3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4

Hello ILC!

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is called Holy Week. A few years ago, at a Lutheran school in Nebraska, a first-grade teacher took great pains to explain the events of Jesus life during that week. She taught them about His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, His last supper which we remember on Maundy Thursday, His Crucifixion on Good Friday, and the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

When she thought she had explained everything there was to know about this special week, the teacher asked if the students had any questions. One curious little boy asked, “What happens if you don’t want to be holy all week?”

Leave it to a child to get straight to the heart of the matter. What happens if you don’t want to be holy all week? He understood that Holy Week is more than just a historical event. He understood that we are given the life, death, and resurrection of Christ so that we can be holy, so that we too might walk in newness of life. He understood and was willing to admit what we all think about this. We don’t want to be holy. We don’t want to live the life God gives us, because we want to live the life we chose.

To be holy is to be set aside for special purpose. Holy things are only used for that purpose. One does not take the good Christmas tablecloth and use it to blow your nose, or cover the floor while you paint, or wipe the mud off your car. It has a special purpose and to use it for something else could ruin it so that it is no longer fit to be the Christmas tablecloth. Choosing to live our lives as we see fit could ruin us so that we are no longer fit to claim the name of God.

So, what happens if you don’t want to be holy all week? You could ruin yourself. But thanks be to God, Jesus gives us his whole life, and His blood is the best stain remover in the universe. It can even get sin stains out of a special tablecloth like you. But, let’s try to not get ourselves so stained in the first place.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Caleb