Holy Week, the final week of Lent, is our journey to the Cross with Jesus. Holy Week allows us to participate in the unfolding drama of our Redemption and New Life brought to us in Christ. The journey is marked with special days of devotion and fasting that point us forward to the great Resurrection celebration on Easter Sunday. Our Holy Week journey begins on Palm Sunday.
Through our
liturgy, we join the crowd celebrating Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem,
waving our palm branches and crying, “Hosanna!”
But quickly the celebratory atmosphere changes as we, along with the
crowd, turn against Jesus and reject Him because we realize He is not the
Messiah we are wanting or expecting. The
service goes on to prepare us for what lies ahead on Good Friday by our first
recitation for the week of The Passion, the
“Old, Old Story” of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus read from one of the
Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark or Luke).
Secondly, as Jesus celebrates the Passover Meal with His disciples, He infuses this sacred observance with new meaning by indicating that He Himself will be the Passover Lamb who is to be sacrificed for us all. The Passover becomes not only what it has always been, a remembrance of the saving acts of God in delivering Israel from the bondage in Egypt, but it becomes a memorial to Jesus and His work on the Cross, which is the culmination and pinnacle of Salvation History. Through Jesus’ “Real Presence” in the consecrated bread and wine, Jesus promises to be with us always.
Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin word “mandatum” which means “command.” At the Maundy Thursday service, we are obedient in following both of our Lord’s commands to serve each other, signified by the washing of each other’s feet, and to participate in the wonderful mystery we know as the Lord’s Supper.
Good Friday
It is the tradition of many Christians on this day to walk “The Way of the Cross” with Jesus, also known as “The Stations of the Cross.” Early Christians who made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem would walk along the route Jesus took as He bore His Cross to Calvary. When access to the Holy Land became limited following the Muslim conquest of the Middle East, churches in Europe would place “Stations” along the walls of their parish church commemorating the events of Jesus’ journey to the Cross. This became an alternate way the people could walk The Way of the Cross.
Here at Holy Trinity on Good Friday, we walk to The Way of the Cross with Jesus. We gather at noon in the church and, using the paintings on the walls of the nave, move from prayer station to prayer station, event to event, until we come to Calvary with Jesus.
Holy Saturday
1 Peter 3:19
tells us that on Holy Saturday Jesus "went and made a proclamation to the
spirits in prison.” This is known as the “Harrowing of Hell” when the
proclamation of the Gospel is made to those who had not
and will not otherwise hear the saving message of the Gospel. But for you who walked with Jesus through the
events of this week, watching as He was crucified on Friday, Saturday is a day
of prayer and contemplation of what God in Christ has done for us. Knowing the rest of the story, we wait
expectantly for its fruition on Easter morning.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Reverend Rob Hartley, Anglican Church of the Holy
Trinity, North Augusta, Lent, 2012
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