April 2 - Maundy Thursday

The psalmist proclaims, "There may be tears for the night, but joy comes in the morning." In many ways this passage reflects our Holy Week journey. Today, Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus celebrating Passover, and what we now call the Last Supper, with his disciples in which he predicts that one will betray him.

They then go out where Jesus enters into agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. On Friday we remember Jesus' crucifixion, death and burial.

Thursday and Friday invite to recall the sadness of betrayal and the sorrow of persecution and death. These are what the psalmist would call "tears for the night". On Sunday we celebrate with joy the ultimate surprise, Jesus's resurrection from the grave. Or, in the words of the psalmist, "Joy comes in the morning!"

We humans often prefer dessert over the rest of the meal, joy over sorrow, laughter over tears. Holy Week invites us to stay in the moment, stay in the current day of our Holy Week journey. Just like teaching children that Christmas gifts are not to be opened before the right time, we are encouraged to sit with the celebration of the Last Supper, the betrayal, and the agony of Gethsemane. We are called to be touched anew by the pain and sorrow of grief and loss. It is only as we endure these days, including black Saturday when Filipinos declare "God is dead", that we can fully experience the shock, surprise and joy of Easter morning and the resurrection.

In the midst of chaos and war throughout our world, may we enter these last few days of Holy Week with an openness to be touched and led by the Spirit, even as we remember sadness, anguish, sorrow and joy.

May your Holy Week be blessed!

Dale Johnson