Holy Week begins with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as Jesus rides a donkey into the city. The mood quickly shifts from triumphant to somber as the powers-that-be are threatened by Jesus and his followers, sending us into what is called “Triduum,” the Three Days.

Why have you forsaken me? , Lauren Wright Pittman

We are a people experiencing deep dissatisfaction with our lives; feeling profound concern about the state of society; and yearning for something better, something more.

And from two thousand years ago, John appears out of the wilderness, stands on the banks of the Jordan, and calls us to turn from our old ways, to make a deep and life-altering change.

The thing about hopes is that they come in the midst of destruction. The thing about apocalypses is that they mean an end to something. 

And yet. Hopes are what pull us out of the destruction. Apocalypses are what show us what could be, are what give us the imagination and the space to try.