Entering Holy Week
During the Lenten season, the choir’s introit was the first verse of a hidden-away hymn on page 285 of The United Methodist Hymnal. Many of us are likely not familiar with, “To Mock Thy Reign, O Dearest Lord,” and I would encourage you to become familiar with all of its verses. The first verse is:
To mock your reign, O dearest Lord, they made a crown of thorns; set you with taunts along that road from which no one returns. They could not know, as we do now, how glorious is that crown; that thorns would flower upon your brow, your sorrows heal our own.
Holy Week concludes with the flowering of Easter, but let us not rush to the celebration without pausing with the thorny taunts that accompanied Jesus’ suffering. This is the week we return to what we first heard on Ash Wednesday: from dust we came, to dust we shall return, and we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
We have two opportunities for you to pause with the Passion of our Lord this week. Our Holy Thursday service will be at 6PM on April 6, and the Good Friday Reading of the Passion will be at noon on April 7. These are somber but powerful times of worship that bring us face to face with how desperately Jesus loves us. They also prepare our hearts for the coming resurrection. I hope you will embrace these opportunities to worship our dearest Lord in the community of faith.
all good things to each of you,
dr d