Recently my husband has experienced a difficult medical situation. At the onset the doctor told us that he would be cured, but the journey to get  there would require painful treatments and months of not feeling so great. I have been referring to the experience as “the beautiful awful”. The awful part was evident, watching someone you love so dearly suffer is scary and tough. However, we also encountered an outpouring of love and support from our many family and friends. God was with us every step of the way, putting people in our path when we needed them most to hold us up through their prayers, meals, and simple gestures of phone calls and cards. During that first visit with the doctor when he outlined the treatment plan he told us this would be hard, but he would be disappointed in us if we didn’t use this experience to help us take stock and figure out what was most important in our lives. And that it did, and the word beautiful doesn’t give it justice.

So now we turn to today’s gospel and we are reminded of what is coming. In so many ways the next seven days are awful as we know of the pain and suffering Jesus will be enduring. The drama that unfolds during Holy Week is vivid, compelling, and agonizing. Even though we know it will end in resurrection the journey is not an easy one. 

Today’s reading sets the stage for the week, but also reminds us of the beauty and depth of God’s love. Such irony in Caiaphis saying Jesus needed to die to save all of us as that is what he actually did. He died to save us. Let’s heed the words of our wise doctor and not take this moment for granted. In the week ahead we can choose to stress about Easter dinner or we can walk with Jesus through his most beautiful awful. Let’s walk alongside him and be reminded of his profound love for us. Let’s let the passion of what has been done for us wash over us and help us find our own resurrection.