Pastor Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church
Holy Week, the richest week of the Christian year, kicks off on March 29th with Palm Sunday. Spirit of Peace will be holding a joint worship service at 10 AM with St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church AT St. Elizabeth’s, right next door at 16491 GA Hwy. 144.
It is a celebratory service, recalling the ancient day when the crowds gathered to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem for the last time. The people so hoped that the Lord would be their political savior. Lots of Christians prefer to go from fun Palm Sunday straight to Easter Sunday, forgetting all the messy stuff in between.
But Easter makes no sense unless we observe Jesus ‘sacrifice. We will gather at Spirit of Peace on Thursday, April 2nd at 6:00 PM for Maundy Thursday dinner and worship. In recent years, we have a tradition in our congregation of gathering at the table for worship this night, recalling Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. For Christians this is not a seder but a Love Feast. Our meal and worship are combined into one as we commune with each other, sharing the most important meal that Jesus ever gave us.
April 3rd will find us back at Spirit of Peace at 7 PM with our friends from St.Elizabeth’s joining us for a combined worship AT Spirit of Peace for Good Friday. As a kid, I struggled to understand why the adults called it “Good Friday” when the whole service is about watching Jesus die on the cross. Eventually, I came to understand that the “Good” of that Friday is for us. Our Lord literally poured out his body as tangible evidence of how much he loves us. Our worship that night will be a simple one with hymns, scripture readings, a sermon, and a bare altar.
There will be no Communion that night. We need only to listen again to the life-changing story that makes our life together possible.
Holy Saturday is often the forgotten observance of Holy Week. Though there will be no worship at Spirit of Peace on April 4th, it is an important time, nonetheless. Jesus spent Saturday in the tomb.
It is a reminder that even in the world of the resurrection, death still has its say. Even for the redeemed, there is still pain and loss. Holy Saturday is a time for waiting. We live our Christian lives between Good Friday and the full expression of Easter. Saturday is for practicing Christian hope.
In the busyness of our modern lives, it is easy to miss the power and pathos of Holy Week altogether, or at best, just to hit just the highlights of Palm Sunday and Easter. This is your heartfelt invitation for the whole community to make time and space to hear the full story of Jesus’ extravagant love leading up to Easter. Holy Week is where Jesus puts love into action. You are cordially invited to join us at St. Elizabeth’s next door at 10 AM Palm Sunday and at Spirit of Peace at 6 PM Maundy Thursday and 7 PM on Good Friday. The more we sit with Jesus during Holy Week, the more joyous Easter Sunday will be.