As we enter the month of April, Easter Sunday draws near, and our 40-day Lenten journey will soon come to a close. On April 13th, Palm Sunday begins our journey into Holy Week. A journey that begins with Jesus making his triumphant journey into Jerusalem, which ultimately will lead to his death on the cross. Holy Week is a somewhat somber time as we prepare for Jesus' death, as we remember his final days. However, this year, there will be another death other than Jesus’ on my mind during Holy Week. This week I will not only be mourning the death of our Lord and Savior, but I will also be mourning my grandmother, Janet Stender. If you all recall, she passed away in June of 2024, and this will be my first Easter without her. It has been many years now since I have physically spent Easter Sunday with her. However, my grandmother served an important role within my own faith journey, and all of my Easter Sunday memories from childhood include her. Our tradition was to get up on Easter Sunday and go to worship with her and my grandfather. Then, we would walk a block down the street to my grandparents’ house, where we would find our Easter baskets full of goodies. After receiving our baskets, we would go outside for our Easter egg hunt, which included around 6 dozen hard boiled painted eggs and 6 dozen plastic candy filled eggs (two dozen for each child). Finally, we would sit down for Easter lunch, which my grandmother always prepared. The staple dishes being her potato salad and her California blend vegetable casserole. So, Easter has always brought memories filled with her and even when I was not physically with her, I often called her on Easter Sunday. Then, this year, my emotions will be even greater because her birthday falls on Holy Tuesday, April 15th.
And so, this year, Holy Week will be different for me. In recent years, the start of Holy Week is full of preparation for what lies ahead later in the week. Usually, my mind is so full of information that I do not fully embrace the call to remember Jesus's death, and to walk with him to the cross. However, this year I will remember, and I will be mourning for Jesus and for my grandmother. However, the good news is that at the end of Holy Week is Easter Sunday, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is resurrected! He is resurrected from the dead, and in this resurrection, we too are brought into new life, a life where God’s love is made known to all the world. And in this love, God lifts us up out of despair and into joy to experience the Resurrection and to be who we are called to be!
And so, I will begin Holy Week in mourning for my grandmother, but the Resurrection of our Lord reminds me that where there is death there is also life, and the Holy Spirit continually reminds us of this in our everyday life and calls us to participate in this Resurrection. My Holy Week might begin with mourning for my grandmother and remembering her birthday, but it ends with Easter Sunday and the celebration of Luca's third birthday on Monday, April 21st. And so, I will participate in this resurrection, I will remember Jesus and my grandmother, by passing on these Easter traditions to my son. I will love him and teach him about Jesus as my grandmother did for me, and together we will shout our Alleluias for “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
And so, this year, Holy Week will be different for me. In recent years, the start of Holy Week is full of preparation for what lies ahead later in the week. Usually, my mind is so full of information that I do not fully embrace the call to remember Jesus's death, and to walk with him to the cross. However, this year I will remember, and I will be mourning for Jesus and for my grandmother. However, the good news is that at the end of Holy Week is Easter Sunday, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is resurrected! He is resurrected from the dead, and in this resurrection, we too are brought into new life, a life where God’s love is made known to all the world. And in this love, God lifts us up out of despair and into joy to experience the Resurrection and to be who we are called to be!
And so, I will begin Holy Week in mourning for my grandmother, but the Resurrection of our Lord reminds me that where there is death there is also life, and the Holy Spirit continually reminds us of this in our everyday life and calls us to participate in this Resurrection. My Holy Week might begin with mourning for my grandmother and remembering her birthday, but it ends with Easter Sunday and the celebration of Luca's third birthday on Monday, April 21st. And so, I will participate in this resurrection, I will remember Jesus and my grandmother, by passing on these Easter traditions to my son. I will love him and teach him about Jesus as my grandmother did for me, and together we will shout our Alleluias for “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
