The Seven Deadly Sins and Holy Week

The 7 Deadly Sins have been a big part of me during this Lenten season. Reflecting and preaching on these sins has had a way of opening my eyes to just how much hold they have on my heart. As I approached each sin I thought to myself that this one really doesn't have that big a hold on me, but as I looked inside myself each week with a new sin in front of me, I discovered a different side to myself that I had mostly ignored. I rediscovered just how easy it is for me to fool myself into thinking I'm a whole lot better person than I really am.
Now you might think that this is really depressing, but in looking at the 7 Deadly Sins, I also had the opportunity to reflect on the virtues that counter the sins' influence on my soul, heart, and mind; to hear Jesus' teachings that challenge us to grow in these virtues and take him seriously. But mostly, as I read through the Gospels, as I saw again and again how much God loves us and how Jesus shows us God's love, I felt myself drawn once again to Jesus and the kingdom life he shows us through his life and calls us to.
Then comes Palm Sunday and the celebration of Jesus coming as a king. I'm reminded again of who Jesus is, a humble king who cries for his people, a king who sacrifices himself for his people. He could have come with legions of angels and instead chooses to ride a donkey with his feet dragging on the ground. He chooses to make himself available to us, comes close to us. This calls to me.
As I read through Holy Week, through Jesus' teachings, his cleansing of the temple, and his warnings, I'm reminded of Jesus' passion for God, but also his passion for us as he wants us to turn to his father, our heavenly father. I find myself drawn to God again as my father and I sense a bit what his pain must have been like as he watched the people start to turn away from his son, and from him.
Now I'm looking ahead to Good Friday, to celebrating the Lord's Supper in a quiet meditative service filled with the stories of Jesus walking to the cross and the passages from the Old Testament that show us this really is God's plan. The love of God and Jesus reaches those places inside me where those 7 Deadly Sins have made their home and I feel their power lessening as God's love moves in. Now my prayer is that I will truly be transformed more into who God has created me to be instead of the person I'm trying to create.
Saturday is a time of waiting, reminding me that we're still waiting for Jesus to come back, to the renewing of creation into the pattern of his kingdom and the hope this gives. Sunday, the day of resurrection waits for us, calling us to cherish this life, this world God has created because he cherishes and values it. God shows this by raising up his son Jesus from the grave, a sign and promise to us that he has accepted Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf and we are right with God. The influence and twisting the 7 Deadly Sins has done to my heart, soul and mind is being undone because of Jesus' sacrifice. And finally, because of Jesus, my relationship with God as father is restored and renewed!