these photos, paired with this reflection...
Showing posts with label Holy Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Week. Show all posts
Week 11: Holy Week II
Week 11, Holy Week II: Citing this week’s readings, what recommendations would you give churches today celebrating Easter Sunday and Eastertide?
In “The Origins of Easter” Paul Bradshaw points out that the modern day Easter celebration has evolved from two separate ancient traditions. One feast tradition (practiced by the “Quartodecimans”) memorializes the suffering and death of Christ. The other celebrates Christ’s passage from death to life.[1] While the latter tradition is understood to be more universal than the first (as it celebrates Christ’s resurrection rather than memorializing his death), it is important to recognize that modern day practices of Easter have evolved from a combination of both. Just as the “Quartodecimans” memorialized Christ’s death in the context of the whole redemptive act,[2] on Easter Sunday and during Eastertide Christians celebrate the Resurrection only after they have first recognized and mourned Christ’s death during the season of Lent.
The contrast between Lent and Eastertide is essential to the Christian understanding and experience of the whole redemptive act. This is one reason why the Easter Vigil rite, “the original core of the liturgical year,”[3] is at the heart of the paschal mystery. The Easter Vigil, beginning sometime after dark on Saturday night, marks the transition from Lent to Eastertide, the passage from death to life. The Vigil readings communicate that God is no longer absent from our lives:
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather
you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have
compassion on you,
says the LORD, your Redeemer (Isaiah 54.7-8).
Though it may be difficult for many people to participate in a service beginning after dark Saturday and lasting through dawn Sunday, the Vigil would be an invaluable addition to the standard Easter service. Followed by an early breakfast and a service for those members of the congregation unable to attend, the evening/morning Vigil could help to re-establish Easter Sunday and Eastertide at the heart of the church—and with adequate preparation, planning and help, it wouldn’t have to be exhausting!
The vigil includes four parts: the Service of Light, the Service of the Word, the Service of the Water, and the Service of the Bread and Cup. Beginning after dark on Saturday, the vigil opens with the lighting of new fire. This fire is then used to light the Paschal Candle (which remains lit through Eastertide and Pentecost), a tradition carried over from ancient Jewish practice.[4] The Service of the Word includes biblical readings, many from the Old Testament, followed by a short sermon. Following the sermon, the Service of the Water offers the opportunity to commit or recommit to the Word of God through baptism. In addition, I’d suggest honoring those who have come before by naming the list of ancient and modern saints as recommended in The Handbook.[5] The remembrances of deceased loved one and prayers for specific people of the congregation could also be included during the Service of the Water.
Finally, I appreciate The Handbook’s suggestion of bringing in homemade breads to be used in the Service of the Bread and Cup or in the breakfast following the vigil.[6] The Easter Vigil and Sunday services should be designed to encourage the entire congregation to actively participate whether by baking bread, bringing fresh flowers to the service, taking these flowers to home bound congregants after the service, or participating in efforts to revitalize the community. As Raymond Brown points out, “those who were ‘scattered’ by the events of the passion at Jerusalem will once more become a community when they return to the place where they were first called together as disciples.”[7] Eastertide is an opportunity for community members to come together in celebration, sharing their joy and abundance with each other and with the larger community in which they live.
[1] Bradshaw 111
[2] Ibid. 113
[3] Ibid. 124
[4] Handbook 201
[5] Ibid. 208
[6] Ibid. 209
[7] Brown 202
In “The Origins of Easter” Paul Bradshaw points out that the modern day Easter celebration has evolved from two separate ancient traditions. One feast tradition (practiced by the “Quartodecimans”) memorializes the suffering and death of Christ. The other celebrates Christ’s passage from death to life.[1] While the latter tradition is understood to be more universal than the first (as it celebrates Christ’s resurrection rather than memorializing his death), it is important to recognize that modern day practices of Easter have evolved from a combination of both. Just as the “Quartodecimans” memorialized Christ’s death in the context of the whole redemptive act,[2] on Easter Sunday and during Eastertide Christians celebrate the Resurrection only after they have first recognized and mourned Christ’s death during the season of Lent.
The contrast between Lent and Eastertide is essential to the Christian understanding and experience of the whole redemptive act. This is one reason why the Easter Vigil rite, “the original core of the liturgical year,”[3] is at the heart of the paschal mystery. The Easter Vigil, beginning sometime after dark on Saturday night, marks the transition from Lent to Eastertide, the passage from death to life. The Vigil readings communicate that God is no longer absent from our lives:
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather
you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have
compassion on you,
says the LORD, your Redeemer (Isaiah 54.7-8).
