Welcome to Spring in the U.P.! 50 degrees and sunshine one day, snow the next, then comes freezing rain and sleet, and then the wind that tears the heavy-laden branches off the trees. The last few weeks have been “interesting,” haven’t they?

I’ve begun to hear the term “whiplash weather” used more frequently. Those sudden changes and dramatic differences wreak havoc on arthritic joints and sensitive sinuses. We ache for real spring to arrive with singing birds and budding trees, and fewer physical aches and pains.

For those who have journeyed through the Season of Lent, we are also entering into a time of whiplash weather among the faithful. Sunday is Palm Sunday – when we celebrate with great joy and sing hosannas while we wave our palm fronds and greet “the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” We move from this sense of triumph with “peace in heaven and glory in the highest” directly to the Temple, where Jesus grabs a bullwhip and turns over the tables and chases out those who have made it “a den of thieves.”

From the ferociousness of the Temple cleansing, we move into a private upper room where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, showing them how a true leader is a servant; and we hear that his body will be broken and his blood will be shed for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. From the intimacy of this final meal, we head to the garden where sleepy disciples fail to heed Jesus’ call for prayer and where one disciple foreshadows the betrayal and abandonment of all the disciples.

From the sadness of the garden, we watch with horror as Jesus walks alone to his trial and carries his cross to the hill where he dies in agony. With broken hearts and anxious minds, we follow those who bear the burden of his body to the cave-like tomb.

With fear and trembling, with more questions and praises, we gather behind locked doors with the disciples on Holy Saturday – and mark the Sabbath Day. Can we say that we celebrate this Sabbath – this most holy Sabbath of the Passover and the reminders of how God led the people out of bondage in Egypt? Instead, we wonder what will come of us now that Jesus … the one who would be King … is dead.

With first light, with heavy hearts, we accompany the women back to the tomb. Fear and anger leap from the cliff as we see that the tomb has been desecrated! The body of our Lord has been stolen! Startled, we see that Jesus is standing beside us. Confused, happy, stunned – there truly are no words to describe the whirlwind of emotions that roar through our hearts and minds. Rejoice!? Can this really be true?

Joy. Anger. Love. Humility. Sadness. Terror. Grief. Anxiety. Happiness. This is the whiplash weather of Holy Week’s emotions. And we have the advantage of knowing how the story ends. I cannot imagine what it was like for those who lived through it – who experienced it firsthand.

We love because God first loved us. As we look around our world and see the distress and suffering of so many, as we see the anger and frustration and sadness displayed in graphic terms, we walk with the disciples through the whiplash weather of Holy Week.

And we love our neighbor to the best of our ability. We bind up the broken-hearted. We feed the hungry. We offer hope and healing to the suffering. We follow in the footsteps of the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We love because God first loved us.

We serve because our Lord knelt and washed our feet and then died for our sins.

Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. When we do not love, we do not fully know God, for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another.

Shalom,
Pastor Kay