My reflections during this Holy Week 2020 was intended to encourage you to remember the end-game story of Jesus’ life, which has become our Christian Holy Week Myth. That’s nice, but there is a much deeper reason for these reflections, which is to encourage you to place yourself in the story. This is one way that we can discover our human potential, and this is why my reflections emphasized the human person, who was Jesus of Nazareth. Story becomes myth inviting us to find ourselves in the story, and in the process, discovering our own human potential.
Jesus speaks to us: On Palm Sunday we can enjoy the adulation of the crowd, but we are wise to know its fickle nature. A few days later they will call for our crucifixion. Monday, we enjoyed the company of friends and the loving touch of a woman, who knew the risk we take just being there. On Tuesday we realize that evil is stalking us. We go from one of the best days to one of the worst. On Wednesday we ate with a betrayer and a denier, but we did not exclude them from our table. Thursday we could sense time running out, and we gave the world a common every meal, bread and wine, way to remember us. Then we showed them how to wash each other’s feet. On Friday we could have run away, but we didn’t. Over the centuries countless Christians have followed my example. Speaking truth to power was, and is, dangerous, but we are not going to run away. Saturday is Sabbath, will always be Sabbath, a pause that the human mind and body will always need. Sunday, the first day of the week, has become our day of new beginnings, new possibilities, which flow from trusting that life prevails, will always prevail, and that love always wants to be forever.
If we make the mistake in thinking that Jesus said and did wonderful things because he was first God, then we give ourselves a pass, thinking that lowly humans can’t do those things, can’t live like that, but we can. He was first, one of us.
Holy Week / Easter Epilogue by John Houk