General Comments
- The final week of Lent is called Holy Week andbegins on Palm Sunday, which memorializes Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-11). The Holy Week commemorates the events immediately preceding the crucifixion. It is the most solemn time during the church year and we hold services nightly, marking the last days of Christ on Monday through Friday, with an Easter Vigil kept on Saturday; – an act of anticipation of the resurrection of Christ.
- Easter, derived from the Proto-Germanic root word Ēostre, meaning “to rise,” refers not only to Christ rising from the dead, but also to his ascension to heaven and to our future rising with him at his Second Coming for final judgment.
- The first Easter occurred on the first day of the week after the Passover Sabbath and the Early Christians consulted local rabbis to determine the date of Passover each year, which would correspond to Holy Week; which is why we also refer to Easter as the Paschal Sunday – during which there may be a celebration of the Eucharist by which we are sacramentally reunited with our risen Lord.
- The important days of the Holy Week are discussed below.
Palm Sunday
- The Sixth Sunday in Lent or Palm Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds who were in Jerusalem for Passover waving palm branches and proclaiming him as the Messianic King. The Gospels tell us that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, enacting the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, and in so doing emphasized the humility that was to characterize the Kingdom he proclaimed. The irony of his acceptance as the new Davidic King (Mark 11:10) by the crowds who would only five days later cry for his execution should be a sobering reminder of the human tendency to want God on our own terms.
Maundy Thursday
- Maundy Thursday honours the memory of the final Passover Jesus celebrated – The Last Supper with His disciples. Most sanctuaries celebrate communion on Maundy Thursday, and also the re-enactment of Jesus’ symbolic washing the feet of the disciples. This occurs the day before Good Friday and requires passion, reflection, humility and submission. Psalm 22 is sometimes either read or sung while the altar paraments are being removed, at the end of the service after reading the whole of the gospel on Christ’s passion. Since the altar in these traditions symbolize the Christ, the “stripping of the altar” symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers prior to his crucifixion.
- The English word “Maundy.” is a corruption of the Latin “Mandatum; and Maundy Thursday gets its name from a Latin church anthem, the first line of which reads, “Mandatum novum do vobis,” or translated, “a new commandment I give to you” (John 13:34). ” The Maundy Thursday is in Germany called “Green Thursday”, apparently after the green branch given by pastors to penitents on this day to signify that God has heard their prayers and will give them new life. In other countries, it is called “Sheer Thursday” to signify that it is by the body and blood of Christ that we are made “clean” or “sheer” from our sins. This is the traditional day for a thorough cleaning of the church altar and everything associated with it.
- It is a common tradition for the sanctuary to be feted in red for Maundy Thursday, a symbol of Jesus’ disciples and through them, the community of the Church. Since Eucharist or communion is often observed on Maundy Thursday in the context of Passover, the extra emphasis is on the gathered community in the presence of Jesus the Christ. However, it is acceptable to use Violet the colour of the robes placed in jest over Christ at Pontius Pilate’s.
Good Friday
- Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Christ. As early as the second century A.D., Christians the world over celebrated each Friday in commemoration of the crucifixion, with prayer, fasting or other penance.
- In many a church, quiet services from noon until three (called Tre Ore, or “Three Hours”), were conducted, focusing on the chronology of events, leading to Christ’s crucifixion and the words of Christ from the cross. Often, the good Friday services conclude with draping the altar cross with a black cloth, extinguishing all lights in the sanctuary except the one undying flame which signifies the eternal Holy Spirit, ceasing all music, with the congregation exiting the sanctuary wordlessly; an act of symbolism in recognition/commemoration of the imminent death of Christ
- Traditionally, the sanctuary colours of Good Friday and the Holy Saturday are dark and the Cross in the sanctuary is usually draped in black on Good Friday, symbolizing the darkness and gloom which sin has ushered into the world., It also symbolizes death, not only the death of Jesus but the death of the whole world under the burden of sin. In this sense, it also represents the hopelessness and the endings that come as human beings try to make their own way in the world without God.
Easter Eve
- There is traditionally no celebration of the Eucharist on Easter Eve, which also known as the Holy Saturday, or Black Saturday or Easter Saturday. This is the seventh day of the week, the day Jesus rested in the tomb. In the first three Gospel accounts this was the Jewish Sabbath, which provided appropriate symbolism of the seventh day rest. While some church traditions continue daily services on Saturday, there is no communion served on this day.
