No other time in the liturgical calendar is so packed with both historical and spiritual significance—not to mention such a range of emotions—than Holy Week. Having spent a relatively quiet three years with our Lord, the disciples must have been completely overwhelmed by the raising of Lazarus from the dead, followed closely by the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and preparations for the Last Supper, then the tense hours in the Garden spent in prayer before the soldiers came to fast-forward their lives into the horror of mock trials, the humiliation and beatings of our Lord, and finally, His crucifixion. In all of this excitement, most of the disciples seem to have forgotten the one event of the week that would have sustained them through the darkest hours of their lives. Only St. John remembered the one event, for he wrote about it in detail. Perhaps, then, it is no coincidence that he was the only male disciple who could be found at the foot of the Cross.

What was the one thing that made the difference for John? It was the Lord's sermon, in which He revealed the plan to restore the relationship between God and man that had been severed in the Garden of Eden. The one thing was, in other words, the matchless love of God for His people. John 13:1 captures this truth beautifully:

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

And His very next act is to wash the feet of His disciples, as a demonstration of the importance of maintaining holiness. In fact, Jesus warns a reluctant St. Peter that without constant holiness, we can have no part in Him. When we hear that God demands us to be holy as He is holy, we may cringe, along with St. Peter, either from fear or from resentment. From fear, we may ask, How can we possibly be holy? Because Jesus Christ was perfectly holy, and He gives us His Spirit to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. From resentment, we may ask, Why do we have to be holy? Because it is the only way to have a relationship with the Holy God. It is His love that caused Him to give Himself as a perfect sacrifice so that His people may have fellowship with Him and each other. The gift of His love is holiness, enabled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, for through this means we can be drawn close to the perfect God.

In all of the excitement of Holy Week, when shouts of "Save now" turned into "Crucify Him," we must keep our eyes fixed where St. John's eyes were fixed: on the love of God the Father, who sent His Son to die and His Spirit to cleanse, renew, and unite us through the blood of the Lamb. Whenever we find our faith flagging, we need only turn to the Gospel of John and read chapters 13 through 16, where we can bask in the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Behold the Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world!

In Christ our Savior,

Dss Teresa Johnson

President, Women of the Church
Diocese of Mid-America

dsstrj at dmawomen.org