What is Holy Week All About?

    If you were asked what the most important holiday is for most Americans you would have to say Christmas, of course. I would venture to say that it is the most celebrated holiday in western culture, for Christians and non-Christians. I have a Rabbi friend who says how much it irritates him that even members of his congregation celebrate Christmas more fully than they do Hanukkah! Western Capitalism has done a wonderful job of using a Christian celebration for the purposes of economic growth. But should it be the most important holiday for Christians?  No!

 In fact, there would be no celebration of Christmas whatsoever were it not for Easter. If Jesus had simply lived a long, wise, loving life, and then died at an old age working at Joseph’s carpentry bench. Or, if He had the very same life that we see in Scripture, ending it on a cross, but without resurrection, He would have become just another poor Jew killed by the Romans; Probably not even mentioned in the footnotes of history.

    But because He was resurrected, making clear to those who believed, that His life and death were the very work of God Himself, the “first day of the week,” resurrection day, not only became the Christian sabbath, but that particularday in history (near the Jewish Passover Feast) became an annual celebration: Easter! The birth of Jesus only became significant because of the resurrection of Jesus, so surely Christians would have to say that Easter, not Christmas, is the most important holiday (Holy Day) of the year. 

    Over time, the liturgical calendar got developed a bit more, and Christians began to practice other important observances, like a day of mourning focused on the crucifixion (Good Friday). In time an entire season of the liturgical year was devoted to preparation for Easter, the Season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates with Holy Week. The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus’ last entrance into Jerusalem before He is arrested. Through Holy Week Christians seek to follow Jesus as He goes through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, to deepen our devotion and understanding of what God has done in Christ, and what it means in the context of our daily lives. 

    Maundy Thursday (from the Latin, “mandatum,” which means, “command”),  commemorates that evening when Jesus, just before His crucifixion, has a Last Supper with His Disciples, and commands them to love one another. His last teaching, the summation of His Life and Purpose, is spelled out as He washes His disciple’s feet, being their servant so that they might be servants to others and thereby reflect the sacrificial love of God. On Maundy Thursday many Christians re-enact that holy evening by washing each other’s feet, and receiving Communion. 

    Good Friday is a very somber day. Many Christians do not work on Good Friday, but spend the day in quiet and devotional contemplation of the crucifixion of Jesus. Some churches have simple services, in darkened churches, with prayers and the procession of a bare wooden cross.  Some churches walk the “stations” of the cross: recalling each moment that led to the crucifixion, by leading worshipers in procession from one representation to another, reading the pertinent Scripture, and saying prayers, before moving to the next station. For example, they might begin at a small statue or painting of Jesus being tried before Pilate, reading that particular Scripture passage, and saying prayers before walking to the next artistic representation of Jesus’ Passion.

    Holy Saturday is that last day of Holy Week, and worship on that day is typically very late, as late as midnight, and often seen as the first Eucharist of Easter. Many Christians participate in a vigil that begins in a darkened church (as though we are in the tomb with Jesus), and through a thoughtful presentation of “salvation history,” from Genesis, to Revelation, with Scripture readings and music, the darkened church becomes an utterly transformed space, full of light and celebration- Easter has Come!  Alleluia!

What is The Purpose of the Season of Lent?

 

    In the Christian Church there are two basic liturgical cycles that shape the annual calendar. The first is a cycle with the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) at the heart of it, and the second is a cycle with the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter) at the heart of it. Each cycle has a season that anticipates the Principal Feast, and each cycle has a season that succeeds the Principal Feast.  For Christmas, the season that anticipates it is Advent (a time of preparation for the coming of Christ), and the season that succeeds it is Epiphany (a time that represents the carrying forth of the Light of Christ to those beyond Israel). For Easter, the season that anticipates it is Lent (a season of repentance and preparation), and the season that succeeds it is Pentecost (a season that celebrates the Power of the Holy Spirit raising up the Church to spread the Love and Joy of Christ throughout the world).  The purpose in having a liturgical calendar is so that Christians are marking their lives, keeping time, by following the life of Jesus, rather than just secular celebrations. The idea is that rather than having our lives shaped primarily by President’s Day, the Fourth of July, etc., our lives are primarily shaped by the Life of the Lord.  We begin the year with Advent, anticipating His birth, and then follow the development of His life all the way around to the next Advent, such that all the Scripture lessons read through the year correspond to the liturgical calendar and keep pace with the developments of His life.

    As I write this we are about to enter the season of Lent.  Lent, as I’ve indicated, is a season of repentance (not that repentance is neglected the rest of the year, but that it’s emphasized as we anticipate the crucifixion of Jesus); it’s a time when we step back to take stock of our lives, in relation to the Life of Christ, and to look more deeply at those things that keep us from being fully God’s. Lent lasts for 40 days (reflecting the 40 days that the Lord was in the desert after His baptism, being tempted by Satan). These 40 days begin with Ash Wednesday (a service at which we are both reminded of our mortality and  dependence on God- “ashes to ashes”-and of God’s Grace, as the ashes are placed in the form of the cross of Christ), and end with the first Eucharist of Easter. If you count these days on a calendar you’ll find that to get 40 days, you actually skip all the Sundays, as Sundays in the Church are always seen as Celebrations of the Resurrection. The liturgical color that dominates Lent is the color purple, reminding us that in the midst of His Passion they placed a purple robe on Jesus (making fun of Him by calling Him “King of the Jews”).  During this season no bells are rung in church, the word “alleluia” is not said, no flowers are placed on the altar (though greenery is allowed), and no festive celebrations are held. It is a time to focus deeply on what God has done in the cross of Christ; a time to consider what it meant for God to become incarnate, to suffer, and to die, out of love for us.  This is a time to ask earnestly if our lives have been truly shaped by that love; whether they reflect the gratitude that should be a proper response to such sacrificial love. It is, in other words, a time to prepare for New Life, to be resurrected in the way we live, as we celebrate the joyous Resurrection of our Lord on Easter Day.

    One very important part of this season on which I have not focused in this brief essay, is what we call “Holy Week,” that last week that begins with Palm Sunday, follows with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and finally, Easter.  Each of these days has its’ own significance, underscoring the final hours of the Lord’s life (Palm Sunday, His final entrance into Jerusalem; Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper and the washing of feet; Good Friday, the somber focus on the crucifixion; and, Holy Saturday, oftentimes marked by a Vigil- a long service that begins at night in the dark, but moves into bright light, celebrating the First Eucharist of Easter). 

    The longstanding practice of liturgical seasons in God’s Church is simply a disciplined effort to have our lives more shaped by the Lord than by the world.