- 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, the Easter Liturgy 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. The Easter Vigil marks the end of the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and leads into the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. It is fittingly a time for the strengthening of the Christian’s sense of incorporation into the royal and priestly ministry of the whole people of God.
- The Easter Eve Liturgy contains three main elements which are intended to form a single whole but may also be celebrated separately.
- The Vigil is probably the oldest feature of the Easter celebrations. From its earliest times the Church would keep watch through the night and meditate on the mighty works of God. Christians would pray until the earliest hours of the morning, when Christ’s resurrection was acclaimed. The heart of the Vigil is the reading of key passages from Scripture telling of God’s saving love.
- The Service of Light proclaims the resurrection of Christ from the dead in word and action, in silence and sound. The Easter Candle, symbolizing Christ, the light of the world, is lit and the light is carried through the church and progressively passed to the whole congregation.
- The Liturgy of Initiation entails a Re-affirmation of Baptismal Vows by the Christian community as a public declaration of their union with Christ in his death and resurrection. It is also a good time to be baptised or confirmed.
- Some traditions suspend services and Scripture readings during the day on Saturday, to be resumed at the Easter Vigil after sundown Saturday. It is traditionally a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and his grace. It is also a time to remember family and the faithful who have died as we await the resurrection, or to honor the martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ in the world.
- While Good Friday is a traditional day of fasting, some also fast on Saturday as the climax of the season of Lent. An ancient tradition dating to the first centuries of the church calls for no food of any kind to be eaten on Holy Saturday, or for 40 hours before sunrise on Sunday. However it is observed, Holy Saturday has traditionally been a time of reflection and waiting, the time of weeping that lasts for the night while awaiting the joy that comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
Some Easter Traditions
- Through the centuries different ways of celebrating these events have developed. Sometimes we celebrate the Easter Liturgy as one service throughout the night, beginning on the evening of Holy Saturday and reaching its climax at dawn. Alternatively, some sanctuaries have the Vigil and the Service of Light on the Saturday night, leaving the baptismal and Eucharistic liturgies to the Sunday morning. Others gather on the Saturday evening or before dawn for a short Vigil, leaving the rest of the Easter Liturgy to be celebrated later in the day. Yet others keep the Easter ceremonies for the main service on Easter Sunday morning, omitting the Vigil altogether. Some relocate the worship to another significant place in or around the community. However the Easter celebrations are structured and conducted, all possible variations derive from the one Easter Liturgy, which needs to be seen as a whole even if it is celebrated in distinct stages.
- In Christian tradition, the Easter egg is often used as an representation of the trinity, and to signify the resurrection life promised us by Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:37-38). Christians used hiding-and-finding eggs as a teaching tool to children that we have been “hidden” from God’s loving presence by our sin, but we are “found” by Christ, who forgives us, loves us, and treasures us (Luke 15:4-7). It can also signify the diligence with which we are to seek the kingdom of God and our joy in finding it (Matt. 13:44-46). Additionally, Christ is the Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:5), the One sacrifice Who cleanses all from sin by His blood (Is. 53:7; John 1:29; Acts 8:32-25; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6-13; 7:13-14; 15:3).
- The celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection is a time of joy, hymns, celebration, and light and we often use bright colours to decorate the sanctuary and the altar, traditionally white and gold. White represents purity and the resurrection, gold symbolizes triumph. We also use flowers to signify resurrection life, the lily being the most popular because of its long association with spring and the white of salvation. Some churches conclude their Easter services with a congregational feast, commemorating the marriage feast of God with His people, made possible through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; all the while proclaiming the standard from the gospels and oft repeated through the generations – He is Risen indeed!
This material is culled from several Church and internet sources, including the Methodist Worship Book; and that of the Church of England; The Season of Lent & The Days of Holy Week both by Dennis Bratcher – http://www.crivoice.org/cylent.html & http://www.crivoice.org/cyholyweek.html#Good. See also United Methodist Church materials e.g. http://www.gbod.org/lead-your-church/services-liturgies/resource/the-great-vigil-of-easter