Getting Our Priorities in Order

Monday in Holy Week

Opening

Let's begin with a moment of silence, centering our minds, bodies, and hearts upon the Lord our God.

Quote

“The beginning of evils is distraction.” -Abba Poemen

Reflection

The Monday of Holy Week can feel like the week’s trajectory has crashed and burned. In many churches, there is typically a lot of hoopla around Palm Sunday: processing with palm branches, special hymns and music, and long, dramatic readings of the Passion narrative. Often, the special services and church-led devotional practices will not pick back up again until Maundy Thursday. Thus, for the next few days, we may feel spiritually adrift.

As it happens, there is a great deal to do. Now is the time for preparation, and there is important work to be done. Though Lent can seem long, Holy Week can still sneak up on us. On Monday, we may realize that we do not feel wholly prepared to bear witness to Christ’s trial, scourging, crucifixion, and death. What does it mean for us to bear the responsibility for these acts, to recognize that these are the wages of our sin, as St. Paul writes, but that they are being paid in full by another? In our daily lives, we dig our own graves, but Christ lifts us out of that pit by being lifted high on a cross.

Yes, there is much to reckon with in this last week of Lent. One way to begin is by taking an uncompromising look at our priorities, particularly in this holiest of weeks. What are we valuing most by giving it most of our time and attention? Are we entering Holy Week distracted and overextended? Let us prepare for the rest of Holy Week by clearing our minds and calendars with all that is not strictly necessary. Jesus died for our whole selves, and these selves must be present to bear witness to that sacrifice.

Prayer

Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first He suffered pain, and entered not into glory before He was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Reflective Practice

Read and listen to the account of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Consider how Jesus elevates Mary’s presence over Martha’s absence because she prioritized work. Read and listen to John 12:1-11. Consider Jesus’ condemnation of Judas’s financial priorities. How can these lessons apply to the priorities in your own life? What adjustments could you start to make this week to more fully orient your time and treasure to the worship of Jesus Christ?

Closing

If you would like to dive deeper into the themes of this devotional, you are invited to continue by listening to today's Scripture passages, giving thanks to God for his word, and asking him to write it upon our hearts.

Go in peace today and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.