Overview

What makes Holy Week holy is that it bridges death and life. It says that which dies eventually lives. And if things want to truly live, then they’re going to have to die. Holy Week captures the essence of every aspect of the human condition and ends with Jesus overcoming the grave. You could even say by his resurrection he turns graves into gardens. 

There’s a fascinating connection between gardens and graves. Jesus on Maundy Thursday night heads out to a garden but it leads to his grave. Three days later he starts at the grave and meets Mary in the garden. 

Using these images allegorically, it’s easy to see that we have spaces and moments in our lives that are both graves and gardens. Naming these graves will help us see how Jesus’ death and resurrection turn our graves into gardens. 

March 28 | Mark 11:1-11 | Graves into Gardens: Palm Sunday

We all have graves we’ve dug with our own hands. Sins we’ve carried. Scars we’ve buried. And that’s why we've spent six weeks on shame. We prepared the ground of our soul during Lent to see the graves we’ve dug in the shadows of our shame. And we did this because, at Easter, the light of Christ puts a spotlight on our graves and says . . . “I can heal this.”

April 4 | Mark 16:1-7 | Graves Into Gardens: Easter Sunday

The Lord needs us to tend the gardens. That’s ultimately our calling in this life. We’re bringing more and more people through their graves and into the gardens of the Lord. We ourselves are more and more moving through our graves and into the gardens of the Lord.