Holy Week

I am mesmerized by the process of fluid abstract art. It’s not that I have attempted creating it myself, but watching videos of other people making it fascinate me. Also called “pour painting,” the dramatic results seem unlikely if not impossible. The technique involves sploshing generous amounts of acrylic paint into a Dixie cup, layering color upon color but not stirring or blending the hues—only stratifying them. When the mismatched pigments reach a depth of 3 or 4 inches, the cup gets tipped over onto a canvas, causing a color riot. The canvas gets tilted and rotated, causing the color riot to spread, wavelike, in all directions. Excess paint rolls off the edges, and what is left is a dynamic expression full of vibrancy and imagined movement.

If you were to type “fluid abstract art” into the YouTube search box, you would discover hundreds of astonishing examples. You could spend a holy week having your mind boggled by them as you watch and wonder how such chaos could ever culminate in such beauty.

Maybe that would be an evocative approach to Holy Week, a way to enter into the painful narrative that walks us through the unholy tragedy of Jesus’ last days—his egregious arrest, shambolic trial, outrageous death sentence, and brutal execution. To view such confusing and disturbing pandemonium straight on is too much to bear. To view it from a different perspective—to observe all the muddle as it sorts itself into something exquisite—makes it endurable. Even desirable.

It is only because of Easter that we would ever want to turn our attention to the mayhem of the week that precedes it. Without the perspective of resurrection, it would damage us to peer too closely at Jesus’ torment. Without the perspective of resurrection, though, there wouldn’t even be a reason to do so. But because we do know the splendid ending (that really isn’t an ending at all), we are compelled to at least glance sideways at how the glorious results came to be.  

And so, I invite you, however best you can, to enter the spiritual chaos of the next seven days. Your discipline may be as simply profound as reading through the biblical accounts of the story as you’ll find them beginning in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and Matthew 12. To encounter all four of the biblical versions woven together into one literary tapestry, read through the traditional Moravian resource known as Readings for Holy Week. Many livestream and pre-recorded options for experiencing the Readings are available at https://www.moravian.org/2021/03/congregations-share-readings-for-holy-week-services/. Our own congregation will be offering virtual experiences for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday via the College Hill Moravian Church YouTube channel (7:00 p.m. on both evenings and always available to be viewed later).

And please do consider either creating art, or observing the creation of art, as a way of discovering hope through chaos. I’ve added an example below, but feel free to explore on your own.

Exploring the Holy Week with You,

Pastor Chris

Photo by  Dids  from  Pexels

This will be a collection day for food donations designated for William Penn Elementary School. Single-serving, kid-friendly items are most appreciated.

Everyone is welcome! Whether you’ve become a “regular” at these gatherings, or you’re thinking about dropping by for the very first time, please use the Zoom link below, or join by phone if you do not use a device with a screen.

To join by computer, tablet or smart phone, please go tohttps://zoom.us/j/99831347702

To join by phone (no video), dial:

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 998 3134 7702  

We offer Zoom Prayers on Sunday evenings at 6:30. We come together to share simply in intercessory prayer on behalf of our congregation, community, and world. We usually conclude by 7:00 p.m. All are welcome! 

To join by computer, tablet, or smart phone, please go to

https://zoom.us/j/91961743369

To join by phone (no video), dial:

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 919 6174 3369