Business as usual (Days two and three of a Holy Week Journal)

What happens during Holy Week?  

Until five years ago, when I was one of the many who were "stuck" at home, I don't think I had given much thought to what went on between that day when Jesus was honored with a chorus of Hosannas and a palm-laden path and the events that led to His crucifixion and resurrection.  

And full disclosure, I only wondered that as I pondered what to write in my journal. So I was curious I might learn when I saw those five words:  What happens during Holy Week?

I anxiously opened the story, hoping to find answers to a question I didn't really know I had.

One interesting tidbit: The words "Holy Monday" and "Holy Tuesday" were used to describe the early days of the week. I hadn't seen them before. They are terms used in the 21st Century. I still wonder what Jesus's followers did in those days.

One source (Christianity.com) says that Jesus taught His followers the importance of forgiving one another.

So, for Jesus and His disciples, it was the same as any other day.  

He knew what lay ahead, which also meant the disciples would experience fear, anger, and grief at the hands of religious leaders and even one of their own.  

And so, He taught them.

For Jesus, it was simply

Business as usual. 

And for His followers -- it was better, I think, that they did not know what was going to happen.

As Paul Harvey would say, there would be the REST of the STORY.

           May you have enough sunshine in your life to make you appreciate the shadows

"The Passion" (Day one of a Holy Week Journal)

PREFACE:

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a penchant for words.  

Sometimes, those words are just for me - they help me sort something out. And at other times, they are thoughts that have ruminated in my brain until I must put them into words.

That is what happened to me in 2020.  And here we are - five years later - and once again, I think I just must "use my words."  

I considered doing this by "invitation only"  because it clearly will take a Christian direction. However, you can choose if you want to read. I choose if I want to read what someone posts that I don't agree with—like I do read what my friends say about FSU or the Georgia Bulldogs.

At any rate, I am going to use my blog and write what I feel—and more than that, what I believe.

You might say that even though Lent officially ends this Saturday, it's a part of my Lenten discipline.  

2020

The Pandemic was becoming a reality. Schools, Churches, and many businesses (not the least of which were restaurants) had closed their doors. A facial mask was the order of the day. Just over a month had passed since the United States had come to a standstill.

And it was Holy Week.  

It was a sad time for a person who loves remembering and celebrating. No small crosses would be made from palm branches or fronds, and no altars would be set for celebrating the Eucharist.

No Easter egg hunts and Easter dresses and bonnets would hang in the closet (or even in closed stores because of COVID-19.)

I have always loved Easter. I love the Sunrise service, the chocolate, and the music. Oh, and I always love getting a new outfit.

However, Palm Sunday didn't take as much precedence. I was in the fourth grade when the junior choir sang "The Palms" with the adult choir. I remember we carried palms, like the ones I often use to decorate my front door.

And I still enjoy listening to the Jean Baptist Faure work with the same name.

In 1997, Palm Sunday took on a new meaning for me.

I was dating Rich Suley. We had enjoyed a day in St. Augustine. The next day was Palm Sunday. I'm not sure that it was planned, although he was Catholic,but  we ended up at the Saturday evening mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St.  Augustine, and for the first time, I heard what is known as "The Passion."  I was impressed.

Fast forward a bit.  Three years, to be exact.  By this time, I was living in Mandarin and attending the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour.  I had no idea what to expect, but I was once more impressed.  The congregation met in the field next to the church.  Our rector, the Rev. John Palarine, read some Scripture, and there were liturgical dancers.  We then joined the choir in a song with the word "Hosanna" repeatedly.  We processed into the church.  And once again, I heard "The Passion."

That was 25 years ago. I don't believe I have missed a Palm Sunday since — except that one during the Pandemic. As it happened, I was able to participate online.  

And what is "the Passion"?  On Palm Sunday, different parishioners rise from a pew to read a part of the account of the Crucifixion as found in the New Testament. It is very moving.

Not everyone who reads this blog believes as I do. Even so, I hope you will take a moment (actually about 20 minutes) to find a recording of this. It is very moving. 

It's incredible that the same people who were singing "Hosanna" and waving palms that day would be shouting "Crucify him" less than a week later.

Sometimes, that's exactly how life is!