Holy Week is almost upon us, I suspect that ordained or not, other revgal/pals calendars look a bit like mine, FULL, FULL, FULL........1. Restful sleep (not always for a long time) and good food restore me physically. Long ago I finally(!) realized that intensive working out, jogging or related physical exercise makes me agitated and increases my overall restlessness, so I do those activities very cautiously and sparingly.
Jesus was great at teaching us to take time out, even in that last week, right up to Maundy Thursday he withdrew, John's gospel tells us he hid! He hid not because he was afraid, but because he knew that he needed physical, mental and spiritual strength to get through...
So faced with a busy week...
2. Food and conversation with others strengthen me emotionally and mentally, above all giving me a reasonable perspective and affirmation telling me no, I'm not quite that crazy and my believing I need a community of support is biblically rational, not self-centered and irrational.
3. The example of Jesus (of course) encourages me spiritually, and even more so, saints like Apostle Peter and the reformer Martin Luther, who, just like us regular people, consistently took 3.4 steps forward followed by 2.5 backwards.
4. Love One Another, a Maundy Thursday and any time reflection by Paul Hammer is my favourite poem or piece of music from the coming week. I also was thinking of Francois Couperin's Tenebrae Services for Holy Week but didn't want to take the time to search for CDs or videos.
5. Maundy Thursday is my most looking forward to liturgy for this coming week. I love the sacraments and when I served as associate it seemed as if I always got to preach on Maundy Thursday... The Easter Vigil is my favorite liturgy, but for various reasons I haven't attended one for too long, now.
Ahhh, restful sleep and good food! I can get into that!
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