Sherry Sterling

Dear friends,

Together, we recently walked through another Holy Week‘s descent and arising. Each year, something different strikes me in the enactment of those last days of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

A few years ago, it was the comfort of communal grieving, like crying on a rainy day—individual tears disappearing into the weather. I was going through a loss in my own life, and having the space to cry with others, feeling companioned, without needing to go into the specifics of my particular grief, was consoling.

And then, I was surprised by the jolt of joy expressed in the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. I wasn’t ready to give up the darkness to make room for the light! I planned on being ready for that the next morning, on Easter. That left me pondering how I might be holding onto sadness beyond its purpose. It encouraged me to open to relief when its offered.

This year, what struck me during Holy Week—through the scripture readings, liturgical enactments, and hymns—is the Lordship of Christ. I’m curious, since that’s language I bristle at from my Evangelical past and am encouraged to challenge in a culture that questions authority.

But this feels different, more like the veneration of the cross we are invited to practice each Sunday. Offering respect, but even more. Really bowing down, lowering my head, acknowledging with my body that I choose to actively submit to God, and remember that my life is not all on my shoulders.

This brings me to the scripture readings for today, which give us details of God’s authority.

The Old Testament reading tells of God giving the Ten Commandments, instructing how to honor God, and how to get along with others. The New Testament reading tells of Jesus being tested in the wilderness, tempted to use his power for his own personal relief and deny the source of that power in God.

Both of these readings remind us Who is really in charge, that there is One to be honored, and there are guiding principles when we’re in the dark.

I find myself humming the African-American spiritual, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. What might I do differently if I really rested in that?

Peace and love,

—Sherry