Weekly Magazine | From the Upper Room to the Cross: Reflections for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
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Dear Friends,
Holy Week always feels a little quieter to me.
Before the celebration of Easter morning, we’re invited to slow down. To sit with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. To linger at the table. To watch Jesus kneel with a towel. To follow Him all the way to the cross.
These are the days that gently remind us that love isn’t sentimental — it’s sacrificial. Jesus didn’t rush past suffering to get to glory. He walked straight through it. And in His surrender, we begin to see both the weight of our sin and the depth of His mercy.
Maybe you know that tension of carrying the joy of Jesus in your heart while still wrestling with unanswered questions in a broken world. This week makes room for that. It gives us permission to sit there, not in despair, but in trust. Even when we don’t understand what God is doing, the cross reminds us who He is.
So let’s not hurry to Sunday just yet. Let’s stay close to Jesus at the table, in the garden, at the foot of the cross. And let’s allow this week’s reflections to steady us in His faithful love, the kind that meets us right where we are.
Encouraging you in God’s truth,
In Upper Rooms | Sandy Mayle
Sandy reflects on John 13–17, when Jesus lovingly prepared His disciples for His departure. Through personal story and Scripture, this piece reminds us that Christ answers our questions, prays for us, and promises His presence—even when understanding comes later.
Five Powerful Surrender Habits | Mary DeMuth
A Lenten journey into letting go of control, notoriety, bitterness, busyness, and the need for “splash.” Discover how small acts of obedience and hidden faithfulness cultivate deeper intimacy with Christ and lasting spiritual growth.
Our Walk of Suffering | Shelly Esser
A compassionate meditation on Good Friday and the suffering of Christ. Because Jesus bore the cross, He fully identifies with our pain. This article reminds us that we never carry our crosses alone.
Also:
In Upper Rooms
Jesus’ Final Conversation with His Disciples—and Why It Matters Now.
By Sandy Mayle
My father was a good and godly man, but not very warm and approachable. He had another good and godly man as a friend, though, who would pay attention to a little girl and take her on his lap and speak kindly to her.
Walt and his wife Betty attended our church. Walt was quiet and smelled wondrously like his dairy farm. They’d never had a daughter, so I became his girl. A match made in heaven!
One day, when I was perhaps seven, I heard that Walt and Betty were leaving. They were selling the farm and he was taking a job several hours away. I was sad and bewildered that someone I loved could just up and exit like that.
To my recollection, he never talked with me about it. I doubt he realized the depth of my attachment to him or felt the need to explain anything to me. I’m sure Betty and Walt said goodbye to us, but I never felt closure. My dear friend, the substitute dad I loved, was just… gone.
Putting On His Coat and Hat
If someday my Bible is taken away from me and I’m allowed to keep only a few pages, I think I’d keep John 13–17. One reason is because Jesus knew that the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, and His return to heaven was imminent. He was going away. So, in those final hours, as He and His disciples celebrated the Passover in the Upper Room, He intentionally prepared His friends for His leaving and addressed their fears and confusion.
I better understood this after hearing a sermon by Pastor Tim Maybray, who had, in turn, expanded on some thoughts by preacher Fred Craddock:
In John 13–17, Jesus was speaking like a parent about to leave His small children for the evening. As He was “putting on his coat and hat,” He fielded questions that kids normally ask when parents are leaving them:
“Where are you going?”
“Can we come, too?”
“When will you be back?”
“Who is gonna stay with us?”
And (of course), “What are we gonna eat while you’re gone?”
