BEFORE THE DYING

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday remembering the day Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey with all the people singing “Hosanna! Hosanna!” and waving their palm branches before him. This week is Holy Week. Thursday we recall Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet , teaching the way of love and instituting the Lord’s Supper as a new Passover meal. Good Friday we contemplate his trial, crucifixion and death on the cross. It is a stark contrast from Palm Sunday to Holy Thursday/Good Friday. One day there is joy and singing, hailing the Awaited One—and almost overnight the crowd is mocking him and demanding that he be crucified, the women are weeping and Jesus is dying!

But I wonder what happened Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Thursday, Friday and Sunday (Or Saturday Night for Easter Vigil) are the Great Three Days. What then are the days which begin this Holy Week? They are the days before Jesus’ dying. He is done with his miracles and healings. He has gathered his disciples around him. He is in hospice care, though many don’t understand how he could have gotten there so quickly.

According to the Gospel of John after Jesus washes the disciples feet on Thursday and before the crucifixion on Friday he has a long conversation with his disciples in John 14-17. It is called the Farewell Discourse by biblical scholars. I would like to think of this discourse as having taken place Monday through Wednesday in real time. He tells them that they may not understand now what is happening but they will later. He assures them of his love and ongoing presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he talks about his coming death. He tells them plainly what is to come. He offers them peace over and over:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
John 14:27

As I reflect again on the mysteries of Holy Week I reflect in light of the Enterbeing stories this month which have revolved around the theme, “Death Gives Life”. They have been sacred stories of encounters with death and dying, with grief and the sudden inevitability of mortality. They have each been unique, custom designs of the Holy Week mysteries given to us in the experiences of our lives. Scott hears good news from a tow truck driver angel and inches toward greater healing and understanding. Nancy discovers the deep intensity of love in walking with her dying friend. Kay finds another piece of peace thirty years after the death of her brother.

And this week Vernon Presbyterian members reflect on the death of their congregation. And in light of Holy Week, in light of the stories we have told and the ones which are held close in our hearts and urgent Easter question emerges: “How might we go to our dying with the faith of Easter on the Mondays and Tuesdays of our lives?”

And it invites another question: “How might we live before our dying with a Holy Week faith which recognizes the reality of death, yet embraces with faith the greater reality to which Jesus and our stories point?”

May this Holy Week—Monday through Wednesday, as well as Thursday through Sunday, inspire in you the faith, hope and love of God found deep in the story of Jesus.

P Moe
March 21, 2005