Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

The Easter Triduum

The Easter Triduum, the “Three Days”, is the celebration of the Christian Passover. Just as our Jewish ancestors gathered annually to remember the events of their release from slavery in Egypt, so too, we gather to celebrate our Passover from death to life in Christ. The Triduum is at the heart and soul of our Christian faith, commemorating the triumph of God’s love over darkness and death. It’s the fullest ritual expression of what it means to be a Christian. In our reliving and remembering, we’re renewed and reborn along with the newly initiated members of our community.

In essence, the Triduum is one great festival that lasts for three days: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. As with all the great feasts of the Church, the celebration begins at dusk on Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. On Good Friday, the first full day of the Triduum, we gather to remember the Lord’s Passion and Death. Saturday is a day of quiet reflection on the Entombment of Christ as we wait, like the disciples, for news of the resurrection. And finally, on Saturday night we gather in vigil and hear the amazing news that Jesus Christ, our companion and brother, is not dead, but is risen from the grave. The Triduum liturgy ends with Evening Prayer on Easter day.

As we prepare the rites of the Triduum liturgy, we are afforded many opportunities to emphasize and maintain the unity of this one celebration. We accomplish this ritually by remembering that each of the days, while having their own emphasis, celebrate the entire mystery of Christ’s passion and death. In our Friday rituals, we need not pretend that the resurrection has not yet happened. We are not playacting here. Though the liturgy of Friday is stark, we may still catch glimpses of Easter triumph. The same is true of Easter. We arrive at the joy of the resurrection only through suffering and death. Easter without the cross has little meaning.

Another way of supporting the unity of this three-day festival is by observing the ancient practice of the Paschal fast. This fast traditionally lasted from the beginning of the Triduum until the communion rite on Easter. By means of this sacred fast, we’re mindful of our prayers as we depart for our homes until we gather again the next day.

Finally, the unity of the Triduum can be greatly enhanced by the music we choose for the celebrations each of the days. Like symphonic composers, we might incorporate melodic themes, threading together the disparate elements of this one great festival. Triduum unity is enhanced when we make use of recurring melodies and musical elements on successive days.

Holy Thursday: Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

We begin the Triduum with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The entrance antiphon for this day gives us wonderful insight into the Triduum celebration: “We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, or life and our resurrection; through him we are saved and set free.” (Gal. 6:14) We celebrate the triumph of God’s love accomplished by the cross of Jesus Christ. Life is born from death.

The liturgy of these three days is rich with symbols. As we prepare these rites we are challenged to help people enter into the prayer of these rites. The Triduum symbols become incredible vehicles of prayer. The primary symbols of Holy Thursday are the washing of the feet and the sharing of the Eucharist. These symbols embody the themes of service, priesthood, and unity. As we implement the rites, we’re afforded a wonderful opportunity to ensure these two great symbols stand out boldly and clearly for all.  The foot washing clearly needs to engage the assembly in the most profound way possible. And on this day of all days, a loaf of real bread, along with wine from the cup, should be the norm.

At the Last Supper, Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover meal into a memorial of his death and resurrection. He becomes the new Passover, the Way to new life in the kingdom of God. Today, we as Christians gather to celebrate this covenant meal and bind ourselves to Him as we follow him to death and resurrection. And with Him, we surrender own lives for the sake of the world.

The goal of the Triduum liturgy is to unite the entire community of faith into a single celebration.  Despite the differences in our worship during the rest of the year, we celebrate this liturgy as one family.  We preserve this unity by providing only one celebration on the days of the Triduum. Providing separate liturgies for special groups only undermines the unity.

Note that there is no dismissal or final blessing for the liturgy on Holy Thursday. The service does not end but continues when we gather on Friday for the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. After the solemn procession of the Eucharist, the assembly informally disperses as the altar and sanctuary are stripped in preparation for the liturgy the next day. Little emphasis should be placed on the rite of stripping. This is just a simple act of preparation for the next day.

