"If wakeful Christians harbor a wish for heaven to fulfill, they wish not for an escape from reality, but for a deeper acquaintance with reality. When wakeful Christians lament this life, they grieve this world’s trivialization of itself that obscures the more profound reality of the kingdom of God in our midst. Yet, more often wakeful Christians celebrate life, finding the mark of God’s hand in this world and beginning their praise with the discovery of the holy here. "Holy,holy,holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory"(Isa.6:3).the seraphim sang. Wakeful visions of other worldly praise reveal angels singing of God’s reign on earth as in heaven." A Wakeful Faith by J. Marshall Jenkins

Today Christians find themselves in the midst of Holy Week. Last Sunday, Palm Sunday told of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of drama we live out each year that tells of his coming face to face with a ‘deep acquaintance of reality’ which led to his arrest, torture and death. Tomorrow will find churches everywhere re-enacting the celebration of his last meal with his friends. Friday will hold the somber telling of the story of his death.Roman Catholics among us will spend Saturday in a vigil that tells of the whole story of God’s involvement since the beginning of Creation in the cycles of birth,life,death and rebirth which includes the fullness of the gospel.  All this leads to Easter Sunday morning with churches filled to capacity as worshipers once again proclaim that there is a power greater than death.

I have a blunt confession to make. I haven’t quite gotten into the observance of Lent this year. I have talked to others who have had difficulty as well. Perhaps it is because Lent came so quickly after Christmas and Advent this year. The date of Easter is determined by the lunar calendar as the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox. Unless you are 95 years or older, Easter has never been this early in your lifetime. It will not be this early again until 2228. Something about all this allows me to let myself off the hook with my lack of enthusiasm for Lent this year.

I have fond memories of Holy Week as a child. Growing up in a small town with small churches and few resources, Holy Week was the one time a year when the churches came together to create something larger than their individual congregations. Beginning on Palm Sunday night and every night during the week, we traveled from church to church for worship. There was special music at each church and a sermon. The one rule: no one could preach or sing in their home church. As I think about this I am not sure what the total appeal was for me. But I did love it and went even when my parents didn’t go.There was the chance to hear things in new ways from voices I was unfamiliar with, whose way of interpretation didn’t always reflect my own. But there was also something rich in the gathering of these people whose lives were bound by a common heritage, a common faith story, and the chance to share in that message.

As we move into the next few days, I pray for the grace to be present to the story that unfolds….through the scriptures, through the music, and through the faces and lives of those who gather to create a little glimpse of heaven on earth. This Jesus who calls for us to be open to God’s movement and to live likewise did so with his very life. I can only pray that in the year 2228 someone, somewhere will still be telling the story in one form or another. Perhaps it will be infused with a ‘wakefulness’ we can only imagine.