B (2:53)

And for me, too. I love Palm Sunday.

A (2:55)

And let me just say. I just have to say this because I.

B (3:00)

Are you gonna do a brag right now?

A (3:01)

I am gonna do a brag, Grace. It's an anticipation. It's not a brag. It's a. I don't know what it is. It's a heart. It's my heart that I'm sharing with everybody because there are three things I wanna do in my life bucket list.

B (3:20)

Are you gonna tell us all three, or are you just giving us one?

A (3:22)

Well, I can. Real fast. Should I?

B (3:23)

Yeah.

A (3:24)

On Pentecost, 40 days after Easter, in the Pantheon in Rome. It is that church that used to be a pagan temple now converted to a Christian church hundreds of years ago. There's a big hole in the dome called the Oculus. And on Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended down on the Earth, the fire department of Rome dumps thousands of rose petals through the hole to symbolize the Holy Spirit descending to the Earth. So I. Y' all catch me outside on Pentecost, you're gonna find me.

B (4:01)

Oh, no. Now we all have a new dream.

A (4:03)

Yeah.

B (4:03)

So we'll see you all there.

A (4:05)

That's one of them. Another one is Easter Sunday in Jerusalem. On Easter Sunday, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, they have the ceremony of the holy fire. A priest walks into the tomb of Jesus with an unlit candle and comes out with it lit to just symbolize the darkness on Friday and Saturday, goes in and comes out with the light of hope and faith. And then they spread the fire. Everybody's standing with unlit candles and they spread. And then people just pass it to each person as it moves through the church. And then it goes outside the church into the city. And the fire of faith spreads through the whole city of Jerusalem. That's.

B (4:47)

I thought you were gonna say, like, run with the bull.

A (4:50)

That's number four. These are my religious bucket list.

B (4:55)

These are really good. These are really good.

A (4:57)

Okay. And then my number one. Well, one of the three. One of the top three. I don't know which one I wanna highlight, is to be in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and start on the Mount of Olives. And Christians from all over the world gather there with palm branches, and they sing and they shout Hosanna and they walk all the way down into the city, the same path that he took. And we're recording this early because, God willing, I will be there on the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday, walking with Christian pilgrims.

B (5:31)

We can't even be jealous, because now we're just peeping for you. Accomplish your dream.

A (5:37)

Genuinely. Last night I was watching YouTube videos of it, and just to get ready, weeping. I just. I can't even watch it or think about it without crying because I just love the whole. I. I just love the praise that happens on Palm Sunday. And I wrote in my box that he is worthy of praise. He is King of Kings. There is nothing he cannot do. And he lived his whole life for this moment, for this week to come and rescue. He's coming in as the great rescuing king of Israel, and. And people are shouting hosanna, which is a prayer. It's a. It's a prayer and a praise at the same time. It's a prayer that says, I need your help. We need your help. So please ride into this city, right into my problem, right into my heart, to my. To my issues, whatever it is, and save me. Save me. It's what that word means. It means save. And it's a cry for help. And I just think of everybody in that crowd. I mean, I remember when I was serving as a bishop, I knew people confided in me and a lot of the things that they were struggling with and dealing with. And I would sit on the stand and just look out at the congregation. And I know people have said this before, but it's true. I would just look out and have such a tender heart and just almost hear the prayers, the unspoken prayers of people in that room. And as the sacrament was being passed and was being taken to each person, I knew a little bit about some of them, about why they just desperately needed that grace of Jesus that was coming to them. And, you know, it was being brought to them. And Palm Sunday is that day where we celebrate Jesus writing in, Jesus coming in to save us from the things that we just need so desperately. And I also wrote on Palm Sunday that he's an unexpected deliverer. He came on the back of a donkey. That deliverance. The whole week, the whole week is unexpected. The deliverance happened in a way that nobody thought it would. That's the story of the whole Old Testament also, that he just surprises Us. He keeps surprising us in just the very best ways. And so those are some of the things that I wrote down for Palm Sunday, what I learned about him from the events of Palm Sunday.