Good Friday: Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

The liturgy on Good Friday is the second ritual step on the Triduum journey. In the context of the one great liturgy, the death of Christ is not to be isolated from the fullness of the Paschal mystery.  Good Friday is not a time of mourning, but rather, of remembering, of seeing once again the boundless love of God expressed in the self-offering of his own Son. Though Jesus of Nazareth dies in shame on a cross, God’s love is so powerful that not even death can defeat it.

The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion has three distinct parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and the Communion Service. It’s significant that the Gospel of John was chosen as the Passion account for this day. In John’s gospel the victory of Christ shines through every step of the way.  Death is not seen as defeat but rather as the passage of Christ into his glory.

Today, the liturgy begins in silence. We do not provide opening music or a call to worship. The rites assume that this is simply the continuation of the liturgy of the previous evening. During the liturgical year, only the Good Friday and the Easter Vigil liturgies begin in this way. This reflects the true nature of the three days of the Triduum as being one extended celebration.

The primary symbol of today’s liturgy is the cross as a sign of victory and salvation. The Veneration of the Cross is one of the most ancient elements in liturgy today. We gather as family around the cross of Christ and embrace it as our own. As each of us has an opportunity to carry it, so too will we enjoy its victory and joy. A wooden cross, large enough to be visible from every corner of the church, and without a corpus, is the ideal. A single cross respects the connection with the one cross of Christ that is our salvation.

The actual rite of veneration should be handled with efficiency and grace, while not seeming rushed.  The symbol cannot speak to people’s hearts if they are not allowed to fully experience it. The challenge in planning the movement of this rite is that all present be given an opportunity to make some sign of reverence to the cross. Besides making our own act of veneration, much of the power of this rite lies in watching other people make theirs. Young and old, rich and poor, healthy and infirm, we all come to the cross to find hope and be saved.

A simple communion rite concludes the service this day. We again depart in silence until we gather for the vigil on Easter. During the day on Holy Saturday we are encouraged to spend some time in reflection on the burial of the Lord, allowing ourselves to sit quietly with the disciples as they wonder what to do next.

Easter Vigil: The Celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection

The Easter Vigil liturgy has its roots in the Old Testament and relives in ritual, the night the Israelites stayed awake waiting for the Lord to deliver them from their slavery in Egypt. Similarly, we wait with the disciples for the good news that Jesus indeed is risen! In its fullest expression this is a true vigil, a night watch. We gather as family to re-tell the wondrous stories of our salvation and draw strength as we remember. We wait together in joyful hope for the good news of Christ’s victory over death. In the process, we discover for ourselves the glory of the Cross.

The liturgy this night has four parts: the Light Service, the Liturgy of the Word, the Rites of Initiation, and the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Each part is imbedded with powerful symbols: light and darkness, fire, word, water, oil, touch, and a meal shared as friends. If we put all of our energy into preparing these symbols so that they can speak loudly, people will be drawn into their power and experience the presence of God.

While our present-day Easter Vigils rarely last throughout the night, they can remain long and cumbersome for many communities. Unfortunately, in our technological age, we’re not people who typically do well with waiting. It is important for us to begin where the community is and not where it ought to be. The challenge we face as liturgists is to prepare the rites in such a way that the people can truly hear the stories, experience the fullness of the symbols, and participate in the wonder of this night.

 

These reflections on the Triduum have–hopefully–encouraged you to consider joining us for these glorious celebrations in just a few weeks!

Our first reading from the Book of Exodus largely demonstrates God’s love for us when He provides a covenant. Recalling all His mighty deedsdone on our behalfHe then invites us to enter into a holy friendship with Him. That friendship will guarantee us “freedom from slavery” and every gift we will ever need in order to be able to rest in God’s company each Sabbath…each week. Such an offer can inflame us, make us grow more intense in our feeling toward God.

Yes, the great covenant offered to usand maintained even to this dayproves the goodness, the wisdom, the power and the strength of God who loves so completely.

And if such a demonstration were not enough for us, our Gospel gives us a further insight into God’s passionate love, as seen in the person of Jesus. Bringing to mind the sentiments of the Scriptures…”Zeal for your house consumes me,” as He enters the temple area. This zeal signifies an intensity of love that Jesus possesses, whereby He cannot tolerate anything that is repugnant to His love…so, to have zeal for God and for God’s House finds Jesus unable to patiently endure anything contrary to the honor of God, whom He loves above all else.