Though it may be difficult for many people to participate in a service beginning after dark Saturday and lasting through dawn Sunday, the Vigil would be an invaluable addition to the standard Easter service. Followed by an early breakfast and a service for those members of the congregation unable to attend, the evening/morning Vigil could help to re-establish Easter Sunday and Eastertide at the heart of the church—and with adequate preparation, planning and help, it wouldn’t have to be exhausting!
The vigil includes four parts: the Service of Light, the Service of the Word, the Service of the Water, and the Service of the Bread and Cup. Beginning after dark on Saturday, the vigil opens with the lighting of new fire. This fire is then used to light the Paschal Candle (which remains lit through Eastertide and Pentecost), a tradition carried over from ancient Jewish practice.[4] The Service of the Word includes biblical readings, many from the Old Testament, followed by a short sermon. Following the sermon, the Service of the Water offers the opportunity to commit or recommit to the Word of God through baptism. In addition, I’d suggest honoring those who have come before by naming the list of ancient and modern saints as recommended in The Handbook.[5] The remembrances of deceased loved one and prayers for specific people of the congregation could also be included during the Service of the Water.
Finally, I appreciate The Handbook’s suggestion of bringing in homemade breads to be used in the Service of the Bread and Cup or in the breakfast following the vigil.[6] The Easter Vigil and Sunday services should be designed to encourage the entire congregation to actively participate whether by baking bread, bringing fresh flowers to the service, taking these flowers to home bound congregants after the service, or participating in efforts to revitalize the community. As Raymond Brown points out, “those who were ‘scattered’ by the events of the passion at Jerusalem will once more become a community when they return to the place where they were first called together as disciples.”[7] Eastertide is an opportunity for community members to come together in celebration, sharing their joy and abundance with each other and with the larger community in which they live.
[1] Bradshaw 111
[2] Ibid. 113
[3] Ibid. 124
[4] Handbook 201
[5] Ibid. 208
[6] Ibid. 209
[7] Brown 202
Week eight: Holy Week I
Week 8, Holy Week I: Citing this week’s readings, what recommendations would you give churches today observing Holy Week, through Holy Saturday?
Jesus is completely abandoned in the hours leading up to his death. As Raymond Brown points out, while the first disciples left everything in order to follow Jesus, his last disciples left everything in order to get away from him.[1] Standing in church on an April afternoon today, it might be easy to think, “Well, if I had been there, I would have stood up for him. Or, we, as a congregation, would have stood up for him.” But in the previous chapter, Brown has suggested including Christians among the cast of characters opposing Jesus in the Passion play. He explains:
"Gospel readers are often sincerely religious people who have a deep attachment to their tradition. Jesus was a challenge to religious traditionalists since he pointed to a human element in their holy traditions—an element too often identified with God’s will. If Jesus was treated harshly by the literal-minded religious people of his time who were Jews, it is quite likely that he would be treated harshly by similar religious people of our time, including Christians. Not Jewish background but religious mentality is the basic component in the reaction to Jesus."[2]
In reflecting on the season of Lent for week five, I suggested that Lent be a time for us to slow down, to notice God’s absence, and to observe where we have turned away from God in our lives. Perhaps Holy Week is a time for us to ask, “Where is belief getting in the way of my relationship with God?” “Are their aspects of my worship that have become stale (“chametz”[3]) and that separate me from others and/or from God?” “What beliefs or practices do I need to let go of in order to deepen my relationship with God, with others, and with myself?”
In his description of the Jewish Passover, Greenberg writes, “True freedom means accepting the ethics of responsibility,” Several pages later, he adds “…sharing or reaching beyond the self is a fundamental mark of free people.[4] After the performance of a Passion play in which Christians also played the role of Jesus’ oppressor, it would be helpful to think creatively about the role of oppression in our current lives. In a group setting, it would be helpful to discuss the dual identity of oppressor and oppressed and to then explore how these identities take shape in our personal and communal lives.[5]
Though space is limited, I want to make two final points. The first point is that the practices suggested above are meant to help us to understand that like the Exodus, the crucifixion did not destroy evil in the world. “What it did was set up an alternative conception of life.” Greenberg writes of the Exodus. “…it points the way to the end goal toward which all life and history must go.”[6] I believe this holds true of the crucifixion and resurrection as well.