B (7:58)

And it's interesting because one of my favorite, the Matthew account that talks about Palm Sunday, there's this line that says, like, in the crowd, that the crowd begins to ask the question, who is this? Who is this guy that's causing all this ruckus? Why is there a parade? Why are people waving these branches? Who is this? And in Matthew it says, like, everyone responds and they say, this is Jesus. But it's so interesting to me, but just.

A (8:20)

It's so sweet. Such a sweet answer.

B (8:22)

That chapter is. Those verses are, like, my number one ever. Like, I am obsessed with that. Like, I love to pause and think about, like, who was in the crowd answering that question and what did they know about him and how did he know?

A (8:35)

What did he do for them?

B (8:36)

Exactly. Like, I think it's like, that's the coolest discussion ever. I'm obsessed with that. But it just. This is the first time I've ever thought this. But it's so interesting to me that when you go through, instead of you, Holy Week, the first question that you get on Sunday is, who is this? Who is this? This is Jesus. And then it's almost like it's gonna be an introduction throughout the rest of the days. But it's so interesting because then you get to Monday and Monday of Holy

A (8:57)

Week, and I just wanna pause and, like, reiterate what you said, because it's so cool to. That's really what this study. This, like, worksheet, whatever. Worksheet makes it sound like we're in math. But what this study sheet is, is an answer to that question. Yeah, who is this? And what does each day say?

B (9:13)

Which would be a really cool study with your family. You should, like, sit down and, like, sit down.

A (9:16)

I'm actually writing at the top of my paper that question, who is this?

B (9:20)

Yes.

A (9:20)

And each day will answer.

B (9:22)

You get a glimpse and fun to do on Sunday and, like, introduce that for your week. But then it's so interesting to me because you get to Monday and the story, the moment that he's known for, for the day after Palm Sunday, him cleansing the temple. And, like, you hear that. It sounds, like, nice. But then you, like, see the picture that they hang in church. And it's like, him with, like, a whip in his hand. And, like, you feel like he's, like, yelling and screaming and he's turning the Tables over, and it's like, wait a minute. Everyone's like, celebrating him on Sunday, and then you get to Monday, and if that's like, what you know about the story, you're like, I don't even. I don't want to wave a palm bridge for him. Like, I will actually, because I'm scared of the whip in his hand. So that's gonna make me do that. Be like, I don't know about this guy. And what's so interest is that he gets to the temple. And obviously in the temple in that day and age, you were doing animal sacrifices. And he sees all the tables outside the temple and there's sales people. And all of a sudden he looks and he's like, there's just something about it that actually really does share the heart of Jesus. You just kind of have to look a little closer and like, forget about the picture that you saw in church because all of a sudden you have all of these like, what am I trying to say? Salesman. But is there a better word for it? I don't know. Salesman. It's fine. Salesman. All within there. And they're all selling animals to sell in the temple. Which all of a sudden becomes really problematic because you start realizing the goal of a salesman is to make as much money as you possibly can, and so you're gonna raise the prices. Because all these people have spent all their days getting to the temple, and then they're desperate for an animal that they could sacrifice in the temple. And they get out there and the salesmen are like, we can charge whatever we want. These are desperate people. These are desperate, desperate times. Salesman. It's kind of best case scenario, Jesus gets there and he starts realizing the people who really need to be in here are getting left out simply because of prices of money, of different things like that. And all of a sudden you start like, it just like made me pause and think, like, he's not flipping the tables over because he's angry about a million different things in the salesman. He's not hating them necessarily. Like, I don't think in my soul. What I want to say is he's looking at that situation and saying, let me eliminate the. Let me eliminate the things that are getting in the way of people experiencing time here. Let me get rid of the consequence, like the, the money and the. Like the superficial things that are stopping people from worship. Let me stand up for the people that no one else is standing up for. Let me have the backs of the people who are too poor to experience worship in the Temple. And all of a sudden, to me, it just changes the theme for me of Monday. And it makes me want to pause and say, like, oh, who was Jesus on Monday? He was someone who defended people. He had people's backs. He stood up for the people that no one else had someone to stand up for, and he showed up for them. And I also just love the idea that he took it seriously. Like, it's an intense picture that we see in church. But lately I've been so disappointed because I just feel like no one cares about anything. And I love that Monday shows Jesus cares and he's gonna take it seriously, and he is gonna make sure that it is how he wants it to be. And I think that's honestly really refreshing to me to look at this situation and discover that we believe and we follow someone who really is invested in things, and he cares about it, and he is gonna take it seriously, because maybe if he did on Monday at the temple, he will for me, in my life, too.

