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The story of Jesus' last week before his crucifixion is a very well known story. In fact, for many of us it is so well known that when we read it our minds are anticipating the next part of the story and not focusing over much on the words we are reading. So how can one make an old and well loved story, like Jesus's passion, seem new again?
The first and most effective way is to memorize scripture. Memorize key passages and it will stick with you for years to come. Memorization imprints scripture into our souls, not just our memories. Yet memorization takes time and effort that we might not be able to dedicate this Holy Week.
So allow me to propose a very good alternative, one that I will be practicing this week. I'd like to invite you to join me in writing out a scripture passage a day this Holy Week. While we cannot walk our way to the cross and then the empty tomb with our feet, we can walk it out in a line of ink on a page. Writing a text out has the benefit of slowing our brains down. We will appreciate aspects to the story we would otherwise have passed over. It also has the added benefit of internalizing the story at a much deeper level than simply reading the story, and it will only take a few minutes a day.
So here are the scripture texts I will be writing out this week and I hope you will join me in this spiritual discipline this Holy Week.
Monday: Mark 11.12-25
Tuesday: Mark 11.26-33
Wednesday: Mark 12.1-12
Thursday: Mark 14.12-25
Friday: John 19.28-37
Saturday: Isaiah 53.4-8
Sunday: Matthew 28.1-10