I need to make a confession. Palm Sunday snuck up on me this year. I don’t know how it happened. I haven’t been particularly reflective this Lent…all my Lenten practices pretty much fell to the wayside within a week. I haven’t been practicing the chant for the Great Vigil. I haven’t been spending much time in prayer and meditation. However, despite my being unprepared to enter into Holy Week, it is here anyway.
At the beginning of Lent, I decided I was going to read Henri Nouwen’s “Walk with Jesus” as part of my Lenten practice. It’s a short book and I haven’t finished it. In the introduction, Nouwen explains why he wrote this book…as he traveled in Bolivia, Peru and Guatemala, he was surrounded by poor people walking and he was feeling guilty because he was in a car. He realized how “easy” his life was and how much other people had to struggle. As he reflected on the poor and on his deep love and commitment to Jesus, he said: Jesus walks from village to village, and, as he walks, he meets the poor. He meets the beggars, the blind, the sick, the mourners, and those who have lost hope. He remains very close to the earth. He feels the heat of the day and the cold of the night. He knows about the grass that withers and fades, the rocky soil, the thorny bushes, the barren trees, the flowers in the fields, and the rich harvest. He knows because he walks so much and feels in his own body the harshness and the vitality of the season. He listens attentively to those with whom he walks, and he speaks to them with the authority of a true companion on the road. Throughout the course of the book, Nouwen goes on to explore the relationship that Jesus has with the poor and the marginalized. He reminds us that in our daily living, we often overlook these people that Jesus spent so much time with…not because we’re cold-hearted or uninterested, but because in our busyness we forget they are there. As I re-read the introduction on Thursday, I realized that’s exactly what had happened to me this Lent. In my busyness, I lost sight of walking with Jesus. And here we are, at Palm Sunday; the beginning of the longest part of Jesus’ journey…his journey to the cross. Maybe now I can take a moment to notice. What is it that needs noticing on this day? That we begin the morning in joy and leave in silence? That we all participate in the calling out to “crucify him”? That Jesus is played by a young woman and Pilate is played by the priest? What voices are heard and which ones are silent? Who are the crucified ones in our culture? What is it that we take notice of? Every year, we gather, sing, process, wave palms, read the Gospel, and leave in silence. In the process of celebrating Palm Sunday, we enter into kairos time—God’s time, holy, sacred liturgical time—and that’s where we’ll stay until Easter. Holy Week is about spending time with Jesus, walking along the road as a companion on the journey. It is fluid time that allows us opportunities to take notice of those who are often overlooked. If we believe that Christ is all around us, if we believe that we can see the face of Jesus in the other, how do we treat him? Would we anoint his feet or would we stand in the shadows like Peter? Would we criticize, rebuke and taunt him? Would we have the courage to stand at the foot of the cross and wait for his broken body to be let down? If I hold myself accountable to these questions, it makes me realize that more often than not, it’s easier to be like Peter …it’s easier not to take this walk with Jesus. But we are invited into this kairos time not to live in guilt and remorse, but to experience transformation. It is an invitation to reflect, confess, be healed, and celebrate. This is the Christian life. Sometimes it is hard to walk with Jesus to the cross…to “feel the heat of the day and the cold of the night”. But Jesus is patient and kind. He has drawn us out, he has called us to slow down and take notice, to reflect and confess. He has invited us to break bread together, to share in a holy feast, to be healed and to celebrate. Blessings to you all as you walk the road with Jesus to the cross this week.
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AuthorI don't know what the future of the church is, but I know that we will continue to be a place of sanctuary and hope, working towards healing in the world. Archives
October 2017
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