A (12:56)

Yeah. And what a great line that. His intensity shows what he cares about. And if you. If you don't know the why he's doing what he's doing, you might misinterpret what it is that he actually cares about. But when you get to the heart of the story, it's, I care this desperately and this intensely about people like, particularly the desperate and the downtrodden and those who have no other way. Like, that is so sweet about it. And he teaches that on Tuesday. Tuesday is a day that we often celebrate that. He's a teacher at temple. I. I just. So I wrote teacher on mine, and I also wrote wise on here, and I wrote simplicity. Just as you look at each of, like, the scenarios and questions that people ask him in the temple on that Tuesday, the answers are so simple. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not easy at times, but it is simple. The answers are pretty simple. The Sermon on the Mount are. Are not. It's not easy to live them, but they are pretty simple to understand and pretty simple to see their. Their beauty. And one of my favorite teachings in that, as reflected on Monday, on Tuesday is when someone asks him, the lawyer asks him what's. What's the most important law of. Of all the laws, you know, that are in the Torah, which there. You know, there's so many that are in there. And I just love that he's, you know, simplifies it to, oh, just two.

B (14:22)

Just.

A (14:23)

And really they're one. Love God and love people. And it's just been his message all along, and that's what he sends to them. There's one other story on Tuesday that I do love, that I want to point out, and that on Tuesday is the widow who brings the money, her tithing into the temple. And I think it's Mark's account. You can look it up, and that'd be great for you to look up, because then you'd be in Scripture. So I think it's Mark's account, and Jesus has to point out this woman. Because, you remember, the temple is so loud. It's crowded, it's full to the brim. The money things you put your money in are made out of metal. So it's just clank, clank, clank, clank, clank, clank, and the animals. And there's so much going on. And there's just this one person who comes in at such a great sacrifice, like, she is giving everything that she has, literally everything that she has, and totally unnoticed. Even Jesus's disciples don't notice her. But Jesus does, because he points. He points her out to them to say, look who won my heart today is that lady right there. And I just love Tuesday shows us that he's a God who notices. He notices us even. Even when his other disciples don't. God sees it. God sees our hearts. God sees what we're offering.

B (15:47)

So good. Wednesday. We actually don't really know what happened on Wednesday. There's nothing in the Gospels that describes what really takes place on Wednesday. And I think a lot of my life that led me to just, like, not really care about Wednesday. But a year ago, I was teaching Holy Week in my seminary class, and I got to Wednesday, and I realized, like, it felt, like, weird to skip over it because I was having them, all the kids do, like, a different activity for every day of Holy Week. And I got to Wednesday, and I was like, well, it's gonna be weird because for me to just be like, skip. And so I just, like, stood there, and I was like, well, I was like, we don't really know what Jesus did on Wednesday. And then I paused, and I was like, so just write in your journals what you think Jesus did on Wednesday. And I, like, kind of, like, set it as a time filler. And all the kids started writing because they're the best kids in the whole entire world, and they're just good listeners. And then I was like, okay, everyone, so what do you think he did on Wednesday? And ever since that conversation, Wednesday has become my favorite day of Holy Week. And the very first kid that Raised his hand, said, I think he probably did what he had always done. And different kids said, I bet he healed people. I bet he spent time with his friends. I bet he taught. I bet he preached. I bet he found the people who needed him. And I had one cute girl raise her hand and said, I bet he went home to his mom and talked to his mom one last time. And the more these kids talked, it became so evident to me that they knew who Jesus was. And it didn't matter what he really did on Wednesday. Because them sitting and pausing and think of what he could have done was evidence that they knew his heart. They knew how he would love to have spent his time. And it was so tender because we walked out and we were all leaving class. And the one boy who said that at the very beginning, he said, oh, I can't wait. It was the week before Holy Week. And he said, I can't wait for next Wednesday. And I said, why? And he said, because I want to spend that day the same way Jesus did. And I'm going to wake up at the very beginning of my day. I'm going to say, what would Jesus do if he had one empty day in the last week of his life?

