Seasonal Blessing for Holy Week

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Savior Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Vicar's Voice - THE TRIDUUM

Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain,
Quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

"Now the green blade riseth," Hymn 204, The Hymnal 1982

Every other week, I am invited to offer prayer before the Community Meal at St. James Memorial Episcopal Church in Titusville. The food, provided by the church and served by church members, along with friends and neighbors from the community, is provided free to all. Many of the patrons come because they are hungry; some come because they crave the fellowship and joy of sitting with someone for a meal. Whatever brings them to the meal, they are served with smiles and a sincere welcome. It is a blessed ministry that blesses all involved.

This past week, to recognize the Easter season, I and Helen Dahle, the choir director/organist at St. James, shared the hymn above. It is one whose melody was familiar (it is a French Christmas carol) with lyrics by a tried and true Scottish poet. As we shared the music, we were reminded of the message that our churches celebrate at this time, these three days, which is known as the Triduum.

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil/Sunday are thought of as one continuous service, re-membering the pivotal events of the crux of our faith. First, Jesus' love for his followers, washing their feet in a posture of pure humility, instituting a new covenant ("mandatum" from which we get the term "Maundy") in the Holy Communion, facing arrest and torture and death, and finally triumphing over the grave and affirming both His and our gift of eternal life.

The words recall the Gospel reading from the Daily office this past Tuesday: "Jesus said, 'Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.'" Here, Jesus is both affirming what must happen to Him (he must die in order to have eternal life) but also that we, having been buried in the water of our baptism, also burst from the font with new life in Christ.

These three days are the heart and soul of our faith - the songs we sing, the prayers we offer, the laments, the thanksgivings, the proclamations. This is the reason, not just for the season, but for all eternity.