at GOVERNMENT STREET PRESBY TERIAN
APRIL 2019
THE BEST IS YET TO COME. . . It seems that only yesterday I was pulling my OneNote journal that contained the ideas and thoughts collected to plan and execute all that is the Advent and Christmas seasons in our church. I never would’ve guessed I’d be in the checkout line at Blankenships’ Hardware on a Saturday morning to purchase gloves and gardening shears, followed by a trip to Susan Miller’s yard to locate, identify, cut, and transport the beautiful smilax that graced the rails of the balcony during the season. (I should note that Susan offered to do all this, but I have an ancestor that once accepted harvest from a woman in a garden and it didn’t turn out so well.) I find these impromptu moments exhilarating and as it turns out, that moment among nature gave me a surprising respite and insight: I had approached the task as a chore rather than as a living, active moment within the Christmas experience that rendered a beautiful memory for many people. And, educating me on the weed that is smilax.
So is the story of the business-end of Easter. We journey through Holy Week because it is what is laid out before us to do: yes, it is our tradition and the Lectionary keeps us in line with the obligation of it all; but, what if we collectively decided to approach it as the living journey that it is? From the beginning procession of “Hosannas!” on Palm Sunday, to the haunting Stripping of the Church on Maundy Thursday, and the final departure in silence on Good Friday, we find a familiar plan that takes us through the passion of Christ. Will we do this by rote, or will we approach it emotionally with understanding and as an actual part in the ultimate drama of the Christian life? It is in how we approach this season of high emotion that will determine the quality of the experience we have during the process of Holy Week. We know the end result is the same either way; consider taking an active role in the drama as it unfolds. How will you do the best is yet to come?