A (18:02)

Oh, my gosh. I'm actually, like, writing all these things on Wednesday, as you're telling that.

B (18:08)

Isn't that the sweetest thing?

A (18:09)

So, so sweet. Sweet. Thursday is Passover Thursday. Now, next week's lesson is actually a lesson on the Passover. So I'm super excited about that one. And too bad Easter happens before the Passover lesson, because.

B (18:22)

Just skip ahead. The video will come out before Easter.

A (18:25)

Oh, yeah. True, true. Yeah, you can watch it.

B (18:27)

So watch early.

A (18:28)

Watch it early because it'll just make what happens on Thursday all the more meaningful. But they are having a Passover meal together that we call the Last Supper. And again next week, we'll talk more about a lot of the connections there. But this is the very last night that Jesus has on the Earth, right? He's gonna be kidnapped is what I almost said. Arrested on Thursday night and tortured all through that night. So this really is his last free time, I guess, before. And he just spends it with these friends and he encourages them and he loves them and he washes their feet, which you would think, who would pick that for the very last day of something, right? And particularly in those times when people walked around with sandals and there wasn't great sewage systems, and this just would have been so gross. And I love that he shows us on that Thursday, a servant's heart and that he's not afraid of people's mess. Remember, Peter says, absolutely not, and cringes and pulls back his feet. And he says, I don't want you to see how dirty my feet are. And Jesus says to him, peter, let me in. Let me into the messiest and dirtiest parts of you. And he doesn't revolt or he doesn't recoil and he doesn't cringe, but he cleanses them. And I just think there's something so sweet about that. And that is the day that he becomes the Passover lamb, this lamb that we'll learn about next week, that was sacrificed to set the people free on that night. He becomes the lamb sacrificed to set the people free. And his blood will be placed on people's doorposts. And then, just a sermon on love. He's just like, here's my last marching orders before I go into heaven. And it is love well, and love big. And help some understand that love is the only virtue that you can't overdo. You know, there's a lot of good virtues, and you could overdo some of them. Like, justice is a good virtue, but if you overdid justice, you'd be. Could be cruel or whatever. But he says, love is the only one you can't go overboard on. You can't. No one ever says that person's too loving. And those are his last instructions to them on Thursday. And he's gonna show what love looks like the next day.

B (21:09)