This is the kind of zeal we see in Jesus in today’s gospel.

But why is he so upset: why is He so violent in this encounter with the moneychangers? We need to step back for a moment and soak in the atmosphere…and then we need to look a little closer and spy what is at the heart of such an intense emotion.

First, step back: Jesus is entering Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Feast of Passover. He has made the distant journey, on pilgrimage to the Holy City in order to recall and commemorate the solemn feast of deliverance from oppression that the Israelites were given centuries earlier by God. And with a view toward that same freedom from oppression, He arrives at the Temple. And instead of finding a place where all people can come and find free access to the living God in worship, Jesus finds the many obstacles that were put in their way…He finds a new form of oppression…an oppression that perverts the worship that is due to Yahweh-God. Greed is the motivator here, cheating is the activity at the Temple, religious rhetoric replaces authentic and free worship. No wonder Jesus’ zeal is inflamed.

Now, look a bit closer to see what this oppression is really doing.

Notice the doves, above all the other animals, being sold for sacrifice. After traveling great distances and many days to come to the Temple, every Jew was obliged to offer a sacrifice of some kind, in thanksgiving fr the freedom from oppression their ancestorsand presumably, they themselvesreceived from God’s own generous goodness. Oxen, cattle and sheep were most fitting, but for those who were poor and could not afford such a sacrifice, they were reduced to offer birds of plenty instead…like a simple dove. And yet, with the common practices of extortion and gouging, the poor couldn’t even afford to offer a small bird to Yahweh, they could not fulfill the mission for which they set out days and miles earlier. They were forced to take what little money they had for food and shelter, and in the name of religion purchase a measly sacrifice with money that was sorely needed. And so, such an act being done in the temple area, and in the name of religion, becomes an act of significant injusticea new oppression for the already poor, the already suffering. Believers cannot afford to have such an attitude toward the poor, and Jesus’ zeal rises up and consumes Him, and all those around Him.

That’s what’s happening in our gospel and inside the very being of Jesus, and He reacts with intense zeal.

And this is not the only time He’ll react in the face of oppression and suffering and injustice.

In just a few short weeks, we will witness again the zeal of Christ. He will have to acknowledge that sin enslaves us and there is only one remedy, there is only one path that He can walk in order to establish our true and lasting freedom. Yes, we’re drawing closer to Holy Week and to the Paschal Mystery. The zeal we witness in the Temple this morning is just the beginning…the conclusion is yet to be witnessed…and it will again be shared with us in the coming days and weeks. His passionate zealwhile it takes a different form…the form of surrender, docility and humble lovewill be no less. By His actions, we will be made free.

Stay with Him.

We’re now ten days into the season of lent.  And while many of us haven’t really felt the effects of Lenten discipline, some of us might need to be encouraged just a bit.

• In our second reading, St. Paul is emphatic: God is for us, and thus no one and no thing of any significance can be against us.  Most importantly, Christ intercedes for us, watches over us, guides and encourages us throughout our lives.  So, when we might feel ‘beat-up’ or dejected, keep Him in mind.
• In our first reading, Abraham lets nothing stand in the way of Faith.  As unbelievable as it may seem, he’s even willing to go so far as to offer his son as a sacrifice in order to re-establish and re-affirm his covenant relationship with Yahweh-God.  Unbelievably, he comes so close and with such resolve, yet God shows again his deep love: staying Abraham’s hand God is fully delighted in the fact of his servant’s faith.  Through such a willingness (albeit devastating and painful) to offer his own son, Abraham is blessed with the greatest of covenants, blessings and rewards.
• And finally, in our Gospel, Jesus is transfigured while three of his disciples look on.  These blessed bystanders are able to witness the glory that would soon flow from Christ’s suffering, death, and rising.  In other words, the result of God’s offering of His only Son (recall Abraham and Isaac), allows this Son to be glorified; and further, we are able to witness this, to be transformed by such an offering, to receive the deep and countless blessings of an eternal covenant offered by God, through Christ.

