Dear friends in Christ,
This Sunday we begin our annual journey through the solemnity, betrayal, sorrow, pain, grief, and ultimate joy of Holy Week. Our week begins with a short collect as we bless the palms this Sunday:
Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
It could seem strange to ask God to help us “enter with joy” as we are about to recall Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and then his passion and death. But of course, his perfect obedience to his Father and his willingness to die for us is how Jesus accomplishes our salvation. Joy, indeed.
And then, of course, at the end of Holy Week, we experience ultimate joy as God’s perfect love overcomes the might of human evil, sin, and even death. Grace and mercy have the last word as Jesus walks out of the tomb on Easter morning. What could be more joyful than this? Grace and mercy always have the last word.
As our world seems more and more chaotic, we might be tempted to turn away from Holy Week. But in fact, this message of God’s love for us is just what we all need. So let us give thanks for the gift of Holy Week. I hope you’ll find your way to a church for all the liturgies we celebrate as we experience anew the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ saving work.
On a MUCH more mundane note, during Holy Week—when we figured most of our readers would be pretty busy in their churches—we at Forward Movement are going to be launching our new website. So we’ll be offline for a few days. God and technology willing, our new website will launch before it’s time to celebrate Easter.
Speaking of which, if you are looking for a way to encourage people to celebrate the fullness of Easter, why not order colorable Easter calendar posters to give away—perhaps as gifts for families with kids who show up at your church on Easter Day? But order them TODAY before our website goes offline this evening.
Blessings to you in this holy time.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
More from our ministry:
Hear from Scott at this church growth conference from The Living Church
Pray with us throughout this holy season: prayer.forwardmovement.org
Cast your votes for the Elate Eight at lentmadness.org