When I got out a towel to film the Maundy Thursday video, I noticed that it had a hole in it. It was imperfect, and I almost put it back and used a different one. But I decided quickly it seemed appropriate to use a holey towel. This Holy Week feels like it has some holes in it. We can do the Maundy Thursday liturgy at home. We will have a Good Friday video that many of you helped create. And we’ll have a several options for digital worship services on Sunday morning. But we’re not together. It seems strange not to be in the sanctuary or the chapel this week. It’s disappointing to be away from our friends and our church family. But the imperfections the differences from the normal do not change the meaning of this week.
The Disciples probably didn’t enjoy the first Holy Week very much either. They experienced disappointment, sadness, loss and grief. While we know we’re waiting for the day our sanctuary is full again, the disciples didn’t quite understand that they were waiting for the morning when the tomb would be empty. God takes these Holey moments of ours and works them into something that is Wholly his. Our week isn’t Holy because it’s perfect, or because it goes the way we planned. It’s Holy because God is in it.