I am always in a state of waiting for Sunday. On Saturday evenings, I hold a personal vigil of “waiting for Sunday.” This vigil usually consists of somewhat anxiously watching for messages to pop up on The City, Facebook, or texts about Sunday teachers with impromptu weekend plans, sick children, and unavoidable life interruptions. If I have an announcement to make, a trip to depart for, or a blessing to participate in, this vigil is a bundle of nerves in my gut growing until Sunday morning is over. Every Saturday I am waiting for Sunday. On Monday, we are talking about yesterday, but we are already “waiting for Sunday” once more.

This week, chapter 27 in The Story, finds Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome waiting for Sunday to anoint Jesus’ body. They were waiting for Sunday, the first day of the week, to carry out their duties to the dead. Instead, they find an empty tomb. Waiting for Sunday, in one moment, has taken on a whole new meaning. Since then, waiting for Sunday means that we, followers of the risen Lord Jesus, gather together in anticipation of remembering God’s sacrifice and Jesus’ resurrection that gives us eternal life. Waiting for Sunday is no longer about paying respect to the dead, but living for Jesus.

Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday are my favorite events of the Christian Calendar. Growing up in a small town, traditional Church of Christ, we didn’t make a big deal about these important events. We made a huge deal about Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny, Easter Egg Hunts, new Easter dresses, and wearing white shoes, but in our traditional Church of Christ, Jesus’ resurrection was celebrated every Sunday…except that it wasn’t. As a child and teenager, most of the Communion Talks I heard dwelled in God’s sacrifice of Jesus and few ever spoke about the resurrection. For me, Jesus died every Sunday. When I finally really noticed all the talk about death, I began complaining to my parents about the communion talks and asking why the men never talked about the resurrection. The Communion Table was the saddest table to dine at every Sunday. Moving into my college years, all of this changed. The churches I attended focused on the Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus instead of only the death of Jesus. Lent, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and Resurrection Sunday became the most anticipated season for me, and I began marking time with the Christian calendar.

I am extraordinarily thankful for a church heritage that celebrates the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. There are Sundays I anticipate the Lord’s Supper more, and there are Sundays when the bread and wine are consumed with barely a thought as to why I’m digesting the body and blood of Christ. I suspect I’m not the only person that is so fickle-minded about this most important demonstration of our morning worship. Why are you waiting to die to yourself and live for Jesus? What does waiting for Sunday look like to you? Waiting for Sunday is the story of our lives. This week, this Holy Week in The Story, we are once again waiting for Resurrection Sunday. The Good News is we don’t have to wait for Sunday to proclaim to one another “He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!”