Just a few weeks ago, the Church gathered for Ash Wednesday and started this journey called Lent towards Jerusalem, the Cross, and Easter’s empty tomb. Now, in this the last week of Lent, we remember Christ’s Passion. It is a week of special devotion. The word “passion” comes from the Latin word patior, meaning “I suffer”. It was Athanasius, an early church theologian and later a bishop, who referred to it as “holy Paschal week.” Greek and Roman worship books called it the “Great Week” because great deeds were done by God during this week.
In the early church, only Friday and Saturday were observed as holy days. By the late 4th century the various parts of the Passion story given to us in the Gospels had been separated out, and people began commemorating them on the days of the week on which they had occurred. You’ll recognize these:
• Palm Sunday: Jesus’ triumphal entrance into the city
• Maundy Thursday: Judas’ betrayal and the first Holy Communion
• Good Friday: The crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus
• Holy Saturday: Jesus’ body rests in the tomb
• Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ
It was actually the ancient Christians in the church in Jerusalem that first organized dramatic ceremonies during Holy Week at appropriate local holy sites that had been restored by the Emperor Constantine. Visitors to the city were so moved that these ceremonies have spread from Jerusalem to churches worldwide. We celebrate many of them this coming week, as we remember and are transformed by story of God’s love and overwhelming grace. I hope you’ll make every effort to be frequently in worship this week.
Scott Hagan is pastor of Waverly Hall (Ga.) United Methodist Church since moving in 2007 from Albany, where he served as associate minister at First United Methodist Church. He was in Albany for four years where he helped to oversee the missions, young adult and contemporary worship ministries.
