In the mainline church we have a church calendar that we follow, with special seasons full or colors and symbols with meanings meant to encourage our spiritual growth. Some of these seasons are based around specific, important parts of the Christian narrative like Christmas and Easter. Ordinary time is one of the seasons, which I totally love, because we honor ordinary time with it’s own symbols and colors. It’s a great reminder that God is with us in the holy days and the special times and in the mundane everyday moments of existence.
We’ve been in the church season of Lent now for nearly 6 weeks. This is the period before Easter that is meant to be a time of chosen suffering (giving something up or taking something on) as we prepare our spirits for the events that led to the cross and to resurrection. This week is Holy Week, and each day has a special story associated with it. This is an important time for my faith. Jesus gets mad during holy week. Jesus argues with God and submits. Jesus tries to tell his friends some really important things at the end. Jesus faces power and corruption and lets them win. Jesus is humiliated and hurt and he dies. Good Friday, which commemorates that death, is probably my favorite worship experience of the whole year. It’s because God is in it. The worst we can know like torture, pain, suffering, and death happen in this moment and God is right there with it. So no matter how dark or bad or painful my life’s season becomes I know that God has been in that. I also know that what looks like losing on the outside might actually be love wining, but that’s an Easter story. It’s the whisper of hope I need sometimes though.
I made the video below about 8 years ago, the week my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a really difficult time in my life and in the lives of people I love dearly. Creating this video in that moment was even more powerful. I wept with Jesus and knew that he wept with me.
The work we do in this new start is to embody what God is about in our lives today. This video is just one more way we go about this mission. I hope it augments your experience of Holy Week this year.
-Eilidh
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