A Sacred Time Has Begun

Jews and Christians have entered into a transcendent week.

For Jews Passover begins Wednesday evening. For Christians Palm Sunday began the holy week culminating in Easter.

Passover is the time Jews experience God's redemption, just as our ancestors did 2300 years ago.

Holy week is the time Christians enter a period of renewal and resurrection.

Both these holy times occur as the season changes from winter to spring. New life abounds. Our heads lift toward the light.

We Need It

Whether we are religious or secular, we need this week. We need its rhythm, its imagery, its message.

We need it because our lives get easily caught up in the addictive rhythms of everyday life.

These are the rhythms shaped by the daily headlines. These are the rhythms shaped by habit. These are the rhythms shaped by worldly desires.

But a different rhythm beckons to us. It is a rhythm thousands of years old. It is a rhythm sustained on high. It is a rhythm attuned to our hearts and souls.

For Jews the rhythm is shaped by the story of the Exodus. We hear Moses imploring Pharaoh to, "Let My people go."

We feel the Israelites marching out of Egypt, eating unleavened crunchy bread called matzah as they speed ahead.

We dance with Miriam and the women of Israel as they celebrate God's splitting the Red Sea and leading the people into freedom.

This rhythm drowns out the talking heads on television. It lets us tune out the timely and trivial in favor of the timeless and true.

The challenge is to keep open our hearts and ears to this rhythm. Sometimes it is hard to hear. We catch only a faint echo.

Other times we hear a thundering call. But our sacred practices—worship, study, meals—help us stay attuned. They let us let God in.

If you like this rhythm, tune in for more dispatches throughout the week.