I’m looking forward to our Lenten Series starting next Wednesday, 25 February, at 6pm. We’ll begin with Eucharist and then move to the parish hall for supper and our discussions. I wanted to give you an idea of what we’ll be doing those evenings, but before I get into the “what” I want to give you the “why.”
When I was in seminary, thirty something years ago, I was introduced to the pattern of daily Eucharist every day in Holy Week. Prior to that my experience was Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and then Easter Day. Even then, Maundy Thursday quickly became my favorite service of the year. I began to realize how central the Eucharist was to my relationship with God, and Maundy Thursday is the celebration of Jesus’ gift of the Eucharist to us. It was my experience with Happening during high school that connected all the dots between Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil – what the Church calls the Triduum, The Three Great Days. Together they give us the real picture of Jesus’ profound love for us, and for a time, those three days were a sufficient annual replenishment for my spiritual life.
Then came seminary, and the field work parishes I served kept all of Holy Week, not just the last three days. I’ll never forget what my supervisor told the congregation on Palm Sunday that year – “If we all came to services every day during Holy Week, by Easter we’d have no need of a sermon. We’d have all we needed.” At first I thought he was just trying to drum up attendance, but then I learned better. The full course of services throughout that week, every day from Palm Sunday through Easter Day, offers us a chance to walk with Jesus every step of the way to the cross, the tomb, and beyond. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was life-changing for me. I didn’t realize how much, though, until years later, when I went to serve a parish in West Virginia. They didn’t keep the daily schedule. I tried that first year there to follow the pattern they used, but when Maundy Thursday came, I wasn’t ready. It didn’t help that we did a community Good Friday service, and so that year, I didn’t even get our Good Friday liturgy. Easter morning felt strangely empty and hollow; I’d missed too much of the journey.
The next year, I told them we were doing the whole thing, from Sunday to Sunday. Their response was less than enthusiastic, but we pressed onward. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week we saw maybe three or four people at the evening services. While that was discouraging, I knew that it was something I needed for my own spiritual health, so my mantra became, “I’m doing this for Jesus and for me.” If other people came, I considered that a bonus. Over time our attendance grew a bit – not as much as I would have hoped, but faithfulness is not measured in numbers.
I’ve kept to that practice ever since, and I am asking you to join me this Holy Week. To help us prepare for that experience, I want to use our Wednesdays in Lent series to introduce you to the Propers for each day in Holy Week, using an Ignatian method of praying with the Scriptures assigned for each day. While we might call this a Bible Study, it is not a scholarly exercise. The purpose isn’t just to teach you something about those scripture passages; we’re looking for an encounter with a person – with Jesus – as we engage the readings appointed for each day. Each week we’ll start with a brief large group discussion, but most of what we do will happen at the tables where we’re sitting. Then towards the end of our time, we’ll open the conversation back up to the group as a whole. I hope you’ll take part in as many Wednesdays as you can, but this isn’t an “all or nothing” sort of thing. Participate as you are able, and if you’re someone who would almost rather die than speak in front of others, just come and listen. Again, we’re looking for an encounter rather than a lecture or a lesson.
For the propers for the Monday in Holy Week, click here. That’s where we’ll start on the first Wednesday. Each week we’ll publish the upcoming readings in The Grapevine, so you’ll have them in advance. If you have the chance, read over them in the days leading up to our gathering, so they’ll be more familiar to you when Wednesday comes. That said, just come as you are, whether you think you’ve properly prepared or not. Jesus will be waiting to meet us either way.