A HILL TO CLIMB

Wednesday, and so technically half way through Holy Week. But spiritually and emotionally not so. After the fun of Palm Sunday (and it was fun at St Ann’s!) and the slow march of the first half of the week, the pace now quickens after today. People say to me, “Well I suppose that this is your busiest time.” Well, in one sense it is, for what other season has nine services in seven days? But it is not the being in church that is hard – but rather the preparation for being in church, the providing for people’s expectations, the writing of countless homilies and, each year, the presentation of the whole story in a way that is new, fresh and challenging. Fun, eh?!

Of course Holy Week cannot exist in a vacuum, but takes place in the real world. I have little time (if any) for people who walk about in a spiritual trance this week. Better to struggle with the traffic and the shopping, face everyday problems, and then come to church to immerse oneself in the story before resuming what we call “normality.” After all, at that first Passion Jerusalem didn’t come to a standstill. In fact most of Jerusalem didn’t even notice.

I think that one of the things that hold me together and prevents me from totally losing it is the fact that Easter draws nearer. A spiritual reason? Oh yes. I will be able to eat chocolate and desserts again, and that will surely mark the season of renewal!