So good. The next day is Good Friday. And I remember as a kid, I was in junior high, and Utah's a little different than the rest of other places, and we don't get Good Friday off of school. And so that's lucky if you do. We don't. And I never got it off. And I remember it was probably Easter week, honestly. And I was, like, looking at my calendar, and I was with one of my friends, and I was like, oh, Good Friday. I can't wait for that. I wonder why they call it good. Like, I was like, that's gonna be fun. Like, I was like, that's so lucky. They put it on a calendar that we're having a good day. And I was, like, making up jokes. And then finally, like, I stopped after a second, and she looked and she said, do you know what day that is? And I was like, no. I was like, what do you mean? And she's like, well, that's the day that Jesus died on the cross. And I remember being like, I was. First of all, I was so embarrassed. I was like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I didn't know that, first of all. And then second of all, I remember all day I was in school still. And all day at school, I kept thinking, why in the world would they call the day Jesus died good? That does not make any sense at all. That was a terrible name for it. It wasn't a good day. That's a really sad day. No day that anyone dies should ever be called good. That is, like, I was, like, wrestling with it in my mind the whole day. Like, I was like, this is so, so confusing. And at the end of that night, like, finally, I was, like, at dinner, and I was, like, trying to be chill. Like, I knew what Good Friday was like. No one, like, bullied me at the dinner table. And I remember, like, I just, like, sat there and I was like, so why is it called Good Friday Again? Like, what? Just remind me why. And I remember sitting at the table, and I'm sure no one in my family even remembers this conversation happened, but it was priceless to me. And everyone in my family went through and they said, why that Friday was considered good to them, why the most tragic experience that has ever happened in human history, the most sad day, the most heartbreaking day, the most hurtful day of all time was good to them. And they sat down and they talked about how defeat gets turned into triumph and how sadness can get turned into joy and how tears can turn into happiness. And all of them testified of the cross and what it had done for them in their life. And I remember sitting at the table and thinking, that does make sense, because usually death is bad, but this story's different. And that turned something bad into something good. Just. It wasn't quite the end of the story yet.

A (23:45)

Yeah. Then Saturday is a day that obviously is a day of waiting. And I love that, you know, God could have decided that, you know, the crucifixion, that Jesus dies and then immediately is resurrected right there. Like, that could have happened. But why this three days? Why a day of waiting? And I love that God shows us that there is purpose and there is holiness in the waiting. So on my box, I've written, he's a God of hope, a God who's with you in the waiting. And he's a God of promise. And there's something that he gives us these moments to hope for and anticipate and look forward to. I'm convinced that the best day of Christmas season is December 23rd of the whole entire month. Because that's like the pinnacle of anticipation. You know, it's just the 23rd into the 24th, where you are just looking forward to something, and that. That God is in that. And he's in. In that waiting. And as Latter Day Saints, we have additional scripture that tells us that during that day of waiting, which has its, you know, it's exalting to wait and to hope and to anticipate answers to prayers and promises. But he is in the spirit world opening the way up to be sure. We read this revelation at the end of last year that no one gets forgotten. And that conversation with the thief on the cross comes to mind as part of that, where he just says, I'll be with you in paradise. I am going to find a way to make sure nobody gets left behind. And that is the message of that

B (25:28)

Saturday, and thank goodness for Sunday morning, that is the message of Easter, is that as tragic as Friday was and as full of grief as Saturday was, Sunday morning would come. And I just love to think about sweet, sweet Mary, who surely showed up with a broken heart full of grief, tears, probably. Her eyes were as puffy as ever, her cheeks blotchy, showing up at a grave and then seeing the stone rolled away and expecting even more heartbreak. And what I love the most is that Easter Sunday was a surprise. That that, to me lately has just been winning my heart about Jesus, is that she showed up expecting heartbreak. She showed up expecting grief. And yet Jesus surprised her with a bigger miracle than she could have ever imagined. In fact, she looks. She can't even believe it. She's shocked. She can't even understand. Like, she is just sitting there. It is all together. Like, you just. I like to just, like, play that out in my mind of, like, what was she thinking? What was she doing? What was going on? I, like, I love to imagine, like, her stomach of, like, do you know, like, having a pit in your stomach when she showed up there and then, like, leaving with just, like, the happiest little like, life you could ever possibly imagine. And I just think that it's so sweet to me that I think the message of Easter Sunday is expecting heartbreak and being surprised with a miracle. And that is what I love so much about Easter, is that in our heartbreak, in our grief, in our sadness, in our disappointments, in our tragedies, we believe in someone who can turn that and surprise us with something that's better than we could ever imagine.

A (27:31)

Oh, amen and amen. We hope you have a fantastic Easter Sunday and an entire Holy Week. Easter Week and just finding more and more reasons why he is worthy of all of our praise. So Happy Easter, everybody. We'll see you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram, on'tmissthis Study, at this Week's Grace, and @MrDaveButler.

B (27:55)

And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found@don'tmissthisudy.com

A (28:01)

See you next week.