Consider what one feels when you are on the edge of something. The emotions will likely be based on what comes next or what’s on the other side. Is it a precipice? Is it the end of a gripping chapter in a great novel? Is it seeing the District Superintendent’s number on your phone during appointment season? Is it when your teenager starts a sentence with “Don’t be mad, but…”. These are moments that can test our judgement, our patience, even our faith.
As we prepare for Holy week anticipation builds and builds and builds…day by day, hour by hour. Through trials and temptations. Midst denials and betrayals. As Jesus speaks and as Jesus remains silent. Why Jesus washes the feet of others and why Pilate washes his own hands. When Jesus is condemned to the cross and when He takes his last breath. The whole world is on edge…
How shall we navigate these moments? How will they impact us this year, in this season of life, amid current culture wars, national rhetoric, and world events? The happenings of Holy week are not just an opportunity to remember what happened to Jesus…but to reclaim their meaning as the foundation of our faith and the focus of our future.
Holy week is a time to remember that humanity has struggled mightily before. The human condition is always in a state of imperfection. By and through the love that God demonstrates in Christ Jesus, we can begin to see the light shining on the pathway that leads us to what the Apostle Paul called “…a more excellent way.” in 1 Corinthians 12:29-31.
The world needs the hope Easter provides now more than ever. From our own perspectives we will each come to the foot of the cross. In that moment, God shows us that even in times of death and despair there is a reason to keep hope alive. Faith is a journey that means the clarity we seek may not be crystal clear in three days. Instead, it may come in the process of discovering what God, through acts of love, wants us to do next.
With Great Anticipation and Expectation…
Rev. Dr. David Weatherly,
President/CEO
