Every year during Holy Week, I choose one phrase or image to hold onto as I walk through the week with Jesus. I find that a helpful way to stay focused on the goal of this week, which is a deeper sense of being present with him. Notice that I didn’t say a deeper sense of Jesus’ presence with me. Holy Week for me is a time when I want to choose to draw closer to Jesus. I’ve done this long enough to know that he is always present with me, whether I am aware of his presence at the time or not. That is his promise – “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” During Holy Week, I want to be with Jesus.
Whatever particular passage or image I hold onto during the week, my first thought at the beginning is always the same – “Less hectic, more holy.” The coming days are the busiest of the year for clergy; there is much to do. The services are different and more complex than the rest of the year; the setting and readings are more emotionally charged; the tone gets heavier and darker as we go through the week. It’s easy to get distracted by everything that I either need or want to do, that I lose sight of why any of it matters.
“Less hectic, more holy” doesn’t apply just to clergy or to Holy Week. It can be a helpful antidote to any of the busy-ness that assaults us. A good friend of mine who was a therapist (and an Episcopalian) could always tell when I was getting too distracted by all the things that wanted more of my time and attention than they deserved. Her advice was always the same – “Stop what you’re doing, go outside, and look up.” If she ever saw my office blinds closed, she would tell me to open them. It’s why I moved the desk in my office to the far wall – so I could look up and out the windows, even if at the moment I couldn’t go outside.
As we enter into the holiest season of the Christian year, I encourage you to find some thought, phrase, or image to hold on to. Hopefully, it’s one that allows you to slow down, ease off, look up, and allow yourself to draw nearer to Jesus, who is always waiting for us to turn our attention towards him.