Holy Saturday

We are now in that fuzzy time when Jesus has died and has not yet risen.  It is the time in the tomb before the rock has been rolled away.  It is the time we truly must wait, even though we buy our Easter outfits and color Easter eggs to fill in the time.  Of course we know the next part of the story, but still… we are not there yet. 

There is a lovely very short liturgy for Holy Saturday in the Book of Common Prayer on page 283.  It*s stuffed between Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter.  If two pages stick together, you might flip over it, miss it entirely.  Don*t do it.  Really, I mean it: don*t do it.  Look at the Scriptures.  Above all, pay attention to the 1 Peter 4:1-8 reading.  It catches me every time:  Love covers a multitude of sins.  Every year I hear or read this passage and it is somehow new, even while being familiar.  Don*t miss it.  Page 283 of the Book of Common Prayer.  It takes about ten minutes, tops.  

This is the end of Lent.  Jesus is resurrected Saturday night.   Once again.

Consider this

and

Consider it again.

Good Friday Preaching

I have never known how to preach after Jesus dies on the cross.  What can a preacher say after Jesus dies, gives everything he has, stretches his arms on the hard wood of the cross?  And dies?  There are simply No More Words.  I used to preach before the Passion, tell people what to listen for.  Now I don*t preach at all.   Except here.   I still preach, it seems.   Obviously, I am still preaching.

Consider this:

What do you need to do today to mark Good Friday?  What do you need to do or perhaps, not do?  What do you need to say or not say?  Where do you need to be... or not be?

Triduum

Today we begin the three day service which ends with the Easter Vigil on Saturday night.  There is so much crammed into these three days, and of course every church has its own community variation.  As a priest, I have my preferences regarding the right way to go about this massive three day service.  Since I am not in charge of liturgy these days, I attend my community services as they are, not as I believe they should be.  Or at least that*s the idea.  This is easier said than done.  It is year four being out of parish ministry during Holy Week.   I sit in the pew and listen and watch, and yes, participate.  Here I am.  Here I begin again, the three day service, as it is, in my community.  Here is where I sit, where I stand, where I kneel.  Here is where I am not in charge of liturgy.

Consider this:

What expectations do you have regarding the services of Holy Week, particularly the services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil?  How can you experience them anew this year?  

Wednesday in Holy Week: Presence

Over the weekend I heard from a long ago parishioner:  I don*t know if you remember the conversation we had, she said, but you asked me to consider parish nursing.  And now I am an RN and I work as a nurse for a Christian theme park in Georgia. 

I do not remember the conversation.  I know next to nothing about parish nursing.  And I have never been to a Christian theme park.  But still… there it is.  Sometimes we don*t know when we have been enlisted to speak particular words to particular people.  What may be only a throw-away line to us may well be a lifeline to someone else.  We don*t get to plan this.  The other blog I write: allwillbewellperiod.blogspot.com  speaks to one of my experiences of this in the reverse.  To my mind this puts new light on Jesus being present in each one of us.  

Consider this:

One of the Scripture readings for today is the story of Mary anointing Jesus* feet with expensive ointment.  An extravagant gesture.  Perhaps Mary was Jesus for Jesus that day.

Which is it today for you?  Who offers you the face and voice of Jesus?  Have you thought perhaps you might be the face and voice of Jesus for someone else?  Again, we don*t get to plan this.  Either way it is a gift.

Tuesday in Holy Week: Change

A few years ago I had a dream the night before a church gathering.  In the dream were two large women who blocked my way in.  They told me I needed to pay $1.82 before I could enter.  They also told me it needed to be exactly $1.82 because they did not give change.    This morning I read the story of Jesus upsetting the tables of the moneychangers on the Temple grounds in Jerusalem (Mark 11:15-19).  I thought about Jesus declaring the Temple a house of prayer for all nations, and how threatening that was for the religious authorities.  I thought about those two large dream women, demanding such an odd amount, making it so difficult even to enter.

Consider this:

What has blocked the way for you in living out your faith?   Jesus upset the tables of the money-changers and the dove-sellers.  He demanded that people enter the temple carrying nothing.  What an image!  What a threat to the system.  What a change!  What if we walked into church with empty hands, into our house of prayer for all nations with clear eyes and clean hearts and empty hands?  What is blocking your way in?  Jesus has already cleared the way.

Monday in Holy Week

I go into a different mode in Holy Week.  No matter whether I lead or attend or miss worship services.  There is no need to write a separate Lenten blog during Holy Week.  It is its own time and permeates everything.  I will probably publish this same paragraph in both blogs.  We missed the donkey yesterday, the palms, the Passion.  It does not matter. Today is Monday in Holy Week, no matter where I am, no matter how many errands I run. No matter even if I go to church, or not.  It is still Holy Week.

Consider this:

How is this week different for you?  Is it different?  How has what you have taken on, or given up for Lent changed the way you experience this week?  

Palm Sunday Procession

Here it is Palm Sunday.  We are getting ready to leave the motel in Minneapolis and soon will make the trek through Wisconsin, with daughter driving a good portion of the way.  Palm Sunday is different every year, even if it is only a procession around the outside of a church building.  We are always pro-cessing.  I read that over and realize it can be pronounced two different ways, which is why I inserted the hyphen.

Consider this:

What is part of your process, your procession this Palm Sunday?  Are people walking before you, behind you, next to you?  Who is preparing the way for you?  Are you riding?  Walking?