The week has started off in such a hectic rush that I failed to point out the obvious yesterday-- this week is Holy Week, the week in which Christians commemorate the events in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This story and our beliefs about it are central to what Christianity means for most of us. I may be wrong, but I imagine that all Christians celebrate Easter in some way. Yet how many of us know about or mark the other major celebrations of Holy Week? I'm going to spend a few minutes today highlighting Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday-- their historical context and how churches celebrate them.

Palm Sunday, observed the Sunday preceding Easter, has been marked since the early medieval period. By 1000 AD, Roman Christians were attempting to follow the passion of Christ as closely as possible, and this celebration was a major part of that. Most of you know of Palm Sunday because churches usually hold a palm procession into the sanctuary to commemorate it. Often, churches will also read the entire crucifixion story during worship in lieu of a sermon (as my church did this last Sunday).

Here's a question for you-- what in the world does "maundy" mean? And how does it have to do with the Last Supper, the event that Maundy Thursday commemorates in the life of Jesus? It comes from the Latin translation of "a new commandment" in John 13:34, mandatum novum. In Catholicism, it was the day in which excommunicated members of the church could be readmitted. It is older than Palm Sunday, having been observed since the fourth century. I went to Maundy Thursday service for the first time last year, and found its emphasis on taking communion very powerful. The stripping of the sanctuary at the end symbolizes Christ's stripping by Roman soldiers before crucifixion. Some churches also do a footwashing ceremony on this day. And one factoid I find interesting... the Queen of England gives out coins to the elderly on Maundy Thursday after leaving church (I believe the number of people she gives coins to corresponds to her age).

Good Friday is more well-known, perhaps, than the other two, and observed by more denominations. Though this has always been commemorated, early Christians combined this celebration with Easter in the celebration of Pascha (Greek for "passover"). Good Friday, which seems somewhat misnamed, may have come from the term "God's Friday" as the day in which Jesus was crucified. Commemorations today depend on the church-- often Protestants will hold worship between noon and 3 pm to mark Jesus' hours on the cross. One observance, known as the Tenebrae, leads the congregation to repent of its sins by slowly enclosing the church in darkness. It ends with a loud noise, symbolizing Jesus' last cries on the cross and the earthquake that greeted his death.

I think that's enough knowledge to soak in for one day, so I'm going to get back to work. I hope you decide to attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services this year. They provide powerful pauses in the busyness of spring. More importantly, they provide opportunities to listen for God's voice and the hope of Christ in an increasingly dark world.

"So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you." --John 13:14-15

Kelsey