Approaching Holy Week

I feel a little distracted walking into Holy Week. I'd hope for a softness, an openness to feel the weight of the events that took place 2000 years ago, but that's not there for some reason. It might be my busy-ness, but I'm praying for fresh eyes and a raw heart. Practically I'm started a few things this morning to attempt to engage and opening myself.

One way was something Sam mentioned yesterday in his sermon. He called us to "meditate on the magnitude of the mercy of Christ on the cross." I don't do this nearly enough. To sit, pray, and think on the cross. Maybe find a passage that might speak on this and meditate on it. Pick a small passage and slowly reading and praying through it (look up the discipline of Lectio Divina). Take time this week to slow down, push pause, and be humbled by what you see. One way I try to do this is by writing songs based off the ideas or Scriptures I'm learning from. One I started today was based off of Romans 5:8.

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What stood out wasn't just that God showed his love for us in Jesus, but that God shows (present tense) his love for us in Jesus. I need to slow down and ask God to remind me of his love seen in his Son's death.

Another way I've been trying to engage is by spending time reading through John Piper's "The Passion of Jesus Christ". He talks about 50 reasons why Christ died as seen in the New Testament. I read the first few today, and my heart began to feel some of the intensity of Jesus' death. The wrath we deserve, the love that he showed, the justice that was served on the cross.

What ways do you engage with Holy Week? Anything that you're doing new this year?