We have arrived at the fifth Sunday of Lent, so next Sunday, March 28th, is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, leading to Easter on Sunday, April 4.

In Holy Week, our worship and spiritual practice becomes distinctly physical,  On Palm Sunday, we begin worship outside the church, wave palms, and reenact Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.  In the service, with with our bodies, we shout "Crucify" in anger and disgust to viscerally feel the corrupting power of hate.  On Maundy Thursday, many choose to participate in one of the most awkward yet intimate physical practices that Jesus asked his followers to do: to wash the feet of the other.  On Good Friday, not only do we need the physical stamina to sit in church for three hours to physically witness the hours of Jesus' crucifixion, we also are asked to hold up a heavy cross until our arms ache.

Holy Week reminds us that a spirituality too cerebral and intellectual, without a deep connection to physical experience, can become overly inward when our faith calls us to live outward lives, embodying the gospel to others.  Because our faith is intellectually fascinating, we might ponder at length what it means to "love our neighbors as ourselves," and to "love each other as God has loved us," but never turn this into specific physical action that produces results.  But, if we wash each other's feet on Maundy Thursday, we might experience a model for praising God "not only with our lips, but with our lives."

I am always surprised, if not disappointed, that our community of faith does not make a greater commitment of the Good Friday service from Noon to 3 PM.  Even with all of the demands of work, school and family, can we not arrange our lives to put our bodies in reverent observance of the most transforming three hours in human history?  Indeed, the service can be exhausting, stark, and at times boring.  But it is not entertainment, but solidarity with God's gift to humanity and our witness to the world.  Good Friday is long, but Easter is coming.

The schedule for Holy Week and Easter is found here.