Each year I try to spend most of Holy Week with one of our benefices, sharing the journey we take from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, through to the Last Supper and betrayal on Maundy Thursday, standing by the cross on Good Friday, and then to the glimmering hope and joy of Easter morning with its promise of new life for all in the resurrection.
While I always try to keep Holy Week free of regular meetings, that of course never quite works, so the week is lived alongside the everyday. Added to this is the privilege of sharing with Bishop Rachel in the Chrism Eucharist in the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday, when the clergy and lay leaders of the diocese gather to recommit ourselves to the ministry we share, and also sharing in the Easter Eve Vigil with confirmations, as candidates make their “yes” to following the risen Christ.
This year I am looking forward to being with the communities of the Beacon Benefice and sharing with them not only the principal services, but also an Alpha session, Evensong, and a Walk of Witness. It will be a busy week—but then it is in each of our communities.
Again this year, we will be living this week that takes us to the foot of the cross, to the darkness of Good Friday afternoon and to Jesus’ cry of abandonment, in a world full of conflict and war. We will walk the way of the cross with Jesus, alongside the victims of violence, refugees, and so many living in fear, and we will do so carrying our own fears—for ourselves, our communities, our families, and our future. Holy Week is no escape from these. Indeed, these are the burdens we bring with us; these are the burdens we will lay at the cross on Good Friday. These are the burdens Jesus takes for us as he cries, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.
Of course, we would like it to be easier. We would like to move straight from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the triumph of the resurrection. That would be easy – but such a journey could never satisfy the challenges of our world or our lives. It would skirt around the reality of all we face today. The wonder of what Jesus does this week is that he faces, on our behalf, the realities we face, and in taking them upon himself on Good Friday, he opens up the possibility of a new beginning, as we glimpse, even from the darkness, the dawning light of resurrection.
The journey of Holy Week is not one for the faint‑hearted. It takes courage to step into it, the courage to acknowledge our fears. Yet, open to what God has done on the cross and is doing even now in the world, stepping out in faith also promises the gift of hope—a sure and confident hope that no matter how deep the darkness, Jesus Christ has triumphed, and we can live free from fear.
For so many, that hope seems hard to believe today. This is why my prayer for each of our parishes and communities in the diocese is that we may indeed find the courage and commitment to step out in faith, to stay the course to the darkest moments of this week, that we may see the true brightness of the hope we have in Jesus Christ, who overcomes even death so that we, our world and its peoples, might live.
May God bless you in keeping Holy Week.
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