The palms have been laid out, our cloaks thrown over the road, awaiting the One who is to tread resolutely the path of Holy Week. Christ enters the Holy City to the delight of the crowds, who welcome and accompany him. Yet, almost before the last resounding ‘hosanna’ fades, the crowd takes up a more sinister chant: ‘Crucify him! Crucify him’ (Luke 23: 21).

As they sit at table, the Lord instructs his disciples, preparing them for what is about to unfold. They do not fully understand, but they testify to their love for Christ and their resolve to follow him. Yet, how quickly that resolve falters when love is put to the test. More sinister still, at the table sits the one who will betray him with a kiss.

In the Garden, as he prays, they slumber, unable to keep watch with him. When Judas arrives with those who will seize Christ, they fall away, though Peter follows at a distance. Lies, betrayal, cowardice, and terrible violence follow, leading to death.

Oh, how fickle they all are. Yet, are we not similarly frail? In the midst of all this stands the Christ, serene, noble, steadfast.

Jesus doesn’t march to the beat of the crowd. It is his Father’s will that guides him. He will do what is right, both when the hosannas ring out and when they howl in affected outrage: ‘Away with this fellow!’

Hatred and frailty will not win the day! It is love that will triumph. As he sits at table with his disciples, his love for them is evident. When they betray him and deny him, this love is expressed still more, to the utmost limits, as he pours out his blood upon the Cross. Even those who crucify him are loved.

What love is this! Though God, he empties himself, taking on our humanity and emptying himself still more, to the very last drop of his blood. Let us love him also, love in return for love.

As we enter into this Holy Week, let us not fail to be moved. His heart is pierced with a lance; let our hearts be pierced too. Let us not stand ‘at a distance, watching these things’ (Luke 23:49), but rather let us draw close to the foot of the cross. Oh, what supreme mercy! See the price of our salvation, and let holy tears be shed in this Holy Week.

This is not a week for other things. It is Holy — ‘set apart’. We will pray, hear the Word, and celebrate the sacraments of our redemption. Easter joy awaits, but first, the passion and the tomb. Let us not draw back and lose the opportunity. Let us contemplate the love that sits at the heart of our universe, love expressed most fully by the one who hangs upon a wooden cross.

by Fr Michael Grace