Holy Week

On Palm Sunday, I sat in church and my heart was grieved. I was weepy all day. I grimace inside at the casual way me, my family and Christians alike will barely recognize what Jesus went through over 2000 yrs ago for us. I found myself yearning for so much more. I want more than just the plastic resurrection eggs to go over at the breakfast table. I want to teach my kids that Easter is about more than pretty dresses, cute bunny decorations, egg hunts and candy.

As I ponder this week, I am afraid it will come and go just like a bleep on the radar screen. How can I teach my kids to stop and remember? And that it is ok to have a solemn attitude about the road that led our Savior to Calvary.

In the church I grew up in, Easter Sunday was a true celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. They would have a play each year and we would watch people we knew like our Dads or our friend’s Dads playing the parts of the disciples, Jesus and the robbers on the cross next to Him. One time, they had a real donkey bring Jesus down the middle aisle with people laying Palm Branches down on the ground before Him.  But then at the end, there was this glorious entry of a beaming Christ in a shining white robe exiting the tomb as the stone rolled away by itself and the choir who were dressed like Angels sang Halleluia and Hosanna in the Highest. And it made you want to jump out of your seat and scream, “That is my God and He is alive”!

This made a lasting impression on me as a child. And I wonder how I will instill the same awe and wonder in my children’s hearts and spirits. Unfortunately, many of our Christian denominations have gotten away from the traditions leading up to Easter Sunday. The Catholic Church still honor these great practices (although, they are much more intricately involved than what I have listed below) and it is a wonderful way to spend 6 weeks of the year focusing on what Jesus did for us. So, if you are like me and didn’t grow up educated in these disciplines, come take a look and evaluate for you and your family how you want to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ.

Consider this ‘The Basics of Easter Observance 101’. All of these definitions are taken from the good old Wikipedia on the internet.

Lent-“ is an observance in the liturgical year of many Christian denominations, lasting for a period of approximately six weeks leading up to Easter.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed.

 Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days which, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan

 This event, along with its pious customs are observed by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, as well as some Baptists and Mennonites.”

Palm Sunday-“ is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels. (Mark 11:1–11, Matthew 21:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19).

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers.”

Holy Week-“ in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.”

Holy Thursday-  “The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with His Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".

During the meal Jesus predicts his betrayal by one of the disciples present, and foretells that Peter will deny knowing him later that day.”

Good Friday-“ Roman Catholic Christians treat Good Friday as a fast day, which is defined as only having one full meal with, if needed, two small snacks that together do not make a full meal.

 Some churches hold a three-hour mediation from midday, the Three Hours' Agony from noon till 3 o'clock to commemorate the Passion of Christ. The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion

 The Church mourns for Christ's death, reveres the Cross, and marvels at his life for his obedience until death.

The Stations of the Cross are often prayed either in the church or outside. The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death.”

Easter Sunday- “Easter Sunday, which immediately follows Holy Week, is the great feast day and apogee of the Christian liturgical year: on this day the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated. Easter Sunday is the main reason why Christians keep Sunday as the primary day of religious observance.”

That, my friend, is suppose to be how Easter is done.

So, next year I am going to start with Lent. And we will look into all the devotionals and resources out there available to help us focus on the 6 weeks leading up to the glorious Resurrection Sunday.

 I want Easter to last more than a morning and I never want to forget what Jesus has done for me.

Come, Lord and show me how to live in rememberance of You this Holy Week.