St. Paul's Lutheran Church

11795 Rte. 216 301-725-0241
Fulton, Maryland 20759 stpaulsfulton@verizon.net

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From Pastor Rod (April 2012):

It’s very unusual to write an article for our newsletter at the beginning of Holy Week. Years ago I read another article, written by another Pastor, about how Holy Week enables us to slow down time as we move through the mystery of faith. Slow down? I’m not so sure anymore. The older I get the busier this week seems to be. If anything, this holy time which embraces us is deliberate. Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion – admittedly a somewhat unusual Sunday in the Church Year – was the beginning of deliberate movement from our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his Passion. The Service on Palm Sunday has always been deliberately different – leading us to – and into -- a series of very deliberate liturgies. “Spy Wednesday” – the day on which Judas Iscariot was exposed as a collaborator with Jesus’ enemies – signals the ending of the Season of Lent itself. From our Prayers on Wednesday in Holy Week we are led deliberately to the TRIDUUM – the “three sacred days” of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The intent of each Service is to emphasize the final stages of Jesus’ journey for us, from death to resurrected life. But before we get too far, let me share a reminder about what we experienced Palm Sunday: Jesus is the King, but he rides on a beast of burden. He is the Son of God, but he is mocked and humiliated. He brings life to the world, yet he must bear the cross. He hangs defeated, yet by his wounds we are healed. We heard two Gospel stories that Day: the shouts of “Hosanna!” from St. Mark’s Gospel – and the shouts of “crucify him,” as we read together the Passion according to St. Mark. We were intentionally led from parade to upper room to Golgotha to the tomb. The Palm Branches we blessed and received were for us signs of Christ’s reign among us as the one who comes in the name of the God of Israel. Now to the TRIDUUM. As we gather Maundy Thursday night, we will reach back to the beginning of Lent to recall the confession we made on Ash Wednesday. A time for the visibility of holy Absolution will take place, where the forgiveness of sins – through the laying-on-of-hands and the solemn words, “In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins” – will remind us of the heavy price Christ paid to bless us with this grace. Then the rite of footwashing will follow, where we remember Jesus’ command to be servants of one another. This very deliberate rite will lead us to the solemn remembrance of the very first Eucharist – where we are linked with the disciples in the upper room. Finally, the altar – the place of our Lord’s presence in His Supper and His sacrificial love -- is stripped bare; a reminder of the His humiliation and the highest of mockeries where the Son of God is put on trial. Just as deliberately we will be brought together on Good Friday. At Noon, in the Chapel, we will commemorate His way of sorrow with the Stations of the Cross – and again, in the Sanctuary in the evening, we gather to hear of Jesus’ humiliation, his interrogation, the verdict where his life would be given up for us, and his final breath. We shall ponder what this truly means for us, pray for the needs of the whole world, adore the cross, sing the solemn Reproaches, and be reminded that by His death Christ has defeated death, and that Christ has been glorified by His suffering. This holy Passion of our Lord Jesus was done for us! We need to do, as Luther reminds us: “Sanctify this holy day,” that is, be present. After all, God is always present for us! Easter begins with the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday of Easter. Gathered around the new Light of passing from death to life, we hear of our deliverance from the powers of evil and death, and shout out, for the first time, “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!” We will rejoice as a child is baptized and then affirm the baptismal grace which belongs to us. Then we will be nourished by the risen Christ in the First Eucharist of Easter. We will move deliberately – from outside, to the Word, to the Font, then into the beauty of the Easter chancel. And then – then! -- Easter morning comes, and we shall feast with abandon! The mystery of faith is full of truth: “Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!” The fragrance of flowers, the beauty of brightness and light, the wonders of the Meal where we taste and see the New Life promised to us help us to confess that God’s new life and His love in Christ is stronger than death. Christ, standing on that other side of the grave, will beckon us to the feast which will never end. This is why we do what we do during each Holy Week and Easter. My hope is that, as you read this, you will not gloss over the cost of God’s love for you and the world. Instead, it’s time for all of us to bask in this love and have it embrace us – from Palm Sunday to Easter, and throughout our lives. In the Peace only Christ can bring, Pr. Rod +