Putting the Holy in Holy Week

For Christians around the world, this week is called "holy" in so far as it leads up to Easter. The culmination of the week is typically called the Easter Triduum, or Easter Three Days and thousands of people will commit their lives to Christ and publicly become Christian by the end of the week. Through a series of ancient practices, people who were once on the outside will step into a unique space called "holy".

Still, just because a week has a powerful adjective in front of it (holy) doesn't mean that it will magically transform you.

Imagine the week leading up to the Super Bowl and your boss calling you in to tell you that you just got a huge raise. "Actually it's a super raise," she tells you. Or imagine the week of Thanksgiving and countless cars pull up in front of your suburban home, all with handwritten letters telling you how thankful they are of you.

It just doesn't happen that way.

So what does put the holy in holy week? In my mind it's the sacred dance between you and God- that relationship that is both dynamic and still. It's personal and concrete and real. It's that moment in your day when you want to quit but your faith informs you to keep on keeping on. It's that conversation that you could go negative with but your conscience tells you otherwise. It could be a quiet moment when you talk to God out loud, even if it's been a while.

When we are in intimate relationship with the God who brings Easter to the world, now that's holy. Let's be praying for each other this week.

 

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