After a 40 day journey through Lent, we come to the celebration of Holy Week. What are all these services and where did they come from? We rely greatly on the travel diaries of a Western European woman who lived in the late 4th century. Egeria traveled to the Holy Land and sent letters home telling of the rituals observed during the week leading up to Easter. Her postcards home gave the larger church a picture of these liturgies and shape our own Holy Week observances. 

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. At St. James we start the service with a parade that commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-40) just days before his arrest and crucifixion. This was often called the “triumphal entry” but riding into town on a donkey wouldn’t have seemed all that triumphant. This is especially true when you consider that on the other side of town, the Roman governor was holding a parade with horses and armed soldiers to remind all the folks gathered for Passover that the Romans were in charge. We re-enact that parade that declares Jesus King and end our worship with the Passion reading (Luke 22:14-23:56.)

We continue our observance of Holy Week by having Holy Eucharist at 5:30 PM on Monday and Tuesday. The scripture lessons for those services take us further on the journey with Jesus to the cross. On Wednesday we will celebrate Tenebrae which means “darkness” in Latin. This service includes extinguishing candles as we hear readings telling of the death of Christ. This day is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday” as it recalls the collusion of Judas with leaders to arrest Jesus. This is a powerful devotion that has us consider the incarnation, betrayal, and loss. 

Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin word “maundatum” from which we get the word “mandate.” On the one hand we hold up the new commandment “that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) We also celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist. This was the night when Jesus held the Last Supper with his disciples and commanded them to continue this practice. This will be the last Eucharist we celebrate until Easter day. We also wash feet at this service just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The service concludes with stripping the altar and washing the altar as a re-enactment on Jesus being arrested after the meal with his disciples. 

Good Friday then is that day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. We read again the story of the crucifixion and pray a series of ancient collects. The prayers and readings hold us in the starkness and tragedy of the moment, while also naming the mystery that God has shown power in weakness. We name that God has truly entered into human suffering and death. We even say that we “glory in the cross” as through it there is hope of resurrection that makes it so no suffering, not even death, is the end. God brings life. 

Holy Saturday is often a time that gets overlooked in Holy Week. We will hold a brief service of prayer at 10:00 AM on this day. We hold the mystery and grief the disciples must have felt as they had seen their Lord killed. This is the in-between time of wondering what comes next. Practically, many of us are preparing for the next day. There will be many folks preparing the church for Easter. I encourage us all to take a few moments in the course of that busy-ness to pause and pray. Recall those endings, the grief, the wondering what comes next. 

After these rather stark and even devastating liturgies, we come to the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. We will ring bells and return to saying “Alleluia.” The music will be grand and celebratory. The readings, the preaching, and the prayers will proclaim the joy of the resurrection of Christ and the hope of our sharing in that resurrection. Bring bells to ring, bring flowers to decorate the cross, and bring all of who you are to celebrate this joyous day. 

You can see that there will be a lot happening at St. James during Holy Week. I often meet folks who have attended church for years but never experienced the Holy Week liturgies. I encourage you to make time to come and walk this solemn way with your community. Come make a pilgrimage like Egeria did so many years ago. As we hear again this journey of Jesus to the cross, we name how we have known suffering and loss. We don’t wallow there in pity, but honor the presence of God moving with us in our lives and in the life of the world. We name the darkness, the suffering, and the death so that we might know more fully the light, the resurrection, the Christ who fills all things. 

Peace, 

Fr. John Mark