The Spirituality of Holy Week

Dear Friends in Christ,

If we are prepared for it, and open to the wisdom it has to offer, the Holy Week liturgies are designed to take us through the emotional and spiritual ringer. At best, our journey into desolation and death with Christ is a recognition that our old selves are already dead, and that this ending allows space for a new life with God, in the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, in our practice of the Christian faith, we must face our own sin and limitations if we want to be guided by the Spirit into a life of intentionality and purpose. This week gives us a particularly powerful opportunity to recognize and give thanks for what Christ has offered and accomplished on the Cross.

And, of course, this Holy Week I am particularly mindful that we are seeking to engage this practice amid stay-at-home orders thanks to a global pandemic. Now more than ever, we need to offer grace toward ourselves and those whom we hold close, and we need to be open to receiving it, whether over the phone, over video chat, or through another means of communication. As Celal reminded us on Palm Sunday, the first disciples of Christ in Jerusalem on that fateful Passover almost two millenia ago were probably living through their own time of fear, anxiety, and limitation. And my hope is that we can make good use of these unplanned external circumstances in our spiritual practice this Holy Week. 

I’m also mindful that Haley, Amos, Cat, and I are also preparing to say goodbye in this strange time when we cannot gather in person together. This is not what we planned, and not what we expected. It is a strange thing to contemplate. I’ve felt so fortunate to serve as your Associate Rector for these past seven years: I have been immeasurably blessed by St. George’s, and I will be seeking to share the wisdom and abundant peace I have gained here in my next call. 

In Seminary I had colleagues who intentionally avoided using the language of call, because they thought it carried the connotation of privilege, given how many people in the world work in a factory or other workplace that they might not describe as a calling. And I think God is creative enough that often our calling does lead us to spaces outside of our workplace to volunteer. I know that my spiritual life has been nourished by the volunteer service that I have taken on, whether at the Diocesan level, or elsewhere.  But, I am also mindful of those who are serving on the front lines of our society right now, whether in food provision, hospital work, caregiving, or other essential services: right now, they are the ones who are teaching us what it truly means to serve as someone who is called. Right now, they are showing us the kind of courage that overcomes death and the fear of death. Right now, they are showing us the kind of altruism that is a foretaste of God’s care and compassion for all people. Their intentionality and purpose points towards the inspiration of a deeper Source, a Source for all of our lives, a Source that was willing to be emptied of all life, in order that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

With prayers for health, safety, and God’s blessing, for you and yours this Holy Week,

John