A Light in the Window

A Light in the Window 

Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity UMC 

Easter is less than two weeks away.  Perhaps you are preparing for a big Easter dinner with family and friends.  Maybe you are making Easter baskets for the kids or grandkids.  You might be planning on taking the kids to an Easter egg hunt.  These are the kinds of things we do at Easter.  But there’s something more important than any of these activities.  What could that be, you ask?  The most important question is: how are you preparing to walk with Jesus to the cross of Good Friday and the Resurrection of Easter Sunday?  And that’s not an easy question to answer, is it? 

When we think about Easter we often think about all the activities I mentioned earlier. We don’t think much about why this is a most holy season of the Christian year until a service on Good Friday or Easter Sunday.  What might happen if we put as much thought into walking with Jesus during Holy Week as we do on those other activities?  Perhaps we would experience Holy Week in a way that we never thought possible.  God is always waiting to show us how we can come closer into God’s holy presence. 

So how can we walk with Jesus during Holy Week?  We can begin by reading Scripture.  Begin by reading Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19 or John 12.  Each of the Gospels tells us how Jesus came into Jerusalem during that last week of His life and the crowds cheered Him.  This sets the stage for the joy that turns into the sorrow of Good Friday.  Then each day read Scripture after that first passage to get a sense of what was going on during that week.  As you read the passages, imagine you are there listening to Jesus.  Imagine the crowd of people around Him.  Notice what’s going on.  Put yourself in the story. 

Then on Holy Thursday, read Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:14 or John 13 and experience Holy Communion with Jesus and His disciples.  Remember you are a disciple (learner), too.  Then on Good Friday, read the rest of the passages about His death.  We may not want to read about His death because it is too painful.  We want the celebration of Easter Sunday but not the suffering of Good Friday.  That’s only natural.  Yet as followers of Christ, it is important to walk the way He walked and to think about what He experienced.  Then we begin to understand what He did for us.  And God will reveal new insights to us as we walk this walk.  And through those insights, we will experience more love, more saving grace and more resurrection that we have ever experienced before.  That’s the power of walking with Jesus to the cross of Good Friday and the hope of Resurrection Sunday.   

May you experience the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ this Holy Week in a way that brings you closer to God and gives you the peace that passes all understanding… 

Join us on Monday, April 18 through Thursday, April 21, for early morning Holy Week services at 7:00 a.m.  We will walk together as we experience the week with Jesus.  The service lasts 30” and community pastors will give the meditation.  Trinity will also have a Maundy Thursday service on April 21 at 7:00 p.m.  We will be a part of that Last Supper with Jesus and His disciples.  We will have three Easter morning services.  Our chapel service is at 8:00 a.m. that is a smaller, more intimate service.  We also have services at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. and Trinity Singers will provide a powerful Easter cantata.  Trinity UMC is located on Highway J, next to Golden Living Care Center. 

God’s blessing to your and yours this most Holy season.