So what does all this mean?  What are these circumstances meant to convey to us…God’s people of faith?

Abraham intuited God’s mercy when He was willing to offer Isaac in sacrifice.  Only this assurance could compel Abraham to such depths of obedience.  Similarly, in the Transfiguration, God reveals to the disciples a glory they could never otherwise imagine.  But such a glory requires the slaughter of a Son…and our faithfulness to this Son guarantees that, we too, might receive unfathomable life.

So, remember this, when all is said and done: God is not only “with us” (as we said in our Christmastime “Emmanuel”), but He is ultimately “for us”…His chosen ones.

God bless you throughout this holy season.

Just four days ago, we began this great and humbling season of Lent: our annual pilgrimageas it wereof 40 days, through which we will strive to draw closer and closer to the Lord of life.  If this is the case, where is He today that we might find Him?  In the desert…being tested and tempted…and remaining faithful always to the Father.  Christ’s faithfulness is unending…thanks be to God!

Well, then, where are weHis disciplesto go?

On Ash Wednesday, we were covered in ashes; we accepted a seal which marked the renewal of the covenant between us and the Savior.  We chose that we should return to the dust from which we came, in order that we might rise to a new and glorious life in Christ.  Yes, sealed in dust, the covenant between us and Godthat was once made at our baptismwas furthered, continued, solidified and strengthened.  We were reminded of our promise to “believe in the gospel”.

And what does this gospel share with us?

In our first reading, God established through Noah a great and eternal covenant.  Repeating His promise five different times, the Lord solemnly swore that He would always be our God, no matter what!  And in love, our Godaccording to the letter of St. Peter heard in our second readingsends us His Son, that He might suffer for our own, many and particular sins, so that He might lead us always back to God and to authentic Love.  Going even so far as to descend into the depths of hell and the realm of the dead, Christ longs to prove to usyet again and alwaysthat God is ever-faithful to His covenant, ever-true to His promise of love.

So as we enter deeply into this season of Lent; this season of temptation, of dread, of suffering, of torment, of purification, please trust, my dear brothers and sisters, that Christ has been thereand remains in those places…to draw us up, to hold us fast, to encourage us lovingly, and to raise us up again…to the glory of God the Father.

Be not afraid in these 40 days:

• even in darkness, Christ is our Light;
• even in sorrow, Christ is our Joy;
• even in suffering, Christ is our Consolation and our Hope.

God bless you throughout this holy season.

Our first reading outlines the Old Testament’s strict legal requirements for those suffering from skin diseases such as leprosy.  Seen as ritually impure, highly contagious—a threat to the rest of the communitythey were to present themselves to the priests who would declare them unclean and they would be cast out from the community, the town, removed from relationships with all others…they would, in a sense, be totally banished and isolated.

And so our gospel is filled with surprise:

• first, a leper approaches Jesus, threatening in one sense to make the master Himself ritually impure, as well as physically unclean/dirty/infected;
• The leper surprises us as he declares that he knows Jesus can heal him, restore his health and livelihood, bring him back into communion with all people, the Church…Jesus can give the man his life back.

And, not surprising to us, Jesus does just that.  We hear him instruct the one He has restored to quietly show himself and offer to God according to Moses’ decree…yet the man does not.  Filled with rejoicing, we can understand why he is exuberant, can’t we?

Imagine if you were set outside of communion with God and with all others for a period of time that is not only extensive but also indeterminate, that is to say, beyond your ability to correct or limit or control.  Imagine, to put it bluntly, being an illegal immigrant.  Or imagine being a despised ‘prostitute of ancient times’, or a hated minority or outcast.  Yes, aren’t these conditions akin to the leper of our gospel?

St. Paul, in our second reading, encourages us to bealong with himimitators of Christ Jesus.  And so let us welcome all others as Christ does, disregarding difference/dis-ease/and accepting them as Christ accepts us.  Thank the good Lord that all are welcome to come to Him, be touched and healed by Him, welcomed into the circle of love by Him!