Lent - Week Six/Holy Week (Restore)

Week six – restore

We enter into Holy Week.  From the shouts of “hallelujah” as Jesus entered into Jerusalem to cries to “crucify him,  it is a time of highs and lows.  Yet, as Christians, we know how the next week will begin – with an empty tomb!  With Jesus risen from the dead!

In many ways, we are “Easter people”.  Our faith is shaped by the resurrection.  Through Christ, we find that those things that were broken or dead are transformed by Christ’s love and grace.

There is an art form in Japan called “kintsugi” (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi )   When a bowl is broken, and rather than gluing it back together, the cracks are filled with gold, highlighting them.  Beauty shines forth from that which was once broken.  It is more than restored, it is transformed.

Through our own times of brokenness, we too can be transformed.  Just as something that was once broken will never be the same – neither are we.  While we cannot undo the damage that we have endured, we can find ways to bring forth the beauty of God’s love and grace that shines through us.

Think of the families who have donated the organs of their loved one after death; in the midst of their grief, they offer the gift of life to another.  Think of those who are recovering alcoholics or drug addicts who use their experiences to help others with their own struggles.  What are other examples that you can think of?

While our Lenten journey draws to a close for another year, our faith journey continues.  We continue to seek the wholeness, the shalom that God offers us in the midst of our broken lives and world.  We look to the One who refreshes and renews us daily with the love and grace of Christ.  

Pieces for reflection: each week, different passages, poems, songs, etc. will be suggested to use for your own reflections on the week’s theme.  Use whichever ones are most helpful for you.  As you do so, use the following questions to guide you in your reflections:

1)   What about this speaks to my own life?

2)   What might God be saying to me through this?

3)   How will I approach my life in a new way?

Suggested resources:

1)   Read Joel 3:17-21

2)   Read Matthew 21:1-17

3)   “For Joy”,

blessing written by

Jan Richardson

You can prepare

But still

It will come to you

By surprise

Crossing through your doorway

Calling your name in greeting.

Turning like a child

Who quickens suddenly

Within you

It will astonish you

How wide your heart

Will open

In welcome

For the joy

that finds you

so ready

and still so

unprepared.Weekly reflections written and developed by Pastor Jennifer E.  Boyd

Additional Resources used:

The Millennial Narrative by Jaco Hamman (weekly themes gleaned from this book)

“Circle of Grace: a book of blessings for the seasons” by Jan Richardson

 “We will Remember” CD, songs and music by Christopher Williams

All Biblical citations are from the New Revised Standard version (unless otherwise noted)