Holy Week is my favourite rhythm for our church.

It’s a time of reflection and introspection. We share in the grief and sorrow of Jesus’ crucifixion. We recognize our need for redemption.

It’s also a time of joy and celebration. Jesus’ resurrection gives us incredible hope. In his death, he bought our freedom. In his resurrection, we are raised to new life in Him.

Churches across denominations, expressions and borders proclaim the Gospel of Jesus – his life, death, burial and resurrection. Let’s face it, without Holy Week, Christianity is pretty pointless. You’d be right in thinking that a clear proclamation of the Gospel is standard practice for the global church – yet we’re often proclaiming anything but the good news.

We take to Facebook to proudly label anyone who doesn’t align with our political values to be a communist. We share divisive news clips on Instagram that blur the line between fact and opinion. We close ourselves in from the world, waiting for Jesus to rescue us from our evil neighbours.

Our world needs less of our opinions, preferences, and politics.

Less of our outrage, criticism and isolationism.

Our world needs Jesus. Not in a flaky, distant eschatological way that absolves us of any responsibility.

We show our world Jesus when we love those around us, even if they vote for a candidate we refuse to support. We demonstrate his compassion when we care for the impoverished, call out injustice and stand up for the oppressed.

These aren’t admirable endeavours reserved for the pastors of a church. Nor are they only for people who have the time. This is the expectation for all followers of Jesus. We aren’t saved to sit still and wait until heaven. We’re saved to share Jesus with a world that needs to know Him, so that earth reflects heaven.

Our world desperately needs God’s covenant people to be His covenant people – not just in proclamation but in action. We’ve got a long way to go. Thankfully, Jesus is faithful when we are not. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

That’s good news.

As we proclaim Christ this Holy Week, let’s back up our words with action and show the world what God’s love looks like.

“If Christ be anything he must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!” – Charles Spurgeon