It's Holy Week, when we travel with Jesus from the gates of Jerusalem to the cross... and beyond. This week can be crushingly hard, as we hear in the ancient stories what we still witness today: cruel leaders, the suffering of the vulnerable, the primacy of wealth and domination. It may be harder than ever to hear the story of Jesus' arrest, trial and suffering. It may be harder than ever to imagine Pilate and Herod acting with such casual cruelty.
Good People, if you are overwhelmed and terrified by the news, maybe this is the year to wrap yourself in a cozy blanket and eat a warm chocolate chip cookie and wait it out until Easter morning. You'll get no judgment from me if that's what you need.
Or maybe your fear and overwhelm needs an outlet, needs a catharsis, needs a community within which your emotions might be held. If so, join us to hear the story again, as we wait in the shadows of this broken world. You are not alone.
Whether you need the blanket or the catharsis or something in between, please take care of yourself this week. The story of Jesus is hard, and it is especially hard in this moment. But we remember that the journey ends not in despair, but in joy. It ends not in death, but in resurrection. It ends not with Rome conquering the world, but with it falling.
