“But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!” -Psalm 22:19
If the Easter story is familiar, it is easy to move through Holy Week without feeling the depth of fear, pain and despair in scripture’s account.
The alleluias and celebration of Palm Sunday are a relief after the ashes and fasting of Lent.
There is a buzz among the swelling crowds: Could it be that the one they have been awaiting has arrived? Perhaps the time of reckoning and justice has come!
In the rush of the triumphal entry, there was great rejoicing in king and kingdom come. But as outsiders to the story, we know how fleeting this confidence and belief was for many. We know that in just a few days, the crowds turn. There is denial and disappointment. Even among the faithful, those closest to Jesus, there is confusion and fear.
And, we can relate. We, too, can be quick to assign meaning, look for silver linings, living with hopeful expectation of some future goodness in an effort to numb the pain of the now, whether in our personal longings or in bearing witness to the horrors and suffering around the world. Yet the events of Holy Week make space to honor the the pain, grief and disorientation of our experiences as we are surprised by the upside-down nature, present and yet-to-come realities of God’s kingdom.
You do not ask us to deny our experience, O God. Instead, you invite us to faithfully live in the tension of already and not yet, what has been and what still yet could be. Grant us grace, patience and wisdom in this stretching and sacred work. Amen.
Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.
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