The season of Easter runs for fifty days – a veritable week of weeks – from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. But truth be told, most of us don’t think of it that way. We live in a culture that is much bigger on the thrill of anticipation than on savoring the actual experience, and once the...
Luke 24:1
posted by DJL
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is risen indeed! So goes the traditional Easter acclamation with which Christians have celebrated the resurrection of our Lord for...
Easter Saturday
posted by DJL
Holy Saturday, for all practical purposes, is usually given over to preparing for Sunday. Making sure the ham has been purchased and ready to cook, decorating eggs, readying decorations, cleaning the house. But once in a while – or perhaps even for just a few moments of the day – it might...
Luke 23:56b
posted by DJL
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Of course they did. Rested on the Sabbath, that is. How could they do anything else? They are exhausted. Put yourself in their place for just a moment. Their world has come crashing down around them. Their hopes and dreams crushed before...
A Guide to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion
posted by DJL
There are two types of worship services most regularly associated with Good Friday. One is the traditional service of the “Seven Words from the Cross.” The service, often held between noon and three – the hours Christ hung on the cross – is composed of hymns, readings and a brief meditation on each the seven words Christ uttered from the cross as recorded by the four evangelists. The other common occasion for worship on Good Friday is the Tenebrae service, usually held in the evening and arranged around the passion story as recorded by St. John. Tenebrae comes from the Latin word for “shadows,” and at various parts of...