I have a friend who sent me a picture of a T-Shirt that says, “I’m the Sermonator!”  For us pastors, it is how we feel during this time of Holy Week.  However, for me it’s more than just writing sermons and going through the motions of service after service. It’s more about ‘What can I do with the Word of God that will entice others to come experience Christ in some new way they never dreamed possible!’  Because here is what I do know for sure…that once one has experienced Christ in some profound way, they will want more.  Experiencing Christ in your life will leave you in a state of that desire to be with Jesus at any cost.  And, God knows I hope for more than anything else in the world than to help draw others to God and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ!  I have made this my mission for as long as I live here on this earth.

And, so here we are in Holy Week.  These last three days, Jesus has his Last Supper with his disciples, goes to the cross, dies, and rises from the dead.

Last night was Maundy Thrusday…Did you know that ‘Maundy’ means “The ceremony of washing the Feet of the Poor?”  In John 13, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who is God, empties himself of all that He is – the Holy God – and becomes a slave.  Slaves in those days were the only ones that would wash feet.  And, Jesus bent down and washed his disciple’s feet.  Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, was horrified that Jesus would wash his feet.  But, Jesus told him, “If you do not let me wash your feet, you will not have any share of me.”  Peter who had experienced Christ in so many profound ways, never wanted to be separated from his Lord.  So, he tells Jesus, “Then by all means, wash all of me – my hands and my head.”

Today is Good Friday.  Jesus dies today for you!  Not only did Jesus wash the feet of his disciples as a demonstration of his grace that he wants us to have as a gift, but also now emptied of the God He is – and will now be hoisted up on a cross – ‘Executed’ for your sake!  Why is this for you?  Because each one of us are full of sin and we cannot have a relationship with our Lord unless we are clean and our sin is washed away! Jesus’ death on the cross conquers death!  Through the blood of Christ and the repentance of our wrongdoing, we are Free!  Free to live our lives without guilt.  Free to live our lives in the Resurrection of Christ – meaning we now have a new life!  If you can somehow fathom a God who loves you so much that He would do anything to be with you for all eternity…even a brutal death on a cross…than your experience with Christ will be unforgettable!

And so, I ask myself, “Why would not anyone want to have a life in which, they never have to die?”