We all know about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

But have you ever taken the time to explore the Great Debate?

Holy Week begins with Jesus’ celebratory procession into Jerusalem. That event was the spark that ignited an intense debate between Jesus and the religious leaders who opposed him. The Triumphal Entry, the cleansing of the temple, and the cursing of the fig tree were a series of enacted parables—street theatre, if you will—in which Jesus confronted the religious and political establishment of his day and demonstrated what a society of love and justice could look like.

In response, the religious leaders made a concerted effort to discredit Jesus by trying to trap him in debate. One after another, they challenged him with questions, about power, money, and sexuality, that were designed to trick him and undermine his influence. Each time they failed, of course, but the debate in that first Holy Week offers us an opportunity to choose who we want to be and what kind of world we want to live in. Through Jesus’ responses to each of the trick questions thrown at him, we get a glimpse into his values and priorities. And we are challenged to decide where we stand on these issues.

We have the world we have because we have made the choices we have made and because we live the way we do. If we want something different for ourselves and our world, we need to make different choices and we need to do different things. Holy Week gives us a chance to examine ourselves more deeply and deliberately and see where we need to change our choices and actions in the light of Jesus’ values and priorities.

If we want a different life and a different world—even just for ourselves—we need to enter into the Holy Week debate not as an academic exercise or as uninvolved bystanders to an event in Jesus’ life, but as participants. We need to explore our own answers to the questions asked of Jesus and decide what we will do with his answers in our own lives. And that means that we need to engage in the Holy Week journey—and the Great Debate at its centre—mindfully and intentionally.

In response to Holy Week’s invitation for us to examine our values and priorities more intentionally, Sacredise is proud to introduce our new Liturgical Guide for Holy Week:

The Great Debate

Starting on Palm Sunday and running through to Holy Saturday, The Great Debate will help you to engage with Jesus’ responses to the religious leaders’ questions. And it will help you to examine your life in the light of Jesus’ values and priorities.