And so we begin Holy Week. Again. This week between Palm Sunday and Easter, this time to look once again at the final days of Jesus’ life, comes each year with regularity. What is different is how we experience it. The gift of following the Christian calendar is that we get to re-experience not only our faith story but our own life story each year. We get to "take stock" if you will of what has happened over the year. For me, I come to Holy Week, knowing that I will not hear or experience this week exactly as I did last year. My life experience won’t let me hear the words in the same way, feel sadness or outrage in the same place, shout alleluia just as I did last year.

Indeed, I am a different person than last year….I believe all of us are…while we may remain the same at our core, the experiences we have had change us and make us somewhat different year to year. Call it growth, aging, progress, whatever. We are influenced by the events of our own personal life and the events of the world. Sometimes we are aware and sometimes we are oblivious…..but we are changed none the less….and in that changing we can come to hear our faith story in new ways.

As we waved our palms yesterday, I was aware of the people who have left our community over the past year…..and those who have become a part of the circle. I was aware that the children had grown taller…and wiser. I felt the pain and fury of knowing we are still at war with no end in sight. I felt hope that the attention to our global climate crisis seems to be gaining momentum. I felt blessed by a faith community that continues to wrestle with the scriptures with integrity and love, to try their level best to follow the teachings of Jesus. I embraced my desire to understand what it means to be a part of a world groaning for justice and peace.

So much…..in just a year. And so I bring all this to my experience of this week, to the retelling of this story……what do you bring? What shaped who you are this year? How will you enter this faith story with new eyes, new ears, new hopes, that might lead you to the promised New Life of Easter?

My advice…be open…..and gentle with yourself……hold your pain lightly……embrace your hope fiercely.

"Blessing of the Tears….That I may be filled with them. That I may be emptied by them. That they may challenge my silence. That they may lead me to speech. That I may name each one. That I may be named by each one. That they may teach me of my sorrow. That they may lead me to my strength."

Jan L. Richardson