A Pastoral Letter for Holy Week 2010

28 03 2010

Every year Brian writes a pastoral letter to the Wine Before Breakfast community at the University of Toronto. In his letter he calls the community to a holy observance of Passion Week. This year the WBB community read Mark’s telling of Holy Week throughout the 40 days of Lent. We’re sharing that letter with the broader Empire Remixed community.

by Brian Walsh

My beloved sisters and brothers in Christ.

For the forty days of Lent we have dwelt with Jesus during Holy Week. For five weeks we have allowed Mark’s gospel to lead us deeply into one week. The week of weeks. The week that is at the heart of our faith. Passion Week.

That week is now upon us. Our Lenten journey has prepared us for this week. It has been an intense Lent for us, but now it gets even more intense.

It is all about bearing witness. Can we bear witness to these horrific events that are at the same time our very salvation? Can we “bear” to bear witness? Have we got that kind of courage, that kind of faithfulness? Read the rest of this entry »





A Pastoral Letter for Holy Week

5 04 2009

by Brian Walsh

Brothers and Sisters:

On one level it is all so tragically probable. Both then and now. There is nothing improbable about a story of a revolutionary leader, perceived to be a threat to the ruling powers, ‘arrested’ at night, taken before a phony tribunal, tortured and executed within twenty-four hours. As far as I can see, there is nothing strange about this in 1st century or 21st century Palestine. This is business as usual in all imperial regimes. This is the shock and awe of empire. This is the way that empire keeps the peace.

Nothing strange about this. Read the rest of this entry »








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