Holy Week and Easter

Jesus is Risen! Alleluia!

I love Holy Week and Easter, but it always throws me off track a bit. Part of it is simply the different schedule. Since I sing in the church choir, I'm there for everything, usually including Wednesday evening practice. I love all of the services, but there doesn't seem to be enough time to do them all and to get a full night's sleep.

But part of the reason I find the season difficult is all the emotions. On Thursday, we celebrate ministry, and this year I found myself reflecting on the great value of each individual's contribution. The whole of humanity was present Thursday, represented by the twelve who came up for the footwashing, male and female, old and young, of different nationalities. All had their feet washed by the priest. It was beautiful.




On Good Friday, we see the starkness of death, of loss, of the pain and suffering of Jesus. We also do the extended general intercessions, where we pray for people of all backgrounds throughout the world. We are reminded that Jesus suffered and died for each of us, but that there is still suffering all around. It is a painful day, a black day--and in fact, they used to wear black vestments on Good Friday. I'm glad that's not the practice any more.

Holy Saturday is just a weird day. Jesus is in the tomb--what do we do? Traditionally, this is the day we believe that he "harrowed hell," and released from death those who were holy, and brought them to heaven. It is a day of silence, and (since we know something big is coming) of preparation.



And then there is the joy of the Easter celebration. The Easter Vigil lies between, connecting the sorrow of death with the joy of the Resurrection. The rituals march us through the transition -- from darkness into light, from the Old Testament into the Gospel, from silence into joyful song with bells and organ. The Exsultet, sung at the beginning prepares us for what is to come:

Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

It makes me grin -- and cry -- every time. The joy is so palpable!



Images: www.godweb.org, www.ibiblio.org, www.southsidebaptistgriffin.com

Books!

Oh, I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted.

I guess that means that life has been busy after returning from the time away.

But here I am again! To start off, I thought I would discuss some of the books that I managed to get through. First, I listened to Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice in the car on the way home, beginning Easter day. It is a fascinating novel written from the point of view of Jesus as a seven-year-old boy.


There are some negative aspects to the work, which I will discuss in a moment, but the positive characteristics outweigh them. Jesus is a young boy here, and so he doesn't have complete knowledge of who he is, and who is Father is. He is learning throughout this book the story of his birth as he grows in knowledge that he is divine. I think it is valuable because it presents a believable story to help us understand how Jesus is both human and divine--that he didn't know everything from the moment of his birth, but came to know himself just like each of us must.

The most prominent negative aspect is this: Rice uses the apocryphal gospels alongside the canonical gospels to explain these events. For instance, it comes up several times that Jesus brought clay birds to life (from the Proto-Evangelium of James). It's an odd story, and one that we do not accept as authentic to the gospel tradition.

Having said that, I understand the purpose of including the story of birds come to life in this work: it illustrates how Jesus learns of who he is. As a small child playing with clay, he wishes for his toys to come to life. He doesn't yet understand that his wishes are within his power because he is divine! The use of that image for this novel makes sense to me, even if I don't really believe it happened.

Theologically, everything else in the novel is faithful to the Catholic tradition.

I'm excited to read the second installment... Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana.


(Photo credits: St. Joseph and the Child Jesus from www.katsuya-art.com)

Easter Blessings!

This (slightly blurry) image was taken at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

I am back home after a lovely Holy Week and Easter spent with the Sisters! I have to admit that the week was fantastic, more peaceful and happy than I expected.

It was simply... comfortable. I wouldn't say it was exciting, really, not the way a big vacation to a resort or to Disney World might be exciting. It was more like finding a comfortable place to spend some time, finding a community in which I could belong.

I learned a lot. I saw how four very strong women of different personalities and with different needs can live together in a community. We worked and prayed together, and talked. There was lots of laughter, giggling, and some tears! I am thankful for these women and the lives they live in service to the world. I am thankful (and humbled!) to have spend so much time with them.

There is more to say, but I cannot find the words. I pray for strength and courage to do what God has laid out ahead of me.

Lent is ending and Holy Week approaches!

I leave town tomorrow and will be gone until after Easter, to "live in" with a community of sisters for Holy Week. So, I may not have the opportunity to blog for a while.

As I go into this week, I'm a little nervous, but also excited. I'm nervous because I just don't know what to expect--I have to trust that the Holy Spirit will guide my heart into a deeper relationship with the community. I have all those "what if" questions going through my head--and I just have to ignore them! (What if they don't like me?) None of them are rational at all, but they still nag and pull me away from the more important thoughts.

But I'm excited too. I hope this weekend is a taste of the life that I seek. I hope to keep my heart open to the present moment. I hope to learn more about the community and about myself.

I also love Holy Week and Easter--this is my favorite season. This is the reason for our faith--without the Resurrection, everything else is pretty meaningless. But it is the pain and emotion leading to Easter that is so beautiful.

Isn't it a commentary on life in general? We cannot understand the beauty of our lives if we never experience the sadness that comes with it. How much sweeter is beauty, happiness, when it comes at great cost?

Please keep me in your prayers these weeks, as I will keep you in mine.