HOLY WEEK SERVICES
Our shift online in the midst of crisis allows us to embrace the tradition of Holy Week services. From Holy Monday to Holy Saturday, we will share a short service each day—as we prepare for the resurrection of our Lord.
SCRIPTURE SENTENCES:
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 71.1-3
PRAYER:
We would see Jesus, Lord,
and stand in his presence.
We know that his hour draws near,
and more will be the glory.
Draw us nearer to the week ahead,
allow us to pray with him,
and wait with him,
and follow him.
And remind us, God, of the great reversal:
that the one who could use saving
chose to save us instead.
Amen.
READING: John 12.20-26
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
REFLECTION
Pity the poor Greeks. They arrived at the eleventh hour of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They were too late. Yet they become a proxy for everyone who seeks to see Jesus, who seeks to understand the life he offers. The simple phrase (“Sir, we would see Jesus”) has become part of Christian memory: that there will always be those who want to know more, to understand Jesus and his way.
Still, we can ask: were they too late? Reading between the lines, there may be more here. John carefully records the steps taken in the story: Greeks ask Philip, Philip asks Andrew, Philip and Andrew ask Jesus, and the response is made. I think it’s fair to assume that Andrew and Philip carried this message back to the Greeks—meaning that they still learned the Good News: the Seed that dies will live, and produce more seeds for eternal life.
Finally, the lateness of the hour, and the hurried response, was only part of the story. They did not have the audience they sought, but they were witnesses to all that happened in the Holy City. They get to witness the turmoil, the crowds, the rituals of Roman justice, and Calvary itself. They weren’t too late—they were just in time. They (and we) get to experience the week ahead. May we walk together. Amen.
HYMN: My faith looks up to Thee (verse 2)
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread, be thou my guide,
bid darkness turn to day;
wipe sorrow’s tears away;
nor let me ever stray from thee aside.
PRAYER
You will never let us be put to shame, Lord.
The passion that leads to death,
is never a source of shame for us—
but the path to eternal life.
Help us prepare for the time to come.
Allow us:
to pray the words you pray,
to cry the tears you cry,
to carry the cross you bear.
Save us from the time of trial,
incline your ear and deliver us,
And hear us as we pray. Amen.
BLESSING:
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way,
and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless
until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.
—1 Thessalonians 5:23
