Student Address: Reflecting Back on Holy Week
As we gather today for this feast, we are doing something deeply communal; and deeply Christian. We share food, laughter, and friendship, and we show gratitude for the blessing of this school, and the community God has bestowed upon us. And yet, while we are in the process of rejoicing, we are called to remember that the time we are preparing for is distinct from any other time on the church calendar. Holy Week is nearing, and we are about to be reminded starkly about the punishment God the Son himself undertook to pay for our sin. We are about to witness the story of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ over spring break.
I am going to center my charge today around one verse from the gospel of Matthew, in chapter 26:40. In this passage, Jesus returns from an intense period of prayer on his own in the Garden of Gethsemane, dwelling on the task he is about to undertake. Jesus finds Peter, James, and John sleeping instead of keeping watch for him. The verse reads, “40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour?’” In this one simple question, Christ is not only inviting the disciples but inviting us to be present and reverent toward the suffering he is about to endure; and to be attentive with our hearts.
Today, it is part of our culture to celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday whether it be with loved ones, or at church, but we routinely forget to prepare our hearts to properly understand the gravity of Christ’s suffering on Good Friday. The joy we feel today is indeed a good thing—our joy, laughter, gratitude, and sense of community is a glimpse into the sense of triumph thast Easter Sunday brings. But our celebration must be grounded in something heavier; the Cross.
The question Jesus asks his disciples should serve as a reminder to us that it is easy to grow distracted throughout spring break, to treat the approaching week quite secularly. And so, even as we enjoy these festivities today, we are called by Christ to watch with him—to remember that he willingly suffered for us and bared the weight of our sin, and rejection, because he loved us. To watch with him is to allow us to pause and be present. To remove any chatter, any distraction, any thoughts that are not centered on the gravity of the situation approaching us. By watching with him, we approach this feast with hearts that understand the joy of Christ’s victory; yet the brutal cost of our redemption. Let us use our celebration as a tool of reverence, keeping our joy entwined with sincere gratitude for the Cross.
Even as we watch, we also hope. We pause to remember the suffering, yet we anticipate the victory that is near. Holy Week is a continual process of a transformation that uses suffering as a conduit for victory. Death has been defeated. Sin has been overcame. In this, we find the ultimate reason to celebrate. As we gather, let us remember that in Christ, joy and sacrifice become mixed, and that somberness and celebration can exist throughout the trials and victory of Holy Week.
So let us enjoy this time together. But let us also be mindful; let us watch with him. The call to watch with him is not a burden, but an invitation. Let us accept it willingly and enter the mystery of Holy Week, grateful and attentive. Let this feast be filled with reverence, laughter, and hope. In a few days, we will not only see the Cross, but the empty tomb. And when we gaze upon the sight of the open tomb, then we can rejoice in the triumph of Christ.
Miguelangel Nieves,
Chapel Field Class of 2026
