Holy Week is upon us. We follow Christ’s journey into Jerusalem as he enters triumphant and marches toward Golgotha. The days of Lent have been a time of repentance, of stripping down, of anticipating what only Jesus could accomplish for us. As the “last week” begins, I sense some resistance beneath the surface. It seems to come up so quickly. How can we be here already? Though we have walked through this season year after year, there is no way to adequately prepare oneself to witness Jesus’ radical, horrifying act of love.

I visited with a woman this week who is feeling hopeless, who cannot seem to lift herself out of despair, “out of the darkness” that plagues her. We spoke about God and about Jesus. She clings to faith by a thread, frustrated that the prayers and practices that sustained her in the past seem empty and void. All I could do was listen and to wait with her in the silence between words.

It is hard to walk consciously, to stay fully alive to the in-between times. It is tempting to numb ourselves, and our culture makes it so easy. We prefer to live “from glory to glory.” Many of us will move from Palm Sunday straight to Easter, largely out of habit or convenience, ever seeking to accommodate our overscheduled, double- and triple-booked lifestyles. We may assert that we do not have time to observe the progression of Holy Week. But if we can step out of resistance just for a day or two even, and follow the last week with Jesus, Easter will never be the same.

If you attend a church that does not offer special observances during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, visit one that does. You will be glad that you did.

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For those in the Jacksonville, FL, area, join our “Church Without Walls” ministry as we enjoy fellowship, hospitality and, following Jesus’ example, wash each others’ feet on Thursday, March 28. For more information, check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/churchwithoutwalls.Jacksonville.FL. Have a blessed Holy Week!