It’s Gonna Be One of Those Weeks…

It’s gonna be one of those days. Have you ever said those words, or thought them to yourself? It’s gonna be one of those days… Maybe you cut yourself shaving or ran out of coffee or you woke up to discover the dog was sick during the night or you didn’t have any clean underwear. And you just knew, right from the very beginning of the day, that things were not going to go well. One day this past week, as I was getting dressed after my swim at the Y a voice from the other side of the lockers said it. "It’s gonna be one of those days." She had just scraped her shin on the bench, and I’m pretty sure what she actually said was, "O God! It’s gonna be one of those days." People often take the name of the Lord in vain.

But we all do have such days. No matter who we are. Sometimes it’s a bad day; sometimes a bad year. Some years ago Queen Elizabeth of England spoke of having just endured an annus horribilis. That’s Latin for "a very bad year." It was the year (1992) Windsor Castle burned nearly to the ground and three of her children’s marriages failed. The Queen’s comments were made as she looked back, but don’t you imagine there was a point earlier on in the year when she looked ahead and thought to herself… It’s gonna be one of those years.

We struggle to get ourselves going on a given day and think to ourselves, it’s gonna be one of those days. Or we might think, today I got up on the wrong side of the bed. Or, things got off on the wrong foot. When we say these words, we mean things have begun badly, and we expect that things are going to continue to go badly, no matter what. Once you’ve begun one of those days, there is no escaping it. No way out. Nothing you or I or the Queen could do can shift the dire inertia of one of those days. Or one of those years. Or one of those weeks.

So how has this week started? Remember, the Christian week begins on Sunday. We are just launched into this week. This week began as the sun rose this morning and will end in darkness on Saturday. A few hours into the week, we should be able to tell by now whether or not it is going to be one of those weeks. Actually, the fact that you are here is a good and holy beginning. Any week that begins with worship, any week that is shared with God’s presence is a Holy Week. But other than that, what do you think? Is this going to be a good week, or is it going to be one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right? What’s on your calendar for the week ahead? Things you would rather not look forward to? How did it go this morning getting dressed? Getting breakfast? Getting the kids to church early enough for the Palm Sunday Procession? Is it shaping up to be one of those days? Is it going to be one of those weeks? One of those weeks where things just go badly from start to finish?

Is it going to be one of those weeks where you never quite get it together, never quite get caught up, never get to the things you want to do and only do half of the things you have to do? Is it going to be just one of those weeks? No, it will be worse.

Will this be a week when homework, schoolwork, housework, relationship-work all seem to be just too much? Will this be one of those weeks where no matter what you do or what you say, things go wrong? No, this won’t be one of those weeks. It will be worse.

Is it going to be one of those weeks when it seems like everything is breaking? A heel? A nail? Your favorite baking dish? The car? The washing machine? The furnace? Your heart? No, this won’t be one of those weeks. It will be worse.

Will this be a week when soldiers die, when civilians die, when anarchy will seem to triumph over victory, when this country will not be able to win for losing? No, this won’t be one of those weeks. It will be worse.

Will this be one of those weeks when you lose your job to the floundering economy or lose your house in a spring flood or lose your mind with despair? No, this won’t be one of those weeks. It will be worse.

Will this be a week when a pet dies, a friend dies, a spouse or parent dies, or you learn that you are soon to die? No, this won’t be one of those weeks. It will be worse.

This week won’t be any of those weeks. Nothing we can imagine or expect can even remotely compare with what this week will bring. This week Jesus will eat his last supper, walk his last steps, speak his last words, breathe his last breath. This week that we have just begun will end on the cross.

O God, the woman said when she scraped her knee; it’s going to be one of those days.

O God. This week, this Holy Week, God will die.

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