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In one of the mystical traditions of the early church, it was thought that Jesus gave birth – literally – as he died on the cross, the birth marked by the blood and water that flowed from his side. But what, exactly, is born? I’m afraid, sometimes, of this ‘awesome mystery,’ and its implications because of what I sometimes begin to comprehend, even in the merest of glimpses.

This Maundy Thursday, I invite you to reflect on how God has shown up in your own life. Who are the people who loved you into healing and wholeness? Who are those who welcomed you or showed you unconditional love? And who is God calling you to show up for?

Had it been up to me, Holy Week would have already ended – with Palm Sunday – the day we celebrated Jesus’ triumph over sin, death, and the devil.

And yet, here we are, edging closer and closer not to a triumphant victory over earthly powers, but to a violent execution and act so selfless and loving that not even the powers of hell could stand against it.

This Tuesday in Holy Week, I invite you to consider the times God's resurrection life has surprised you, or how out of a grief experience God created something new.

What is this week all for? Many of us look at the weekly schedule and see… so many things, and a few worship services on top of them. It can sometimes seem like it’s a bit overkill to do these services.

Yet this is the week. THE week which celebrates God’s unrelenting love, Christ’s solemn unity with humanity and unspeakable suffering, and the Holy Spirit’s persistent gentleness, breathing life again.

As we prepare to enter into Palm/Passion Sunday, I invite you to reflect on the ways that this day encompasses a wide spectrum of human experience: from praise to denial, joy to fear, and palm waving to stone throwing.

Jesus did not have to suffer. He did not have to endure the mocking, the betrayal, the shame, and injustice of it all. He, though he was God, emptied himself and became obedient to the point of death. And the beauty of this reality about the God whom we worship is that this is the truth of love.

I find this Jesus, the suffering servant, to be welcoming and comforting – one who stretches his arms wide on the cross, willingly bearing suffering and evil knowing that the resurrection dawn will certainly come.

This year the suffering servant text struck me differently – struck me almost in the way Rocky Balboa gets struck over and over in the famous movie franchise Rocky.