Dear Holy Week Travelers,
This week when I was rifling through a drawer in my desk looking for something, I found a postcard I bought in Belfast. In lovely script font, it says: “Courage, dear heart.”
It is a quote by Belfast native, C.S. Lewis from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, part of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Lucy, the youngest of the Pevensie children, finds herself on a ship headed toward a dark, dangerous island. The sailors are trying to steer the ship away from this force of darkness, and Lucy sends up a prayer to the great lion Aslan, a symbol Lewis uses for God.
In the midst of this panic, Lucy whispered, ‘Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now.’ Then, all of a sudden, a small beam of light enters the darkness and illumines the ship, then eventually she saw it as an albatross to guide them out of the darkness. As it circled the ship, the albatross whispered to Lucy, ‘Courage, dear heart,’ and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan’s. I wonder how many of us in these weeks have prayed Lucy’s prayer?
The walk with Jesus through Holy Week is the actual voyage of treading until dawn. If we are to receive the help we need and recognize the full power of love’s resurrection, Jesus requires us to walk with him every step of the way. Like any journey, this one requires time on our calendar, making space in our hearts, clearing our minds, and allowing each stop on the destination with Jesus to convict, challenge, and awaken his love.
It is there we see his purposeful love on display. And it is there that Jesus meets us in our prayer, ensuring we are not alone and whispers…”Courage, dear hearts.”
Will you join him on the journey with all of the courage he seeks to show you? Will you join us for worship in the Sanctuary tonight (Thursday) and Friday at 7:30 p.m., and take time to walk the Prayer Labyrinth? Resurrection means so much more when we let ourselves see how his love at a table, with a basin, on the cross, is the answer to our prayers.
“Courage, dear hearts,” for the light is coming, let him lead you through the darkness.
Grace and peace for the journey,
Jenn.