A Holy Week Reflection from Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros - KO Conference Minister

Maundy Thursday

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin the clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.

Last Sunday, we gathered in our churches and filled with joy, we waved our palms. Whether the palms we held were real plant leaves or paper replicas, we celebrated the long-ago event of Jesus entering Jerusalem with crowds ahead of him and following him shouting Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest heaven! The crowds were jubilant. Jesus, the prophet from Galilee, had arrived ahead of Passover. They could not have known the importance of that greeting or the outcome of that fateful week.

As Christians today, we celebrate Palm Sunday but unlike the people in Jesus’s time, we know of the events involved in Jesus’ trial, his death, and his resurrection. We are aware of the heartache that awaited the people who knew and loved Jesus. Every year we are reminded, through Jesus’ resurrection, that God has the last word over betrayal and death. The Holy is with us through pain, tribulation, and despair. Even as we might feel alone in the anguish that is inherent to being human and living in this world, God is with us.

These next few days let us not be in a hurry to get to joyousness of Easter Sunday. Let us move slowly through the meaning and rituals of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday to experience God being with us through the dark days of Holy Week. Only then can we truly experience the joy of resurrection and new life as we run the race that has been set before us.

Amen.