Pastor Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran
Christians are deep in the season of Lent now. By God’s grace, I hope that we are using these 40 days as a time self-reflection, learning, and spiritual growth. Whether you have given something up for the season to remind you of Jesus’ sacrifice or added some new spiritual discipline to better align yourself with God’s mind and heart, I hope that you are finding this Lent rich and helpful.
It won’t be long until the most powerful week of the Christian year is upon us. For believers, Holy Week marks Jesus’ final days on this earth.
This year the observance begins on April 13th with Palm Sunday. I still prefer this “old name” of the day, so-called because it recalls crowds cheering and waving palm branches as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the final time.
Newer liturgical resources use “the Sunday of the Passion” naming this Sunday before Easter this way to emphasize Jesus’ impending death and his complete love for humanity. We at the Spirit of Peace Lutheran will celebrate Palm Sunday with a combined worship service with St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church at Spirit of Peace at 10 AM. It is a Sunday of great exuberance as we all scream for Jesus, but it will not be long until we believers are screaming for his death when we realize that Jesus will not be the king that we hoped for.
Maundy (Latin for “Commandment”) Thursday is April 17th. This day takes us to the remembrance of the Last Supper and the Lord’s final meal with his disciples.
In contrast to the very public celebration of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday is a quieter, more private observance where Jesus expresses his deep love for his friends and begins the bedrock practice that comes to be known as Holy Communion. The Lord’s command is that we love one another. We Lutherans will celebrate this day with a meal and worship service at 6 PM at table the way that his first followers did. Maundy Thursday is an intimate experience, filled both with the joy of the gift that Jesus is giving us and the sad awareness that our time with our human savior is quickly coming to an end.
Holy Week reaches its climax this year on Friday, April 18th, strangely called Good Friday, even though the day is anything but good for our Lord as we watch him suffocate and die on the cross. For centuries, Christians have called this Good Friday because it is good for us as Jesus uses his divine authority and upside-down power to give his life for the world, beating death for us all. Spirit of Pace Lutheran will observe this day with a combined worship service at St Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church at 7 PM. On Good Friday we look head-on at what humanity did to its savior and ponder the depth of Jesus’ willing gift.
Holy Week takes us from celebration to feasting to death, from excitement to sharing to grief. It is the most intense week of Jesus’ ministry and nearly captures the essence of his mission, but the story is not over. The final surprise of Easter is yet to come. Resurrection Sunday will be that much more meaningful if we have walked the whole journey of Jesus’ final week. Everyone is invited to join us for the dramatic Holy Week worship experiences.
