I have always been fascinated with the rollercoaster of emotions that is Holy Week. It starts on a high, and ends on a high, and has every other emotional state, on the days in between.
From the excitement and cheers of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, we journey with him to the anger he displays at the way traders were violating his Father’s house. We witness the out- pouring of love and the insight of Mary, as she anoints Jesus in preparation for his burial. The words of Jesus as he breaks bread and pours wine at the final meal he shares with his friends, remain with us to this day, and we watch with horror as one of them leaves the party, to betray him. The anguish of Jesus is not lost on us, as he prays in the garden for the cup to pass, and we sense his frustration when his companions just can’t keep their eyes open. Fear is powerfully played out as Jesus is arrested and tried. Peter is so fearful that he denies ever knowing Jesus at all, and the other disciples just run away. The so-called trials are full of lies and accusations, intrigue and deceit, power and greed, culminating in the weakness of Pilate washing his hands of the whole business. Pain, cruelty, shame and degradation follow quickly, ending with total darkness and despair. The emptiness of grief is all that is left. But the hope and the promise of God has not died, for the empty tomb on the day after the Sabbath signals joy, life, love everlasting, world without end – Hallelujah!
Looking through the events of that week – the week that changed the world, you could be excused for thinking that you were watching some sort of soap opera, or a blockbuster film, such are the range of emotions it contains. Artists of every medium have been so inspired by the events of the week that changed the world that they have composed music, painted pictures, written poems and plays, created carvings and sculptures, all to express the extremes of emotions displayed through the events that took place.
As we experience, yet again, the heights and depths of Holy Week, and recognise that we are remembering the week that changed the world, may we also recognise that these events are not some imagined fairy-tale or fantasy, not some spine-chilling drama where we want to shield our eyes, but real events, that really happened – to Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. May the week that changed the world, change you, and change your heart, as you reflect on what happened, and dig deep into those roller-coaster emotions.