Happy Easter!
Happy Easter from The Neighboring Movement!
If you are like me this Easter has even more significance because it is the first time in 3 years that my church has met in person for the Holy Week services. In 2020 the whole thing was online. In 2021 we did a drive-by communion and an outdoor service on Easter Sunday. But this year we have done the whole thing with all the rituals and traditions that I remember from before our world was rocked by COVID.
I’ve been thinking about rituals quite a bit lately. What I love about a ritual is that it gives permission, and even some expectation, to process the difficult stuff in life that we otherwise breeze through. My natural inclination is to bulldoze through life.
I wake up and already am hard at work getting ready for the day, getting the house picked up, and getting the kid ready for school.
I get to work and immediately start my epic battle with a tasks list that somehow has regenerative powers.
As soon as work gets over it’s on to the evening activities of parenting, kid activities, church events, and the occasional friend/family connection.
There is little room for ritual…but then comes Holy Week.
Palm/Passion Sunday
The whole thing is ritual. Starting with the emotional roller coaster of Palm/Passion Sunday. At our church, it starts with goofy kids waving palm branches. One kid yelled out, “We’re in a jungle!” The whole church laughed and joy filled the room. As we moved from celebration into the story of Jesus’ arrest and the chants of, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” I was reminded of the atrocities and pain in our world, especially of the hunger for violence through acts of war. The ritual of Palm Sunday helped me remember how fickle it is to be human. It breaks open the grind of my bulldozer life to make way for a week of reflection and humility.
Maundy Thursday
On Maundy Thursday the ritual centers around food. I don’t like when Christians do a Seder Meal, because, well, we aren’t Jewish. The purpose of Maundy Thursday isn’t to appropriate some other religion’s ritual, but instead, to remember our own rituals of table, bread, and communion. We remember what Jesus would have eaten with his friends during a very difficult moment. We use symbols of bread and wine (or juice) to remember the life Jesus offers, the power of Jesus’ death, and the invitation we have to be intimately connected with God. The ritual of Maundy Thursday reminds me of the power of shared meals to heal.
Good Friday
Good Friday is one of the most meaningful services of the year for me. I resist grief. I fancy myself an optimist, and sometimes I will use that identity as an excuse to resist difficult emotions. But on Good Friday, I have no choice. It is heavy from the very start. At our church, there are readings from scripture synchronized with lights going out. At the end of the service, after the reading of Jesus’ death, the pastor stands at the center and holds a large Bible. After a dramatic pause, he slams it shut and the sound reverberates through the sanctuary. It is startling and I swear that sound bounces around in my body all weekend. The ritual of Good Friday pauses everything in my life and
Easter Sunday
“He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!” The colors, the smell of lilies, the liturgy, the songs. It all points to one thing…LIFE! We are not bound by death, but redeemed in death to new life. On Palm Sunday my routine is ripped open so that I can feel and be present to what Holy Week has to offer, on Easter Sunday I get the salve that heals that wound and sends me back into the world seeking resurrection. The grind starts again on Monday, but now the tasks are a means, and resurrection is the end!
Happy Holy Week, Happy Easter.
He is Risen, Indeed!
