Kingdom Practice
Holy Week

Introduction.  This week is Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ life before his resurrection.  The stories told about this last week are so familiar to us that we can be tempted to skip them and rely on our memories.  But as Dallas Willard once said, “familiarity breeds unfamiliarity.”  Let us not become so familiar with the story of Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter that we become unfamiliar with Jesus himself.  Indeed, we may think of the death and resurrection as something Jesus accomplished for the future, and it is this, but it is also something Jesus accomplished so that we can be in relationship with him now and participate in his kingdom now.  It is the happenings of Holy Week that allow us to respond to Jesus’ invitation in our anchor text of Matthew 11:28-30.

Lectio Divina.  Our practice this week is one we have been practicing since we began gathering six weeks ago – Lectio Divina.  We have listed below two passages of Scripture to engage with each day.  The first passage is one from Holy Week and the second is our anchor passage from Matthew 11.  One way to engage in Lectio is to Read, Listen, and Repeat.

Read.  Read the passage slowly.

Listen.  Sit silently for one minute and pay attention to what words or phrases stand out to you.

Read.  Read the passage a second time and intentionally pause between phrases and sentences.

Listen.  Prayerfully ask: To what area of my life does that word or phrase relate?  Sit silently for two minutes and listen.

Read.  Read the passage a third time, again slowly.

Listen.  Prayerfully ask: Is there an invitation or next step for me, related to this word or phrase?  Sit silently for two minutes, and without trying to figure out the invitation or next step, just listen.

When you have completed this process, feel the freedom to sit quietly for a minute or two, or write down the words or phrases that stood out to you, or the invitation you heard God opening to you.

Daily Scripture Reading
Monday: Matthew 26:36-56 and 11:28-30
Tuesday: Matthew 26:57-75 and 11:28-30
Wednesday:  Matthew 27:11-26 and 11:28-30
Thursday: Matthew 27:27-56 and 11:28-30
Friday: Matthew 27:57-66 and 11:28-30
Saturday: Matthew 28:1-10 and 11:28-30

Additional Resources for Holy Week:

Daily Devotional:  CRM Empowering Leaders, 2014 Easter Devotional
Article:  Mercifully Forsaken, Mark Galli
Video: Good Friday