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Come Follow Me - Week Seven

March 29, 2026 0 0

 

Come follow me, stepping through Holy Week — Commitment

 

Week beginning Sunday 29 March.

 

Introduction:

As we come to the end of Lent we take our folding tables with us as we step through Holy Week. We are stepping through both in the sense of retreading Christ’s journey but also in the sense of stepping ‘through’ to the other side of what Holy Week means for us personally.  What commitment are we making? The events of this week resonate throughout time and space. We are changed as we cross over once again, following Jesus into the rest of our lives. When we take Communion here and now we are connected to that small upper room 2,000 years ago.

 

Seeds to sow:

What have you discovered or rediscovered about God over Lent this year and as you step through Holy Week?

 

Part 1 Come follow me… and my donkey! — Matthew 21: 1-11

You can picture Jesus on a wee donkey the same way you can picture Jesus on a rickety old bicycle or catching the number 7 bus. This moment of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem is a highly symbolic of servant leadership and is a reference to Zechariah 9 where the King coming on a donkey is contrasted with the disbanded chariots and warhorses.

  • The humility and even comedy of riding a donkey shows a King completely relaxed and comfortable with who he is. No show of force or motorcade is necessary, he is even able to ironically send up the whole solemnity of the occasion on a braying, swaying donkey. How can this passage inspire us to be at ease with who we are as Christians, with a sense of self-awareness and even fun? Why is humour so important even in the midst of great challenges including sorrow?
     
  • Perhaps there are there times today when followers of Jesus are summoning shiny new limousines for Christ, flagging down private jets, or even a tank for him and Jesus is telling them that’s no way to follow him! In Jesus’s example a leader finds something practical that’s near to hand (the donkey!) and repurposes it for God’s kingdom. What are the practical things near to hand — old vehicles, shopfronts, tables and chairs — that are in our communities that could be repurposed for God’s kingdom? Can you share examples of how you have seen this work in practice?

     
  • It seems remarkable to our 21st century ears to imagine people taking off their cloaks and throwing them on the road for the donkey to walk over but there seems to be a spontaneous festival spirit in the air, a desire to do something with anything to hand to mark Jesus’s coming. Think of the spontaneous flowers being thrown in the road for Princess Diana’ funeral cortege. How could we use ordinary things to liven up the way for Jesus this Holy Week and Easter? Are there things we could put in our windows, our gardens, our churches and community places that show us publicly welcoming Jesus?

 

Part 2 The scent that follows Jesus — John 12: 1-11

In John 12, we witness a transition from the public miracle of Lazarus to a private moment of intimacy and preparation. This "Gift Table" is not spread with food, but with a costly, fragrant offering that fills the entire house. The humility of Jesus is striking here; the one who would soon wash the disciples' feet first allows his own feet to be washed with tears and perfume.

Mary of Bethany appears three times in the Gospels, and every time, she is at the feet of Jesus. She represents a "theology of presence"—the ability to recognise the sacredness of the moment while others are distracted by logistics or politics.

  • Mary acts while others are talking. She seems to sense what the disciples refuse to hear—that Jesus is actually going to die. How does Mary’s "listening heart" allow her to offer Jesus exactly what he needs in this moment? What does this teach us about the importance of spiritual intuition over religious “busyness"?
     
  • We often focus on Jesus as the Giver, but here he is the Receiver. It takes immense humility for the Son of God to allow a woman to let down her hair — a scandalous act in that culture — and perform a task usually reserved for the lowest servant. Why is it often harder for us to receive a radical act of grace than it is to give one? By accepting Mary’s extravagant gift, how is Jesus modelling a "vulnerable humility" that we must adopt if we are to let Him wash us during Holy Week?
     
  • Judas frames his objection as a concern for the poor ("This perfume could have been sold..."), creating a false choice between devotion to God and service to the vulnerable. Jesus’ response — “The poor you will always have with you” — is not a dismissal of poverty, but a quote from Deuteronomy 15:11, which actually commands open-handedness. Question 3: Judas argues for "efficiency," while Mary argues for "extravagance." In our own lives of faith, how do we distinguish between "sensible stewardship" and "stinginess of spirit"? Is it possible that radical acts of beauty and devotion to God actually fuel our capacity to care for the poor, rather than distracting from it?

 

Part 3 Continuing to follow — John 19: 38-42

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus continue to follow Jesus, even after his death, taking care of his body. In their sorrow and trauma they do what they can for their Lord. But even in that very moment Jesus is making a way in the wilderness, a way once and for all, a way for all of us! A place we all can follow!

  • It is notable that Nicodemus (the man who came to Jesus under the cover of darkness in week 3) breaks cover to join Joseph in officially receiving Jesus’s remains. As we relive the story of Lent every year let’s take a moment to pause here as Jesus’s followers courageously continue to follow Jesus in this dark time and under persecution. Let’s also ask, what contemporary examples of bravery and courage from fellow disciples inspire you? Let’s remember them in our group in prayer.

     
  • This whole theme we have been exploring how Jesus makes a way through difficult and hard times, through wilderness and conflict, sorrow and confusion — drought and desert. Here as Jesus falls silent he is making the most incredible way for us — through death, for eternal reconciliation. What words come to mind when you think about this incredible way-making journey Jesus undertakes?

     
  • Finally, as we prepare to step through to the other side of Holy Week into the season of Easter — how has this journey from the cairn, the stone table in the desert, the motorway services, no man’s land, the field of ash and the quiet upper room — shaped how you think about what it means to follow God even through the dark and difficult times?