Holy Week/Easter Reader (Excerpts)

I'm fortunate to go to a church that values good theological reflection. For Holy Week and Easter, my pastor commissioned a series of small essays to be gathered in a Reader on which the congregation could meditate.

As you'll see, the essays are brief and lightly theological in nature. Their authors are comprised of ordained pastors and educated lay-folk, such as myself.

Anyway, my pastor was kind enough to include me on the project and asked me to contribute the Reader's Introduction, Conclusion, and an essay on Holy Saturday. Since I took the time to write these pieces, I though some of you might be interested to read them, so I'm posting them here over the course of the next few days. With his permission, I'll also post the essay for Easter written by my good friend, Dr. Chris Majors. Moving in sequential order, I'll start with the Introduction I wrote which you'll find below.

(On a side note: I'd really like to hear from those of you who are reading these posts. I'm picking up my pen, so to speak, mostly for myself; but engagement from others is always nice, even if it's brief or critical. Talking into a void is no fun.)

Holy Week/Easter Reader:

Introduction

By Ben Davis

Memory can be tricky. Certain events – such as the joyful birth of a child or a moment of deep tragedy – can be indelibly chiseled on the interior stone of our minds, while other things, like what I had for lunch last Tuesday, seem impossible to recall. Collectively, we keep important memories alive by reenacting them. To memorialize American independence, we sing the Star-Spangled Banner and shoot off fireworks. Doing so helps to solidify our identity as Americans.

The Bible has a word for memory. It’s called anamnesis. Jesus uses it in Luke 22:19: “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Anamnesisis a rich, textured word that calls us to remember an event by reliving it. So when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we aren’t simply remembering something that happened a long time ago. Rather, the significance of that defining moment comes to life as we perform it together. Performing the high drama of the Eucharist forges our Christian identity.

Holy Week and Easter – like Advent, Christmas, and Pentecost – have the same lived character. The Church remembers Jesus’ horrifying crucifixion and glorious resurrection by way of reenactment. Throughout, the pendulum of our emotions swings back and forth as we feel the rush of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and then the sorrowful tragedy of momentary defeat as he walks the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow).

The essence of Holy Week is found in the Paschal Triduum (the “Three Days”), which consists of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. On Maundy Thursday we enter the upper room, where Jesus takes the posture of a servant, washing the dirt from his disciples’ feet. Then on Good Friday we are moved to feel the fraught tension between the scorn of Jesus’ rejection and the shame of our own complicity in his agonizing death. Finally, on Holy Saturday we sit in hallowed silence as our Lord enters the deep bowels of the grave. On this day we contemplate the mystery of Jesus “preaching the gospel to the dead” (1 Peter 4:6).

Easter is different. We no longer look back, for the horizon of God’s future is right before us in the resurrection of Christ! Christ’s future is now our future (1 Cor. 15). Going forward, we lean into the power of the Holy Spirit and practice resurrection. In Easter’s bright light, we join the chorus of saints and the company of heaven, singing:

Death is swallowed up in victory!

O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?