An Invitation to Holy Week
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty Rock
within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat
and the burden of the day.
I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place:
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss;
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.
– “Beneath the Cross of Jesus,”
words by Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1868)
When the days drew near for him to be taken
up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
–Luke 9:51
WALKING WITH JESUS THROUGH HOLY WEEK
Holy Week is the most solemn and glorious week in the Christian Faith, the very pinnacle of the liturgical year. This may sound shocking to some, but it is even more sacred than Christmas! This is because Holy Week commemorates the final week of our Lord's life, the very purpose for which Christmas happened.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday (when Jesus made his final entrance into Jerusalem) and culminates with Easter Sunday. As Holy Week progresses to its final days the solemnity heightens. It is a time for remembering the culminating events of Jesus’ earthly life and reliving the most sacred moments in the history of the world. Our worship services lead us through Jesus’ dramatic victory with all of its twists and turns, from the “Hosanna!” of Palm Sunday, to the “Crucify!” of Good Friday, and ultimately to the “Alleluia!” of Easter morning.
The Great Triduum, (the word "triduum" comes from the Latin word triduum, which comes from tris (“three”) + dies (“day”) or the “Great three days,” is the time from sundown on Maundy Thursday to sundown on Easter Sunday. The earliest Christians rightly recognized Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection as one single event. Our personal and public acts of worship from Thursday night to Sunday morning will follow this ancient tradition, celebrating the single event of Jesus’ Passover from life to death to life again.
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday prior to Easter Sunday. We gather for worship to commemorate Jesus’ final meal with his disciples, to hear his new command (this is what the word “Maundy” means) to love one another as he loves, and to remember his institution of the Lord’s Supper. The service concludes with the stripping of the altar as we are hurled into the darkness of Jesus’ trial, torture, and crucifixion. Those who are able, from this moment until the Easter feast, fast from food, especially meat; refrain from business, shopping, and pleasure; and practice meditation, prayer, Scripture reading, and silence. We invite you to join us as we gather at the YMCA on Adams Mill Rd. at 7pm, April 6th, to remember this Holy day.
Good Friday, the key day in the entire Lenten journey, is the Friday prior to Easter Sunday. We call it “Good” because we know how the story ends. Our focus is not on the senseless human suffering of Jesus, but on the suffering of God in human flesh to redeem us from the curse of sin. The worship service uses readings and hymns centered on the passion story. It concludes in darkness and silence in order to commemorate the horror and magnitude of sin and its consequences. We invite you to join us as we gather at the YMCA on Adams Mill Rd. at 7pm, April 7th, to remember this Holy day.
Holy Saturday is the final day in Lent. There are no worship services. We are overwhelmed with the despair that the disciples must have felt as the Lord Christ lay in the tomb. We prepare for Easter by cleaning house and preparing food for the Easter feast.
Easter Sunday is what we've all been waiting for! The forty days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during Lent was in preparation for this day, when our hearts and souls can drink in deeply the culmination of the Paschal mystery: the Resurrection of Jesus! Join us on Easter morning as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and his triumph over death and the grave!