AN INVITATION TO

by Pastor LisaMarie Doerrmann

Holy Week is a time set apart for Christians to walk through the days leading up to Jesus’ death and burial culminating in the resurrection on Easter. When I visited the Holy Land a few years ago, our group literally walked through the same places that Jesus did. Holy Week invites all of us to walk with Jesus to the cross.

We start on Palm Weekend when we remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to observe Passover. In the Gospel of Mark, we hear the narrative that Jesus is met with crowds waving palm branches and calling out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” At the Palm Weekend services, we look forward to receiving a palm branch as we enter into the sanctuary as a sign of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. As we leave, we hold on to those branches as a reminder as we go out into the world.

On Maundy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, his betrayal, and his arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Gospel of John 13:1-20, we hear that Jesus served the disciples by washing their feet. The Maundy Thursday service is a powerful reminder that Jesus commands his disciples and all of us, to love one another as he loved them. Jesus’ love for them is Jesus’ love for all of us.

On Good Friday, we remember Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, his sentencing to death, his torture, crucifixion, and burial. We experience a somber service where we hear the narrative and experience music to enhance our understanding of the agony Jesus bears for each of us.

Holy Week begins with a sense of triumph and crowds gleefully shouting “Hosanna!” then turns to somberness and into the anguish of Jesus’ agony and death. We are brought to the tomb where his dead body is placed.

Easter Weekend is a time when we hear the good news! The Easter proclamation is declared, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” Easter is a time when we hear that the tomb is empty! It is the time when Jesus was raised from death into new life. What does that mean for our lives?

It means a lot. It means that Jesus changed the world. He went from Palm Sunday hero to crucified criminal. He went from teacher to servant, washing the feet of his disciples. He went from divine to death, suffering, and dying in a human body. But then, he changed it up again. He went from death to life, conquering