Secondly, I believe that to fully understand the Christian version of this alternative, we must remember that all life turned from God in the final hours of Jesus’ life. “Nature itself is plunged into a darkness that covers the whole land … from the sixth to ninth hour,” Brown reminds us.[7] Even Jesus turns away, asking “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The entire world has rejected Jesus. Now he must let go of his God and face death. According to Father Bede Griffiths, it is in this surrender to nothingness, to darkness, that Jesus is taken to the total Love. “Behind death is this tremendous power of Love,” says Father Bede.[8] Ideally, the rituals and practices of Holy Week will help each one of us to experience the pain of being mocked and rejected, of being isolated and cut off from everything we know and love. And it will then allow us to gradually awaken and to be released back into the world, connected once again in God.
[1] Brown 156
[2] Brown 149
[3] Greenberg 41-46
[4] Greenberg 49-51
[5] The work of Paulo Freire would be useful in leading this discussion!
[6] Greenberg 36
[7] Brown 162
[8] http://thechristianliturgicalyear.blogspot.com/2009/03/father-bede-griffiths-surrendering-to.html
Jesus is completely abandoned in the hours leading up to his death. As Raymond Brown points out, while the first disciples left everything in order to follow Jesus, his last disciples left everything in order to get away from him.[1] Standing in church on an April afternoon today, it might be easy to think, “Well, if I had been there, I would have stood up for him. Or, we, as a congregation, would have stood up for him.” But in the previous chapter, Brown has suggested including Christians among the cast of characters opposing Jesus in the Passion play. He explains:
"Gospel readers are often sincerely religious people who have a deep attachment to their tradition. Jesus was a challenge to religious traditionalists since he pointed to a human element in their holy traditions—an element too often identified with God’s will. If Jesus was treated harshly by the literal-minded religious people of his time who were Jews, it is quite likely that he would be treated harshly by similar religious people of our time, including Christians. Not Jewish background but religious mentality is the basic component in the reaction to Jesus."[2]
In reflecting on the season of Lent for week five, I suggested that Lent be a time for us to slow down, to notice God’s absence, and to observe where we have turned away from God in our lives. Perhaps Holy Week is a time for us to ask, “Where is belief getting in the way of my relationship with God?” “Are their aspects of my worship that have become stale (“chametz”[3]) and that separate me from others and/or from God?” “What beliefs or practices do I need to let go of in order to deepen my relationship with God, with others, and with myself?”
In his description of the Jewish Passover, Greenberg writes, “True freedom means accepting the ethics of responsibility,” Several pages later, he adds “…sharing or reaching beyond the self is a fundamental mark of free people.[4] After the performance of a Passion play in which Christians also played the role of Jesus’ oppressor, it would be helpful to think creatively about the role of oppression in our current lives. In a group setting, it would be helpful to discuss the dual identity of oppressor and oppressed and to then explore how these identities take shape in our personal and communal lives.[5]
Though space is limited, I want to make two final points. The first point is that the practices suggested above are meant to help us to understand that like the Exodus, the crucifixion did not destroy evil in the world. “What it did was set up an alternative conception of life.” Greenberg writes of the Exodus. “…it points the way to the end goal toward which all life and history must go.”[6] I believe this holds true of the crucifixion and resurrection as well.
Secondly, I believe that to fully understand the Christian version of this alternative, we must remember that all life turned from God in the final hours of Jesus’ life. “Nature itself is plunged into a darkness that covers the whole land … from the sixth to ninth hour,” Brown reminds us.[7] Even Jesus turns away, asking “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The entire world has rejected Jesus. Now he must let go of his God and face death. According to Father Bede Griffiths, it is in this surrender to nothingness, to darkness, that Jesus is taken to the total Love. “Behind death is this tremendous power of Love,” says Father Bede.[8] Ideally, the rituals and practices of Holy Week will help each one of us to experience the pain of being mocked and rejected, of being isolated and cut off from everything we know and love. And it will then allow us to gradually awaken and to be released back into the world, connected once again in God.
[1] Brown 156
[2] Brown 149
[3] Greenberg 41-46
[4] Greenberg 49-51
[5] The work of Paulo Freire would be useful in leading this discussion!
[6] Greenberg 36
[7] Brown 162
[8] http://thechristianliturgicalyear.blogspot.com/2009/03/father-bede-griffiths-surrendering-to.html
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