PASSIONTIDE TO EASTER

WILL YOU JOURNEY WITH CHRIST THIS YEAR?

It is uncertain when Christians first began to make and annual celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ.  However, over time it has developed into a series of liturgies, which enable Christians to share in Christ’s own journey, from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the empty tomb on Easter morning.  What follows here is a brief explanation of the major liturgies of Holy Week starting with Maundy Thursday. Hopefully this will encourage many of you to participate in the services throughout the week in order to experience fully the joy of Easter Day.

Maundy Thursday

The title ‘Maundy’ comes from the word ‘mandatum’ which means ‘commandment’ and comes from John 13.34: I give you a new commandment: love one another; as I have loved you, so you are to love one another.  There are rich and complex themes in the liturgy for this night: humble Christian service expressed through Christ’s washing of his disciples’ feet, the institution of the Eucharist and the perfection of Christ’s loving obedience through the agony of Gethsemane. 

In the evening we sit down to an Agape Supper together, it is very simple and provides the context for the washing of feet and the re-enactment of the Last Supper.  After the meal we move to the chancel, where we remember Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane:  the altars are stripped bare and the sacrament is placed symbolically in the Garden of Repose.  This year the empty supper table will be left so that the quiet of the final part of the service can be maintained and apart from the singing of a psalm there will be silence in the church. (This does mean that the tables will be cleared and the pews put back in place from 8.30am on Good Friday morning before the walk of witness).  There will be an opportunity to watch and wait with Christ after the service until midnight. 

Good Friday

On Good Friday the church remains stripped of all decoration – it is bare and empty.  There does not seem to be an adequate way of recalling the death of the Son of God, other than in silence and desolation.  Our church services will reflect this in their more meditative content.  This year at St Mark’s we will hold a service of Tenebrae, which is based on a theme of the nails that we hammer home through our own behaviour.  Tenebrae is the Latin word for ‘darkness’ or ‘shadows’ and during the service as we reflect on the nails of the cross we will gradually extinguish six candles, symbolising the apparent victory of the forces of darkness over light, until only the seventh candle remains, the Christ light.  At the end of the service this candle is carried out of the church and the door is banged making a loud noise, symbolising the earthquake at the time of Christ’s death.

The Walk of Witness in the morning is based on the Stations of the Cross and we hold our own Stations of the Cross at St James at 6.00pm with posters, which we put up around the church.  The Stations of the Cross have formed part of Christian devotion for many centuries because they enable us to engage actively with the path of suffering walked by Jesus.  They originated when early Christians visited Jerusalem and wanted literally to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, tracing the path from Pilate’s house to Calvary.  They would pause for prayer and devotion at various points along the route.

Holy Saturday

From earliest times Christians have gathered through the night of Easter to recall the story of God’s saving work, from creation through to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  However, it is not merely a presentation of God’s work.  It is meant to be a real experience of new life for the worshipper, a passing from darkness to light which offers hope to all the faithful. At St James we begin with the lighting of the new fire in the churchyard, from which the Easter Candle is then lit.  Here, the resurrection is proclaimed from the outset in the Service of Light.  The Easter Candle, together with the candles of the individual worshippers illuminates the church.  This illustrates the way that Christians understand the Old Testament and interpret life itself in the light of the resurrection of Jesus.  The history of our salvation in the Scriptures is heard in the light of the Easter mystery.  The Service of Light reaches its climax with the Easter Proclamation.  We then proceed to the Vigil and the reading of key passages from Scripture telling of God’s saving love.

Christian Baptism is a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ and in this service it is fitting that we renew the promises made at our baptism, which strengthens our sense of belonging to the whole people of God.  The Easter Gospel is proclaimed with all the joy and splendour that the church can find.

The Eucharist then follows and all the resources of our church – music, bells, flowers and colours are used to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.  The ‘Alleluia’, which has been silent through Lent, returns.

And then we come to Easter Day, fully knowing the whole of the journey that Christ has travelled on our behalf, the pain and suffering as well as the joy and hope.  I invite you all, especially if you have never done so before, to join in all our services this year and to know the depth of the joy and hope that Easter brings.

From Janet

(Based on Common Worship: Times and Seasons)