This Sunday we enter into that week called Holy. It is unlike any other week in the Christian year. Throughout the rest of the year, time is compressed. We fly from creation through the long centuries of Old Week history to the birth of Jesus to the end of time.

In Holy Week, everything slows down. We move step by step through that fateful week in Jerusalem in Anno Domini 33. We hold aloft fronds of palms and shout with the crowd “Hosanna!” as Jesus rides into Jerusalem. We sit with Him in the Upper Room as He institutes His Holy Supper for His faithful. We speak the words of all sinners as we watch the sinless One proceed through the sham trial towards His crucifixion. Finally, we see Him bear His cross, stumbling under the weight. We hear His hoarse voice declare “It is finished,” as He gives Himself over to death, so it would pass us by. We wait in the darkness on Saturday, and disbelieving yet joyous, hear His resurrection declared on Easter Sunday.