A little over five weeks ago we started Lent with good intentions to make this Lent our best ever. In reality, has it passed by with only token gestures of repentance and sacrifice? Either way, let us be determined to make the most of Holy Week by focusing on the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a disturbing and unsettling story. It is a reading that if we did not know the glorious and joyful outcome of Easter morning, we would likely not want to read at all! At the very start of today’s Gospel from Matthew, we learn that Judas has laid his plan for his betrayal of Jesus. Jesus then warns His disciples of his imminent death and how their faith will be shaken. From there it gets worse. Clueless disciples fall asleep while Jesus prays in agony. Judas betrays Jesus for silver. Peter denies Him three times. The Sanhedrin call for Jesus’ death and an ambivalent Pilate acquiesces to the demands of the crowd. Then comes the beating and humiliation of Jesus by the soldiers and, finally, His terrible suffering and death on the cross. When we finish the story, we quite understandably desire to leave this ugly scene and move on to the joy of Easter morning. We want to experience the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to His disciples. And that is truly Good News. But wait, maybe before we rush back to our busy lives, we should spend more time this Holy Week at the Crucifix! Maybe we should stay a while longer with Christ crucified. For here is where the incarnate God paid the price for our sins. Forgiveness costs and Jesus paid the ultimate price for us. They were our sins Jesus bore upon that cross. Yes, Christianity is about the joy of the resurrection. But let’s not rush too fast to Easter this week. While there is nothing wrong with candy, egg hunts and new outfits, as disciples we too are called to pick up our own crosses and follow the path of Jesus. May we remember throughout this Holy Week what God did for each of us. St. Paul says it best, “For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) This is why we call it Good Friday. Reflection by parishioner, Dale Gerber