to tell but we need to stick to it. I’m praying that at the end of this Holy Week the Church has a surer grasp of the story and its power to renew and rebuild.
