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Just outside Jerusalem, between the Mount of Olives and the eastern gates to the Old City, lies the Kidron Valley. Despite being relatively narrow, this riverbed plays a significant role in the story of the Bible -- one that is typically associated with darkness, idolatry, impurity, and dread. For example, David was forced to run through this valley to escape the murderous wrath of his brother Absalom. As he ran, he wept for what had become of his family. The prophet Jeremiah described it as a place of death and destruction, a plot of land that cried out for God's righteous cleansing. In the New Testament, the Kidron Valley was where Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas betrayed him with a kiss, and where he was arrested and carted away by soldiers.
During Holy Week, we are called to descend into this valley. On Palm Sunday, after we pause at the top of the Mount of Olives to wave leafy branches and sing our hosannas, Christ will begin the descent into his suffering and death. The path down the mountainside will carry him right through the Kidron Valley... down into the sadness of Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday... and down even further into the dark depths of Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, we will make a rapid ascent up to the glorious summit of resurrection and new life. But make no mistake: much of our Holy Week will intentionally pass through some daunting spiritual places.
Lent is a time for serious reflection on the ways that we are failing to live as God wants us to live. While we are not called to wallow in self-pity or beat ourselves up for our mistakes, it is a time for us to be honest about our imperfections and realistic about the sin that remains in our lives.
The Good News is that, if we allow ourselves to walk this lonesome valley, our reward on Easter Sunday will be all the greater... for we will understand in a much more personal way the depth of Christ's love and the breadth of God's grace.
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