Holy Week: A Journey with Jesus

The week, beginning with Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday and culminating with the Sunday of the Resurrection, Easter Day, is for Christians the holiest week of the year. In fact, many Christian Denominations refer to this time as “Holy Week.” I see this week as “a time out of time,” as well as the nexus of “time and eternity” itself. The week is both historical and beyond history. It brings together the hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows of all humanity. In it we see the “good, the bad and the ugly” of what it means to be human. Holy Week is schizophrenic to the point of making our heads spin and yet through it and in it we get a glimpse of God’s presence in creation and in our lives.

Holy week begins with two powerful stories which are very much at odds with each other. First we see Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey with leafy branches being waved and being welcomed as the “one who comes in the name of the Lord.” We might also imagine Pontius Pilate coming into the city from the other side on his stallion, and in all his armor and glory as he enters in the name of the Emperor, the one who proclaimed himself the “Son of God.” As our worship continues on this day, we move very quickly to the betrayal, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. We experience both the glory of God and the sinfulness of the Children of God. In the Episcopal Church, our worship allows us, no, forces us, to remove our “rose colored glasses,” and see and experience the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. This day, and all of Holy Week, is truly an example of the Greek word, “anamnesis” which means “to remember,” in the sense of “participate in the experience.” We walk the journey with Jesus on this day and for the rest of the week.

Holy week builds toward what (Liturgical) Christians call the “Sacred Triduum,” or “Holy Three Days” of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. In the Episcopal Church worship on these three days is not considered to be three separate worship services, but 3 segments of one continuous worship experience or liturgy. On Maundy Thursday, we continue our walk with Jesus as we hear, “The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples and had washed their feet, said to them, ‘do you know what I, your Lord and Master, have done to you? I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done. I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” In this experience we experience the beginning of the end, but perhaps a vision of a new beginning as well. We leave worship in the dark and in silence as we move toward day two of our Holy Three Day Journey.

Day two, Good Friday begins in silent prayer followed by the following prayer: “Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” We then experience the depths of the Lord’s Passion as it is read out loud from the Gospel of John: the last supper, the betrayal, the trials before the High Priests and Pilate, Jesus’ brutal death on the cross, and his burial. Again, we leave in silence and sadness.

And finally at the Great Vigil of Easter or on Easter Day, our anamnesis, our participation in Jesus’ journey takes us back to the grave in sadness, only to be told that “he is not here for he is risen!” We celebrate the resurrection, the light of Christ coming back into the world: “Dear friends in Christ: on this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which by hearing his word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death. . . .for we are buried with Christ in his death, and raised with him to newness of life.”

What a blessing! But the blessing is not just in the resurrection and its celebration. The blessing is in the Anamnesis, in the remembering by participating in not only the resurrection, but in the birth, life and death of Jesus as well.

“Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.”

(We at Christ Church, 607 East Main St., Albertville, invite all to join us for Holy Week: Palm Sunday at 9:30 a.m.; Maundy Thursday at 6:00 p.m.; Good Friday at 6:00 p.m.; Easter Day at 9:30 a.m.)