The Kingdom Within, by John Sanford, starts with John's account of an event which took place when he was a small boy. He would spend a month, each summer, in a hundred and fifty year old farmhouse in New Hampshire. When the house had first come into his family's hands, it had never been modernized. For many summers it continued to be this way, because his father was an Episcopal priest and short on money. The water supply during those years came from an old well which stood just outside the front door. The water from this well was usually cold, pure, and a joy to drink. And the well was remarkable, because it never ran dry. Even in the severest summer drought when others had to drink lake water, the Sanfords always had water in their well.

Eventually, the day came when the family decided to modernize the house. Electricity was installed, the kerosene lamps were replaced with light bulbs, a new stove took the place of the old wood stove, and modern plumbing and running water was installed. The new plumbing and running water required that a modern well be installed. So, a well was drilled a few hundred feet from the house. No longer needed, the old well near the front door was sealed over to be used as a reserve, should the occasion arise. So, for years the old well was left covered, until one day. Sanford uncovered the old well to inspect its condition. As he removed the cover, he expected to see the same dark, oval, moist depths he had known as a boy. But, when he looked in he was shocked to see that the well was bone dry.

Sanford made inquiries so that he might understand what had happened to the well. He learned that a well of this kind is fed by hundreds of tiny underground rivulets, along which seep a constant supply of water. As water is drawn up from the well, more water moves into it along the rivulets, keeping these tiny apertures clear and open. When not used and water is not drawn regularly, the tiny rivulets close up.

The well was dry, not because there was not water, but because it had not been used.

Our souls are like this well. What happened to the old well can also happen to our souls if the living water of God does not regularly flow into us and through us.

We are now coming to the end of the Lenten season. We have begun Holy Week, which is an excellent time for us to be working on keeping the living water of God flowing in our lives. Each major day of Holy Week gives us a special opportunity to receive the blessing of God's living water.

Let's take Passion Sunday, otherwise known as Palm Sunday, as an example. This is the day when we remember the road Jesus took to death and sacrifice, starting with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We remember how the people welcomed Jesus with the big parade, waving palm branches, singing Hosannas, celebrating the coming of a Messiah. But, at the same time, we remember how those same people misunderstood who Jesus was to the point that they ended the week calling for his death. So, the first day of Holy Week carries with it a double meaning. It is in the appreciation of this double meaning and how our own lives often reflect the behavior of the citizens of Jerusalem that we may experience the flow of God's water in our lives.

The next major section of Holy Week is what has been called "the Paschal Tridium." It is a period of three days beginning on Maundy Thursday evening, going through Good Friday, and ending on Holy Saturday.

We celebrate Maundy Thursday evening with a service of communion (remembering the Last Supper in the Upper Room). This service is often followed by a service of Tenebrae (otherwise known as a service of shadows) wherein we remember the steps that were taken by Christ on his way to his death for us. As Christ gets closer to being sacrificed, the room becomes darker and darker, until there is very little light, at all. The Good Friday service centers more upon the death of Christ. And then Holy Saturday allows us to contemplate the meaning of the event. When a congregation faithfully experiences these services together, they are able to better appreciate the wondrous event of the resurrection, in the celebration of the Easter Sunrise Service and the other services of that day.

Again, when we allow ourselves to walk the path of Holy Week, from beginning to end, we prime the pump so that God's spiritual water may flow and give us nurture.

Also, a proper understanding of the terms we use for this season of the year may help us grow devotionally.

For instance, "Easter" is a term coming from the Anglo Saxon belief in the goddess of Spring, Eastra, for whom was celebrated a spring festival. Thus, our term for the resurrection of our Lord doesn't very adequately describe what is really taking place. Other languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, and Latin use words derived from Pascha (which means suffering), which made it evident that as Christians we are celebrating the Christian Passover.

There are many different devotional techniques for entering into Holy Week.

1. One major way which has been used over the centuries is relaxing and centering. It is probably one of the simplest forms. Relaxation is induced by focusing upon your breathing. For example, after reading an scripture lesson coming from one of the days of Holy Week, you close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and begin to picture what is taking place in that scripture reading. "Centering" means to be totally present to yourself. You are then able to block everything else around you to the extent that you are actually present in the account you have read. In order to do this well, you have to be off by yourself, and in a relaxed position. If you choose not to use a scripture passage, a single sentence prayer, such as "Lord have mercy," will also help you to focus on a topic of Holy Week.

2. Another devotional way to enter into Holy Week is to get in touch with your feelings. You can do this by making a list naming your feelings about Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or some event of Holy Week. People often have trouble getting in touch and involved with their feelings; and this is a very difficult devotional technique. We are people who are often too busy and out of touch with our true and deep feelings. Owning our feelings, primes our well during Holy Week.

Ways of getting at our feelings may include asking such questions as, "How do I feel about Jesus passing the broken bread around the table?" "How would I feel if he were to pass the bread to me, if I were at that table, and said, 'Take, eat. This is my body broken for you.'?" "How do you feel if you were to visualize Jesus' dying on the cross?" The purpose of getting in touch with our feelings is to strive for matters of our heart, not our mind or intellect.

3. Another devotional way to enter into Holy Week is to use physical objects to enhance your awareness of one of the events. For example, with the crucifixion, hold two or three old flat nails in the palm of your hand. Feel the hardness, the shape, the points. Or, using a piece of wood, feel the texture, and think of a cross made of it, and what it would be like to be on one. Or, hold a cross in your hand and feel its shape.

4. Another devotional way to enter into Holy Week is to fast on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, sip just water, and re-read the accounts of those two days.

5. Another devotional way to enter into Holy Week is to journal after reading the scripture on the last accounts.

6. Yet another way is to sit in a church, sometime Thursday or Friday, other than at a scheduled worship time. This is a form of solitude. It takes time.

7. Another way is to enter into silence. You do this by simply cutting down on your talking. No T.V., no newspapers, no radio, just cut yourself off for 24 hours. In the silence, ask yourself the question, "Who are you?" Be on a pilgrimage to be silent. Ask yourself the question, "Who has your heart?" There is power that comes from silence.

8. Still another way to enter into Holy Week is to rewrite the events of Holy Week in your own words.

9. Another way is to simply go out and do some gardening: getting in touch with the earth and life. Get back to the basics.

10. Another way is to read some devotional material, or go for a walk down a country lane or through a cemetery.

11. Another way is to write letters to persons with you have good relations or with whom you have broken relations.

In our celebration of Holy Week, the main outcome that we want to have is to have our well filled with living water and to continue on past Holy Week, doing some of the same things we did during Holy Week so that the well will never run dry.

Give Time! That is the biggest hurdle and its not the easiest. None of this is a snap to do. People have been trying to relate and to commune with God since God made himself known. No matter how long we may work on this, we will always be struggling. But, we should not give up. As John Wesley has said, "We move on to perfection. It is a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute endeavor. It is God's grace with us. Thanks be to God!

Holy Week

Devotional Techniques

1.	Relaxing and centering

2.	Get in touch with your feelings

3.	Use physical objects to enhance your awareness of one of the events

4.	Fast on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday

5.	Journal after reading the scripture on the last accounts

6.	Sit in a church, sometime Thursday or Friday, other than at a scheduled worship time

7.	Enter into silence

8.	Rewrite the events of Holy Week in your own words

9.	Do some gardening

10.	Read some devotional material, and go for a walk

11.	Write letters