Celebrating Holy Week

"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." I John 2:19

To Christians throughout the world, this week is known as Holy Week. Holy Week lasts from Palm Sunday through Resurrection Sunday and includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Since the early church, Holy Week has been the most celebrated time on the Christian calendar. In fact, one can read church history and find that many of the events of Holy Week were being celebrated by the second century. By the fourth century, the week as we know it was certainly defined.

The church has always taught that Holy Week is a time of self reflection, repentance, and renewal in light of the Passion of Christ. It's unfortunate that we have lost much of the solemnity of the week that from earliest days included fasting, prayer, and confession. We tend to want to celebrate without dealing with our own short comings and sin. As Protestants, I know that we may have a resistance to this because it sounds like something from the Catholic Church; yet, history does not lie and to this day, for the most part, they make much more out of Holy Week than we do. (Since writing this I discovered an article in 'Christianity Today' written by Ted Olsen that validates this point.)

John may not have used the words 'Holy Week', but he knew these to be important days. The most important day of the church calendar has always been Resurrection Sunday. God came to earth in the form of a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead in order to restore our relationship with the Father. That is the message of Christ and the cross.

Even from the earliest days there were those who tried to deceive the 'sheep' by teaching things contrary to what the apostles had taught. In today's passage John clearly tells his readers that there were anti-christs that started with the church and then broke away. They were, as Jesus would call them, wolves in sheep's clothing. John said they were recognizable by the very fact that they split off from the church to teach a doctrine that was unfamiliar to the church at that time.

As early as the beginning of the second century there were major heresies that were being taught and they had to do with the all important nature of Christ. There were the Docetists who denied the reality of Christ's humanity, the Cerinthians who taught that Jesus was anointed with divinity for a period of time but was not God, and the Gnostics who were a thorn in the church's side for centuries. These people started in the church and left; thus, John calls them anti-christs. They never went away quietly; they always took others with them.

This is the greatest time of the year to ask ourselves these questions: "What do I really believe about Christ?" "Was He truly God in flesh and blood or was He just a good teacher and a moral man?" "What difference does His life and death make in my life and death?" "Do I really follow Him as my Lord or, like so many others, have I not remained?"

As C.S. Lewis wrote regarding the resurrection, "If the thing happened, it was the central event in the history of the earth." It stands to reason, then, that it would be central in my life as well. The resurrection of Christ means that He is alive and, since He is alive and is truly God, then I am accountable to Him. I can worship Him, revere Him, honor Him, and love Him, but I must also trust and obey Him. Easter is not just a nice time for a new dress, an Easter egg hunt, or a family dinner. No, it should be a time for deep reflection of my response to His great love for me!

Augustine put it well:

To my God a heart of flame;
To my fellow man a heart of love;
To myself a heart of steel.

During Holy Week we should examine our hearts in relationship to God, our fellow man, and ourselves. Celebrate Holy Week to the fullest and praise God for sending His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sin.

A Holy Easter to You,

Dan Owens

Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries