Between Sundays for Week of April 3, 2023
Holy Week is a week for remembering and a week to remember. It begins with waving our palms, sharing in the crowd’s excitement for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Then we hear the rest of the story. It did not turn out as the crowds had hoped. It did not turn out as we had hoped. God sent Jesus to be love incarnate, and Love ended up dying on the cross. (You can watch the story as it unfolded in Bethlehem’s Sunday worship service.)
The story is not over, but this week invites us to remember that God has lived our darkest days. God knows what it is to be betrayed by those we call friends. God knows pain. God knows loss. God knows the violence with which we wreck one another. God knows suffering.
And God knows that’s not our whole story. Share in worship this Holy Week on Thursday (with Holy Communion at Noon and 7 pm) and Friday (Stations of the Cross at 7 pm). Remember that Jesus commanded his disciples and us to love one another. Remember that Jesus showed us what Love looks like on the cross. And celebrate next Sunday that Love always has the last word.
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P.S. Help us spread the word about Easter at Bethlehem. Like and share our video post on Facebook or Instagram. (Feeling really bold? Comment!)
Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred time in the life of Christ’s church. Amy shares why this is a week to remember. You can read the story of Jesus’ final days as recorded in Matthew’s gospel..
Ponderings
What about the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem? What must that crowd have felt like to the animal? Do you suppose it had any notion that it was playing a supporting role to a king?
Each week, Salt Project selects a poem that reflects on the Sunday text. This week they share words from Mary Oliver that invite us to think about the donkey.
Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.
