HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SERVICES

Holy Week is the "Great Week" of the Christian year, during which we enter into the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Each of the services during Holy Week speaks distinctively about one part of this mystery, and how it shapes us as the people of God and as followers of Jesus.

We begin Holy Week on Palm Sunday with a procession: a kind of pilgrimage, an intentional movement from one place to another. We recall those who celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, acclaiming him as a king but without seeing clearly what the shape of his kingship would be. Once in the church the focus changes as we listen to the account of his passion and death. Each of the four gospels tells in detail of these events and locates them as the culmination of the whole of Jesus’ life and ministry.

Maundy Thursday is like the eye of the storm. Even as Jesus’ death looms, we gather for the meal that will evermore proclaim and give thanks for his giving of himself. Even in the face of the betrayal and abandonment which will soon come, Jesus models the way of love – most strikingly demonstrated as he washes the feet of his disciples. And so we too follow that humble and humbling act of service and love, before sharing the bread and wine and departing in silence.

On Good Friday we gather at the foot of the cross, finding there a place of desolation but also of comfort and assurance. We hear the passion narrative from John’s Gospel, and then acknowledge the cross as the source of our hope and trust. Here we are close to the heart of the mystery, but the journey is not yet complete...

On Easter Day we gather in the darkness, with hope and anticipation of the breaking dawn. Fire is kindled, and we carry that light into the church. Readings trace again the story of God’s saving purposes, culminating in the moment when light and music burst forth with the proclamation of resurrection. We celebrate new life and new creation by renewing the promises from our baptism, reclaiming our own journey to life in Christ. We share bread and wine again, this time infused with the joy of God’s triumph: of light over darkness, life over death, hope over despair.

What a journey! All are welcome to join in sharing these days together, as God works in us afresh through the different stages of the Easter mystery.