From the Rector

Dear Friends,

Among the great treasures of our Christian heritage are the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week. That week before Easter, dedicated to the passion of Christ, allows us to enter through the drama of liturgy into the various events surrounding Jesus' suffering and death. Each event has its own day, although together they form an organic whole. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church asserts that these liturgies began to develop in the fourth century "when pilgrimages became easily possible and Christians could indulge a natural desire to re-enact the last scenes of the life of Christ in liturgical drama." As people relived these awe-inspiring scriptural events, liturgies began to be developed which could be used in other places besides Jerusalem. Here is a brief look at these individual jewels which form the climax of the liturgical year.

Palm Sunday - This distinctive ceremony is perhaps the best known of the Holy Week liturgies, not only because it falls on a Sunday, but because of the power of its tension-filled story. It begins with a blessing of the palm fronds, segments of the branches with which people hailed Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. That blessing, preceded by the appropriate Gospel reading, takes place at a distance from the altar, even in some places apart from the church, to allow for a festive procession. The traditional hymn sung during that procession, "All glory, laud, and honor," utilizes words written in the eighth century by Theodolph, Bishop of Orleans, and the well-known tune from the sixteenth century. The joy of praising Jesus as King, however, is quickly shattered by the reading, or solemn chanting, of the Passion Gospel, in which Jesus is betrayed, condemned, and crucified. This jarring reflects the mood of the original events as well as the fickleness and sinfulness of human beings, as "Hosanna" turns to "Crucify him." The vestments for this striking service are deep red, the color of blood.

Maundy Thursday - This commemoration of the Last Supper takes its name from the Latin phrase of the former opening sentence of this service: mandatum novum, "a new commandment" which Jesus gave us, to love one another. After the scripture readings and sermon, the first event focused on from the Last Supper is Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet. Only John's Gospel recounts this powerful gesture of love and servanthood, which is made real in the liturgy by those who choose to, washing the feet of another. During this moving liturgical action, the choir chants various anthems, including the traditional Ubi caritas, "where love is (there is God)." In the second part of the service, Jesus' institution of the Eucharist is remembered, as during the Passover meal (according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus as host of the ceremonial meal, took, blessed, broke, and gave the unleavened bread to his disciples. Instead of "This is the bread of affliction which your fathers did eat in the desert," he said, "This is my body, broken for you." And similarly with the ceremonial cup of wine, of which all drank. Vestments are white in joy and thanksgiving for this great gift, which through the ages has united Christians with God and with one another. Again, however, the mood shifts dramatically at the end of the service, anticipating Jesus' imminent betrayal and death. No blessing or dismissal is used, and everything is stripped off the altar and lectern and laid bare for Good Friday.

Good Friday - On this solemn day, marked "by special acts of discipline and self-denial", according to the Prayer Book, no Eucharist is celebrated. A three-hour service is customary in many places, from noon to three, to mark the hours Jesus hung on the cross. In this parish, the first hour is Morning Prayer, including a sermon. The second hour, an aesthetic, reflective period, includes brief scripture readings followed by silence and choral responses by the choir. The third hour consists of the Prayer Book service, which is to begin in silence. After an Old Testament and an Epistle reading, John's account of Jesus' passion is read, featuring readers in different roles and congregational participation, followed by a sermon. A series of Solemn Collects prays for the Church, for unbelievers, and for the world, and then a replica of the wooden cross is "brought into the church and placed in the sight of the people." After the singing of the traditional Pange lingua, "Sing, my tongue, (the glorious battle)," and a final collect, the congregation kneels in silence for the solemn tolling of the bell thirty-three times, one for each year of Jesus' earthly life. People depart in silence.

The Great Vigil of Easter - This ancient service forms the pinnacle of the liturgical year. Celebrated in the dark of Easter Eve, it consists of four parts. In the Service of Light, a fire is kindled at the door, from which the Paschal Candle is lit and then solemnly processed to the front of the dark church to the solemn chant of "The light of Christ." As this light is spread to each person in the congregation holding a candle, a beautiful ancient canticle, the Exsultet, is chanted. The Service of Lessons is composed of significant scripture readings, which articulate salvation history, e.g., creation, the flood, deliverance through the Red Sea. Each lesson is followed by an appropriate hymn and a collect. Candidates for Baptism (usually adults and older children) are then led to the font by candlelight to be baptized, and all renew their Baptismal Covenant. Then all the lights come on, the first joyful "Alleluia" of Easter is proclaimed, and the Holy Eucharist is celebrated!

Easter Day - The exuberant celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead continues, not only on this Sunday, but throughout the Great Fifty Days. On the feast itself, the white and gold vestments, the beautiful flowers, and the joyful music all proclaim the good news of Easter. In this parish, the 9:00 a.m. service begins with the children bringing flowers to adorn the Good Friday cross, transforming it from a symbol of death into one of new life. After the services, this cross is placed near Franklin Street as a witness to those who pass by.

As we continue our journey through Lent, I invite you to look forward to its culmination in the great gift of Holy Week. Participate in as much of it as you can. Invite your family and friends to accompany you. You will find your faith deepened, your soul inspired, and your sense of new life made much stronger than ever before.

- Stephen

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