Holy Week of Holy Week!

 This week is Holy Week! Duh! Really? If you are in the "church business" you know this all too well. My home church celebrates Holy Week this year by having a Seder Meal on Monday night, ( if you have never heard someone raised in Deep East Texas speaking in Hebrew- it is worth the price of admission. Think more flem.)  We then have a Maundy Thursday service, a Good Friday service, our new Saturday night service kicks off it's weekly appearances, then on Sunday we will have a sunrise, a 8:40 traditional and the 11:00 contemporary service.
  The small church I preach at has a shared service on Maundy Thursday at another church, a Good Friday service, a sunrise (Sonrise) service and the regular 11:00 AM service on Sunday. This is after we concluded our Lenten Bible Study on Monday night. Everybody gets their moneys worth during this week.
  I have heard of other Holy Week traditions and plans at other congregations. One town has a sunrise service in the parking lot of their county jail, and the inmates can attend. Several congregations have prayer vigils from the end of their Good Friday all the way 'til sunrise Easter morning. There are really some incredible things happening.
  At most congregations, the attendance will be the highest for all year- by a long way. The sanctuaries will be packed, flowers will be everywhere and children will wear clothes they would have never picked for themselves. Happy Easter!
  But why? Why is this week so special? I know the Sunday School answer- this is the day we celebrate Jesus' conquering death by raising from the dead. We can't do this every week? If we think this is such a big deal, shouldn't we be excited every day?
  I don't want to complain, but I will do it anyway. If we really believed in a risen Savior- we would do the things we do this week year round. There- I said it. Why are we such posers? Do we really think that God will see how we act a few hours every year and say "that's close enough"?
  Go to the special services. Sing with gusto "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!!!" Get fired up and feel happy. The world is ours because of what Jesus did. Tell your neighbor!
Go-Fight-Win. Amen.