This past week, amidst all of the stock market fluctuations, maybe you have seen photos of stock traders (and others) with shocked looks on their faces and their heads in their hands. Photos like this are not new. I remember seeing similar pictures in similar times of market volatility. Now, I know that the people in these pictures might be showing signs of exasperation or desperation, but in some of the photos, it almost looks like they are praying. Yes. . . praying. Maybe they are. . .
This past week, I was in a meeting with some folks from the church, and I said something like, “I just feel I need to pray more, these days. . .” Not just about the stock market, mind you, but about a whole host of things – from wild and bewildering news headlines, to seeing some of the implications of these headlines playing out in the lives of real people like our Afghan family, to dealing with the emotional roller coaster that is raising young children. It can be a lot. But the only way out of all of this is through. . . through these wild and bewildering times, together. . . and through prayer.
This coming week is Holy Week—the week that we remember and give thanks for the final acts of Jesus’ earthly ministry—from riding into the city of Jerusalem to teaching in the Temple, blessing many and angering others, having a Last Supper with his friends, becoming a prisoner and being beaten, and giving himself away in love upon the Cross.
Some of the key moments in this Holy Week are when Jesus prays, especially when he prays for his disciples at the Last Supper (see John 17), in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives (see Luke 22), and on the Cross (see Luke 23). In these prayers, Jesus is praying for so much.
- That his disciples will love one another as he has loved them.
- That he might see an end to suffering – his own and the suffering of the world.
- That God would grant him strength.
- That God would receive his Spirit and welcome him home.
I also wonder about prayers that are not recorded in scripture but that I imagine Jesus praying when he just needs to pray: prayers to simply make it through the next hard moment, prayers for courage, prayers for the right words to say, prayers for the strength to be who God had called him to be, prayers that it all will be worth it in the end and that God’s life and love will triumph over sin and death.
This coming week, as we follow Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem, all the way to the Cross and to the Empty Tomb of Easter, I wonder what prayers you might be praying.
On Thursday night, April 17, at 7 PM, I invite you to join your prayers with the rest of the church at our special Tenebrae Service. The Senior Choir will present a service filled with beautiful songs, accompanied by harp, cello, and violin. We will also hear the story of Holy Week and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
And next Sunday, April 20, at 10 AM, after watching and waiting for the Resurrection, we will join together for Easter.
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Sunday: Shouting and Silence (Everything [in] Between – Week 6)
- Read Luke 19:29-40
- Read Psalm 118
- Read Habakkuk 2 and Jeremiah 20
- Read Luke 23:26-49
- Read and sing Hymn # 200 – “A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd”