A Guide to Holy Week
Resurrection family,
As I preached on Palm Sunday, it is appropriate to have some nervous joy as we anticipate the journey we have begun this week. You should know that the staff and I are praying for you all this week. To help each of us enter into this most holy occasion, I thought I'd write a brief guide to Holy Week with some practical notes about what you can expect this week.
Service times:
Maundy Thursday 6:00 PM
Good Friday 6:00 PM
Holy Saturday Vigil 9:00 AM-Noon
Easter Sunday 10:00 AM (party following)
Childcare for 0-2 yrs will be provided for Thursday and Friday liturgies. On Sunday there will be no childcare as the whole family is invited to attend the liturgy together.
Help us throw a great party on Sunday! Click here to find out how you can lend a hand, or see the note below.
A Guide to Holy Week
Palm Sunday
Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and was greeted with a scene that fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy (9:9, 14:9). The whole earth has been waiting for the arrival of its righteous King, and Jesus of Nazareth has begun his royal procession to the throne with the people waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna in the highest!" But his crown and his throne would be revealed as those unlike any other. At home, you can put your palm behind your hanging crucifix as a reminder that this week we journey with Christ to the cross.
Maundy Thursday
On this night, the disciples gathered with Jesus in the Upper Room where he washed their feet to demonstrate the kind of love that he commanded his disciples to practice. He also gave them the Last Supper, the meal that we relive every Sunday at the altar in the Holy Eucharist. The day is called "maundy" from a Latin word that means mandate or command because of the commands Jesus gave to his disciples that night: "love one another as I have loved you," (John 13:34) but also "Take eat...", "Drink this...", and "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).
For this reason, the clergy and other leaders wash the feet of every person in the congregation. This is a powerful reminder for us of what it means to lead and care for God's beloved, and an opportunity to express Jesus' love to one another through a lowly act of service. It's helpful to wear easy-to-remove shoes and socks. There will be chairs toward the front row for everyone to take turns sitting to have their feet briefly rinsed and dried. This is also the night that we pay a special reverence for the Holy Eucharist through silence, chanting, and a litany. At the end of the liturgy that altar is abruptly stripped (reflecting how Jesus was roughly taken into custody) while Psalm 22 is read aloud. What we usually treat as sacred, is now treated as common. The service ends with silence and a lack of resolve lingers in our hearts.
Good Friday
The liturgy picks up where it left off on Thursday. In a way, you can imagine Thursday, Friday, and Sunday as one long liturgy in three parts, traditionally this is referred to as the Triduum. On Good Friday everyone enters in silence as we experience the dimly lit barrenness of the sanctuary and prepare to encounter Christ's suffering on the cross. The cross that was taken down on Thursday is brought in and laid in the sanctuary. The church is led with a series of prayers and readings to approach the Holy Cross of Christ and lay a rose petal, kiss, touch, and "behold the cross on which the world's salvation hung."
There will be rugs and kneelers designating the spaces you can kneel in prayer around the cross. You are welcome to take as much time as you need, while others continue to gather and pray. The service concludes with chanting and silence.
Holy Saturday
Saturday is a quiet and strange day. There will be a vigil at the church from 9-noon and all are welcome to come and go as they would like. There will be a prayer labyrinth and space to sit in silence before the cross for prayer. This time reflects the waiting in uncertainty that the disciples endured while Christ was dead and buried. But it would be misguided to think the Lord was at rest because, in his descent to the dead (Ephesians 4:9, Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed), he was at work binding the strong man of death and preaching to those in prison (1 Peter 4:6). There is no extent of hell or death that Christ has not been further still.
Easter Sunday
The liturgy begins in the parking lot around a bonfire that symbolizes the vigil of the disciples in darkness and uncertainty. But, as we confess every Sunday, "On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures". This is the morning when everything changes because the Rescuer that God had sent, his only Son, was the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). And in his resurrection we too will share. We light the Paschal candle, representing the light of Christ, and processes to the gates of the church. After pounding the closed gate it opens with the "Alleluias!" and bell-ringing of the people.
All enter guided by the divine light into a life with God and his people. Upon entering, children will "flower the cross" which is a tradition of decorating a small cross with lilies and flowers in the courtyard. Parents are welcome to find their seats as they continue to sing. The liturgy will be lively, with bell-ringing, and baptisms. After the service, we will host a celebration with food, drinks for everyone, as well as games, and activities for the kids.
Watch and Pray Together
As I've encouraged us on Sunday, stay vigilant and attentive to the things God is saying and showing to you during this week. God desires for each of us to experience the great mystery of his love for us revealed in the passion (or suffering) of Jesus of Nazareth. There will be times for you to be alone and contemplate, but don't forget to look around at those who walk with you this week. We walk with Jesus and find that we walk together, never alone. I pray that God draws each of us closer to himself and therefore to each other, and forms afresh a community that bears the name of that third day.
I will be praying for you this week!
Fr. Shawn+
