Holy Week and Easter

A vast majority of Christians across the world refer to the week that begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday, as “Holy Week”. It is a solemn pilgrimage that leads to greater love for the Lord, a desire for holiness and a focussed plea to honour Jesus as the only Saviour and Lord of the Church – and of the world.

 

During Holy Week we among other commemorations, observe the Tenebrae Service on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  The high light and destination of our journey is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

 

The word “holy” means that something belongs to God. It tells us that this week is set apart for God, to remember, contemplate and celebrate the central truth of the gospel, that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, saved us from our sins by his atoning, redeeming  death and his victorious resurrection and ascension.

 

What is “Palm Sunday”?
Palm Sunday always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Gospels (Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19). It remembers the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the last Sunday before his Passion.

The earliest evidence of Palm Sunday celebrations can be traced back to Jerusalem in the 4th century, according to the travel diary of a woman who had travelled to Jerusalem and observed the festivities - including the procession of believers with palm fronds. He is a King who intentionally came to Jerusalem to save us by giving his life – body, soul, and spirit – to carry our punishment and to deliver us from the law and judgment of God.

 

What is Tenebrae?
The Tenebrae service is observed on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday night before Good Friday. It was on that Thursday night that Jesus instituted the Holy Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, experienced the anguish and fear of Gethsemane, and was arrested and tried by the religious leaders of his time. It was the night that he was betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter.

The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion events. It is not to be a happy service, because the occasion remembered is a solemn one in which we are in mourning because our sins caused the Son of Man so much hellish torment and distress.

 

Good Friday.
Good Friday is not a day of celebration but of mourning, both for the sins of the world and our personal sin that the death of Christ represents. Yet, although remembering Good Friday is a solemn, penitentiary time, it is not without its own joy. For while it is important to see the Resurrection against the darkness of Good Friday, likewise the sombreness of Good Friday should always be seen with the hope of Resurrection Sunday.

 

Easter Sunday.
On the 3rd day Jesus triumphantly rose again!
Easter Sunday is the crown of Christian worship that inspires every Sunday service of the year, where we are equipped to glorify the resurrected Lord, by living for the glory of the living God every day of our lives, until the end!

Easter calls us to joyful worship, victorious lives and holy commitment to Christ our Redeemer.