What should we do today?

What should we do today?

We have witnessed and prayed and reflected at the foot of the cross.

But tomorrow is not here yet.

Not yet.

And we do not have your tomb to guard

or spices to prepare for your body.

So it it just an ordinary day,

a day to go to the shops.

meet family or friends,

or go to work?

Or is it a day to wait?

Should we just sit and wait with you?

And then what would we be waiting for?

We already know how the story turns out.

We are waiting for a worldwide celebration of your rising.

And in amongst everything we will do today.

ordinary or extraordinary,

maybe that is worth waiting for.

So help me Lord

to make this day a day to wait:

in busyness or in calm

in noise or in silence.

Help me to wait patiently

for the coming worldwide shout:

"Hallelujah! Christ is risen!"

"Holy Week" in John

I have been reading and thinking about the Gospel according John quite a bit recently (inspired by Professor Ford's fantastic commentary).

This week I am struck by chapter 12. It feels like reading an alternative 'take' on Holy Week that challenges any nice scheme we might have for what happens each day between Jesus arriving in Jerusalem and gathering his friends for a meal for one final time before the crucifixion.

So in John we have this sequence:

The anointing at Bethany - by Mary not by a 'woman' we are meant to remember but who is nameless

The entry into Jerusalem with palms and hints of the prophets Zechariah and Zephaniah

A soliloquy on Jesus death (and resurrection) prompted by the seemingly innocent request to "see Jesus"

A voice from heaven

Wrestling by the author on belief and unbelief with Isaiah 53 hovering in the background

Jesus reminding whoever will listen that this all points back to God

That seems more than enough to think about. You might like to try finding a moment today to read the whole chapter.