An old family friend once chastised me at a wedding for saying “congratulations” to the bride, instead of “best wishes”. Apparently, according to Miss Manners, one should not congratulate the bride, as it implies that she has won herself something – the groom. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable to congratulate the groom, for achieving the feat of getting the lady to accept his marriage proposal. Who knew?!

On Christmas Day, we in church always greet each other with a “Merry Christmas”, and on Easter Sunday we will say “Happy Easter” – but is it appropriate to wish people a Happy Holy Week? Is there anything happy about Holy Week?

Holy Week is like an episode of a soap opera for Christians. We begin by waving palms in the air, hailing Jesus as King, the long-awaited Messiah who will save us from our oppressors. We then very quickly change our tune to screaming that these oppressors should crucify Him. Then, we share a loving Last Supper with Jesus, and allow Him to wash our feet; but then we sneak out after dinner and betray Him. Jesus begs us to stay with Him; we promise we will, and then we don’t. We abandon Him, He is arrested and beaten, He forgives us; we run away; Jesus is killed; we lay Him in the tomb and weep; we go back for him and find him gone; then he’s back and risen from the dead. Cue credits.

No wonder we use so many props, decorations, readings, songs and costumes to even begin to tell this story. No wonder Holy Week can feel like emotional whiplash, journeying quickly through Palms and the Passover, the royal purple and the moth-eaten clothes, the feasts and fasting, the wail of lamentation and the ecstatic Hallelujahs. Happy Holy Week? No wonder the world prefers bunnies and butterflies and chocolate.

But friends, we need the whole story of the Passion of Jesus, not just the comfortable parts. We need to experience the ecstasy, fury, hospitality, betrayal, arrest, torture, crucifixion, death and resurrection, in the same way that the witnesses did all those years ago. The Christian story doesn’t make sense without the part before the happy ending.

It is also important to journey through the fullness of Holy Week, because its events mirror our daily lives. On any given week, we will experience joy, anger, hospitality, betrayal, pain, depression, and joy again – only this week, we get to experience them in tandem with our Lord and Saviour.

There’s no way to contain the mystery of Holy Week in a greeting card; there’s no way to convey the immensity of the Passion through even our most over-the-top, week-long, complicated liturgies. But beginning on Palm Sunday, we have the opportunity once more to be with Christ. Whether we’re walking through the sunshine in our neighbourhoods, or waiting and worrying by a bedside in the dark hours before dawn; whether we’re rejoicing in the birth of a child or grieving a loss, we are never alone. He is drawing us nearer to each other, nearer to God, and nearer, always, to the promise of Easter.