I’ve got a pair of jeans which are wholly holey but they aren’t holy. I hope my spelling is correct otherwise that sentence makes even less sense than what is intended!

We typically think that things are holy because God made them that way. Holiness is an attribute that we associate with God, and with all things that associate with God. But in reality holiness is a very human construct. We are the ones who make something holy.

The root of the term means to set apart. We set things aside for unique use – in worship, in service, in life. We set things aside because we need help in worshiping, serving, or living for God. Holy living is living that is set aside for God. A holy cup is a cup used to worship God. A holy heart, is a heart centered on loving God. The Bible was a set of books “set aside” by the early church. It was later called a “holy book” because the early Christians recognized its unique place in their Christian walk.

Christians around the world will celebrate this next week as “Holy Week.” God didn’t mark the calendar, we did. And you will determine whether this week should in any sense be holy or not. If you spend the week in special reflection, in unique worship, in particular meditation – then by definition it is a holy week.

And so I encourage you to take part in the noon lunches, in the Seder dinner, in the Good Friday service, and of course in the celebrative Easter service. These are part of the ways we can make this week holy. And to continue my holy homonyms: let holy things lead to a whole life with no holey aspects.