What to Do About What Was Done

Last week I was experiencing a tension, perhaps even a con-
flict, in my life. I was going through a time of sustained clarity
of mind and an abundance of energy. I was able to write a sub-
stantial portion of the next chapter of my dissertation. I had
such a momentum going that I had planned to turn in my next
chapter early next week!

The tension arose when I realized that this week was Holy
Week. For many centuries now the Church has seen fit to set
aside special days to help God's people prepare their hearts
for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, the high point of
the Christian year.

But sadly, I felt that Holy Week was taking me away from
concentrating on getting more of my dissertation done. I just
did not want to be bothered by all kinds of Holy Week activities
that would distract me from what I thought I needed to do.
God seemed to be interfering with my plans. I sought ways to
blow off the events of Holy Week.

But God slowly and graciously confronted me, questioned my
reading of reality, opened the eyes of my heart, and changed
my attitude. I sensed the change of my heart at church on Palm
Sunday. In a variety of ways those of us there all participated
in the drama of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem and the events
that led Him to death on the Cross. Through the preached
word we pondered Christ's suffering on the Cross in our place,
and later we were nourished by sharing in His death at the
Communion Table. I noticed that my heart was slowly soft-
ening and loosening its controlling grip on the agenda of my
life.

Later that day a friend and I went to see the movie Amazing
Grace. The movie powerfully portrayed how God's amazing
grace brought to life a dead-hearted slave ship captain and
won the life-long allegiance of a member of the British Parlia-
ment who committed the best years of his life to abolishing the
slave trade and reforming British society. What impressed me
was not the amazing things these two men did, but that their
lives were anchored and grounded in God's amazing grace, that
is, what God had done through Jesus Christ's death on the Cross.
I was moved by what I saw in the movie.

I am letting the rolling wave of Holy Week wash over me. So
far this week both Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer have
centered on the passion of Christ. On Tuesday a small group
of us prayed and walked through Jesus' own walk to His death,
pausing for times of prayer, devotion, and reflection on what he
had done.

Last night children and adults gathered for a messianic inter-
pretation of the Jewish Passover Seder. The Passover Seder
is arranged around four questions, each asked by a different
child. All the answers focused on what God has done to liber-
ate the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Since that act of
liberation so long ago, Jewish people throughout the centuries
have reclined at the Passover table and identified themselves
with their ancestors whom God had delivered some 1500 years
before Christ.

I have often associated Moses with the Exodus, but he is never
mentioned anywhere in the Passover Seder. The focus, however,
is on God and what God has done to liberate God's people. The
beautiful words spoken during the meal are full of blessings upon
God's Name, remembering what God had done to rescue Israel
from slavery, and crying out to God for God's continued deliver-
ance and blessing. The meal stretched my heart, making it in-
creasingly capable to hear again and remember what God had
done for Israel in the Exodus, and what God did for us by means
of a greater exodus, Jesus' death on the Cross.

It is Maundy Thursday as I write this, my heart is growing in-
creasingly aware of all that God has done through Jesus. Tonight
at church there will be a choral eucharist and Stripping of the
Sanctuary, followed by a time of waiting in silence. It will be a
precious time to contemplate and ponder all that God did all so
long ago. More importantly, in a way I don't quite understand,
we are there in the Upper Room with Jesus and the disciples,
and then at the foot of the Cross. It is my sin, it is all of our sins,
that put Jesus Christ to death on the Cross. He died to set us free
from the bondage of sin. Oh, how I need to remember that.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, especially the afternoon, will be a time
to remember, to wonder, and to ponder Jesus' death. It is sad
to say that I often get caught up focusing on what I am to do
rather than looking at what God has done. The Christian faith
is not a religion of dos and don'ts, but a relationship with the
Living Lord based on faith in what God has done through Jesus'
death on the Cross. I mourn that I often forget that. Let us pon-
der all that God has done for us through Christ's work on the
Cross.

Blessings to you and yours.