The final week of Jesus’ life is a whirlwind. The street theatre of Palm Sunday quickly gives way to parallel story lines: The emboldened conspiracy against him gains steam among the imperial and religious elite even as Jesus engages his followers in some of his most intimate teaching yet.
The stories of this week—Mary’s anointing, Judas’ betrayal, Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet, and their last meal together—lead us to the climax of the narrative: crucifixion and resurrection.
Post-Constantinian Western Christianity has tended to look upon these acts as symbolic for our beliefs about Jesus conquering individual sin and death. But what if we looked at them through a different lens?
What if the sin and death Jesus overcomes is less about our own independent indiscretions than with our public and systemic tendencies to exploit, oppress, and marginalize those who dare stand against the status quo?
Join us this week as our Lenten collaboration with Justice & Jubilee wraps up with celebrations of Holy Week and Easter Sunday. On Maundy Thursday (April 6) and Good Friday (April 7), we’ll release visual liturgies from The Work of the People for you to view and reflect upon (we encourage you to engage in conversation in our Wineskins Workshops Facebook group).
On Easter Sunday morning, you’re invited to join us in our New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom at 8:00am EDT for a Sunrise Service where together we’ll watch a sermon from Justice & Jubilee founder Rev. Jenny Williams and hold a brief conversation afterward (we’ll open our Zoom connection at 7:50am and plan to wrap up by around 8:30am).
Scroll down for the full schedule plus links. ⬇️
Holy Week, Easter Sunday, and beyond:
- Apr. 6: Maundy Thursday video: Water to Wash Feet (video available starting at 6am EDT)
- Apr. 7: Good Friday video: Hung On A Tree (video available starting 6am EDT)
- Apr. 9: Easter Sunday Sunrise Service, 8:00am EDT, New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom
- Apr. 16: Quarterly Community Sabbath (No Gathering)
- Apr. 23: Bible Stories for Grownups book series begins (7-8 weeks…details coming soon!)
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Feature image: Intricately carved and painted frieze inside Notre Dame Cathedral depicting Jesus Washing The Feet Of St. Peter, Palm Sunday, UNESCO World Heritage Site in Paris, France (photo via pond5.com)