There's a moment each Holy Week that I always find particularly striking. It's not the dramatic shout of "Crucify him!" at the Palm Sunday liturgy, the loud noise before the candle is restored at Tenebrae, or the moving a cappella verse of Were You There? on Good Friday. It's not even the joyful proclamation of "Christ is risen!" at the Easter Vigil.
It's the brief period just after the Maundy Thursday liturgy has concluded. Acolytes and members of the choir are saying goodbye to one another and heading home. The Altar Guild is cleaning up in the sacristy. A faithful few is keeping watch over the Reserved Sacrament in the chapel. Our facilities staff is locking the doors everywhere else.
While this is happening, I always make sure to take a few minutes for myself in the darkness of the church. By this point, I have already participated in the intimate ceremony of foot washing and the solemn remembrance of the Last Supper. I have helped to completely strip the altar of all its trappings. I have heard the story of Jesus' betrayal in the garden and fled as suddenly as his disciples did all those years ago.
Now alone, back in the church, soaking in both its emptiness and the reality of God’s presence, I experience at once almost every Holy Week sentiment: sadness and loss and abandonment; hope amidst uncertainty; awe and gratitude and satisfaction.
Holy Week is a time of great paradox: we mourn over the suffering Jesus endured while we rejoice in the victory that suffering won. The more of Holy Week we attend, the better we understand the entire span of Jesus’ last days, from the grief of "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" to the elation of resurrection triumph.
I hope you'll put St. Bart's on your calendar as much as you can in the coming week. If you can only show up on Easter morning at 11 am, we'll be glad to see you there. Our celebration of the resurrection will truly be better because of your presence. If you can show up more often, your songs of "Alleluia!" on the morning of Sunday, April 20 will have a greater depth and a stronger resonance.
Blessings on the week ahead, however you plan to mark it. My sincere desire is that Jesus’ journey will bring clarity and meaning to your own.
