A Reflection Upon Entering Holy Week
“Happy Easter,” someone cheerfully greeted another parishioner, as they walked out of Palm Sunday mass. Likely, they said it in case they did not see each other until after next Sunday. However, it got me thinking: how often do we go through Holy Week with the security of two thousand years of Church history, providing us with the blessed assurance of the Resurrection? We get to avoid the discomfort and the disillusionment that the disciples experienced in this week, knowing that in just a few days we will be celebrating joyfully and eating chocolate candies. Even with sincere devotion, how different is our experience of Holy Week than that of Jesus’s initial followers. Yet, how often our lives go through periods quite similar to these dense, dynamic days that the disciples themselves had to decipher.
How often we similarly approach the good times of life with the naive bliss of Palm Sunday, oblivious to the reality and necessity of the trials coming up ahead. We praise God for His goodness, laying down our cloaks and palm branches, to welcome Him into our hearts. We loudly laud the Lord in the streets and in our social circles. We believe Him to be our Savior and Redeemer.
Nonetheless, how frequently we pass through our lives like the following three days. In these ordinary hours, we likely do not pay attention to the spiritual significances surrounding us. We go about our work, our activities, and our relationships unaware of the fact that they can all be taken away from us in an instant. As such, we lose focus on the important and meaningful aspects of life — faith, family, and fellowship; and instead, we get caught up in the busyness of running from pleasure to fleeting pleasure.
Then, how we let the strength of God’s calling shock us. When He offers to wash our feet, we reply with shameful pride that we are not worthy; yet, interiorly we believe that we are not needy. We tell God that we do not deserve Him; but, we tell ourselves that we can do it all on our own or that we are above our own weaknesses and impurities. And, when He tells us to go an do likewise, we eagerly agree. However, just as soon as someone else’s sins are pointed out to us, we are so quick to judge. The insidious sin of pride slips in again and steals our innocence. Even more, we disregard the fact that we are just as prone to sin as our neighbor is, opening the door even wider for other sins to sneak into our minds and our hearts. However, secure in our duplicitous sense of dedication to God, we vow to follow His word.
Yet, how easily we fall into haughty tenacity or simple cowardice when we are put to the test. With the foolish belief in our self-righteous strength, like Peter, we may rush to strike back at those who attack our Lord. But, when we are challenged a second time, just as quickly, we may fall into fear and run away or deny ever having known Him. Over and over, in times of temptation, we disregard the promises that He gives us and the grace that He offers us, thinking that we can go through these difficult moments all on our own.
Furthermore, how comfortably we hide as Jesus bears our sins for us, and as those so much more courageous than us help Him carry the cross and give Him relief by looking Him in the eyes and wiping His face. Rather, we pass by Him crucified and say, “Where were You in my suffering?” and “If you are the Son of God, why don’t you save me from my pain?” And, as repeated periods of darkness descend upon our lives, we quickly fall into doubting the words that He has told us in our times of consolation.
Still, how sullenly we sit in the liminal space between the dusks and the dawns of our lives. We oscillate between fear and doubt, hiding in our upper rooms, in a retreated defense against further conflict or injury. We stay in our safe spheres and continue about our lives, without chancing another opportunity for fulfillment.
And, how slow we are to accept and understand His promises, when we are confronted with the Good News of the Resurrection. The contrast with our current situation is so stunning and the offer of goodness is so grand that we cannot fathom it. Sometimes, it takes sticking our finger in His hands and His side or encountering Him in the breaking of the bread, for the hardness of our hearts to finally be broken, yet again.
Even so, the reality of His conquering sin and death do not fix everything. We still have to face the angry and hateful world outside. Despite the fact that the prophecies now make more sense and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, our human weaknesses still hide just beneath the surface. Our sinful tendencies and fears and worries can just as quickly drag us back down again.
However, thankfully, we have the witness of two thousand years of Church history and the example of innumerable saints who have walked the same path before us. Though we mustn’t disregard the realities of Holy Week, we can and ought to live as an Easter people, with the hope of something greater to come.
