Churches Worldwide Enter Passion Week With Strong Mission Focus Until Easter
Churches around the world drew nearer to the end of Lent, entering Passion Week, which marks the last week before Easter. Since early in the history of Christianity, this period has also been distinguished with names such as "Holy Week" or the "Great Week."
Passion Week begins from Palm Sunday and extends through Good Friday (Holy Friday) until it ends on Saturday. The dawn of Easter Sunday marks the end of Passion Week, starting one of the greatest celebrations in the Christian calendar.
"Passion" in Greek meaning "to suffer" came from Latin word "passio" which originally means "to endure suffering." The final week continues with strong emotion and deep meditation on the suffering and pain of the Lord who walked towards the cross. It is a week blended with the dark peak of sorrow and the light of the profound love of God, in which all believers are led to reflect on the last phase of Jesus' life before the crucifixion.
Beginning from a welcoming exclamation with palm branch waves, the week goes until its most gloomy point of Jesus' crucifixion on Friday. Passing the silent Saturday of the tomb, believers aspire to join in the power of resurrection together with the Lord on Easter Sunday.
This week, churches worldwide are focused on completing the 40-day walk of Lent, which includes evangelism and outreach to invite people to gather this Easter. This is along with Christmas is one of the two most important yearly celebrations events in Christianity. WOA aims for church revivals to take place this Sunday as a culmination of evangelism efforts emphasized this year.
Churches and members across the world consider this week as a prayerful period to be united with the Lord who loved the world by laying down his precious life. True revival comes when the church is brought closer to the place of cross and resurrection. May the eternal flame of love and life in Christ ignite every church in the world to spread the gospel and save many.
