John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, Well, we made it. We made it through a very different Holy Week and Easter, normally one of the busiest times of the year, a time when our churches typically have more people in and out than during any other eight-day stretch, yet this year stood nearly empty. We made it. And now we’re wondering when things will get back to normal. At least I am. In Minnesota, we’re two weeks into a five-week shelter-in-place situation and I keep finding myself thinking ahead to when this is over and we can get back to normal. Wondering if maybe we’ll be able to gather for worship sometime in May,...

Most of us are familiar with the rhythm of Holy Week. Starting with the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday, continuing to the intimacy of the Lord’s Supper and the agony of Good Friday, and concluding with the triumph of Easter morning, we know the pattern of this week well. But amid all our services and reflections, we often forget Saturday, the day in between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Indeed, in my experience, we give it next to no thought whatsoever, and yet I think it is an important day in its own right. Yes, we can imagine, even if insufficiently, the horror Jesus’ disciples experienced as they witnessed the torture...

Dear Partner in Preaching, There is no question that this Easter will be different. Very different. As in, unlike any Easter Sunday in the memory of any of our members. Our churches will be empty, not filled by the crowds we’d hoped for. Not even gatherings of any meaningful size. Our people will be feeling isolated, unsure even of when they might go out again. And many of them will be afraid – for their safety, for their lives, for their futures. And we may wonder what, if any, value our words will have, what comfort they may bring, whether it is worth bringing them at all. Yes, this Easter will be different. Very different, unlike...

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” –John 12:12-13. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover, and it was about noon. Pilate said to the crowd of Jews gathered there, “Here is your King!” They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him.” –John 19:14-15a. Crowds figure quite significantly in the story of Holy Week. The week starts out with Palm...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever noticed that Palm Sunday isn’t really Palm Sunday anymore? I’m familiar with the variety of liturgical rationales for the change to “Passion Sunday,” not least of which is the practical recognition that if our folks don’t come to Holy Week services they go from glory (triumphal entry) to glory (resurrection). But even with that awareness, I still mourn the loss of what was one of my favorite days of the church year growing up. Processing in with palms, singing “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” hearing the story of Jesus entering the city on a donkey (or colt, or donkey andcolt in...