Month: April 2011

Easter Evening

We have been blessed in the last 24 hours to attend three beautiful worship services. Though they were all very different, they did share common elements–the full proclamation of the Gospel, a celebratory air befitting the Savior’s resurrection, and, of course, the return of “Alleluia!” I love this weekend every year, because of how much time we get to spend at church.

With apologies to my pastor, (who I hope got a well-deserved rest this afternoon following the whirlwind that is Holy Week), it makes me wish that there was such a thing as an Easter Evening service. I would love to gather with the Eleven in that locked room, and witness their reactions to their risen Lord and Savior, just I traveled to the tomb with the women this morning, and rejoiced with them when they learned that Jesus was alive.

Basically, I guess I just don’t want it to end. I’m grateful that we have a whole season of Easter, but even then, it seems like we return to “normal” too quickly. The more time I spend at church, with my church family, hearing the Word, and receiving the Sacrament, the more I want to be there. Between the Wednesday services all Lent, and the extra services of Holy Week, I feel a little let-down now that it’s over, and we’re back to our usual one service per week.

Then again, I suppose if we had extra services all the time, I’d get so used to it that I’d be complaining about them taking up too much of my time. I guess it has to end sometime!

My Bunny

My Bunny, dressed in a bunny apron over her finery on Easter. No, we don’t do the Easter Bunny, but Easter-time lends itself to a plethora of available items emblazoned with members of the family leporidae. When you have a Bunny in the house, how can you pass that up?

Hymn of the Day–“This Joyful Eastertide”

This joyful Eastertide,
Away with sin and sorrow!
My love, the Crucified,
Has sprung to life this morrow;
Had Christ, who once was slain,
Not burst His three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;
But now has Christ arisen!

Death’s flood has lost its chill
Since Jesus crossed the river;
Lover of souls, from ill
My passing soul deliver:
Had Christ, who once was slain,
Not burst His three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;
But now has Christ arisen!

My flesh in hope shall rest
And for a season slumber;
Till trump from east to west
Shall wake the dead in number:
Had Christ, who once was slain,
Not burst His three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;
But now has Christ arisen! Lutheran Service Book #482

The Great Vigil of Easter

Not only are we blessed with a wonderful congregation which we call home, we are also blessed to have a local sister congregation with whom we occasionally celebrate special services, including Epiphany, Ascension, and my favorite service of the year, the Great Vigil of Easter. I love the transition from darkness to light that this service brings, the symbolism and remembrances. It feels like an extended time of the Sacrament, when Heaven and Earth intersect.

The bulletin from the Vigil had a great explanation of the parts of which the service is made up, and I thought I’d share that here:

“The Vigil has four parts. (1) It begins with the Service of Light. The Paschal (Passover) candle is lighted from new fire. Then we light our candles from the Paschal Candle. Following a procession, the Exsultet (Proclamation) joyously sounds the theme for the evening. (2) During the second part of the Vigil, a series of Readings from the Old Testament recalls God’s saving acts for his people throughout history. These readings and the accompanying prayers, psalms, and canticles, are the “vigil” portion of the service. Vigil means patiently but expectantly waiting for a celebration. During this service we ignore time. The Vigil has no set length, it lasts as long as it lasts. (3) The third part of the Service focuses on Baptismal Remembrance. We rejoice again in the blessings God gave to us in Baptism. We confess again the faith that the Holy Spirit gave to us in Baptism. And we promise again to live faithfully as God’s baptized people. Often we have the privilege of witnessing Baptisms or Confirmations. (4) The Vigil comes to a joyous conclusion in the Service of the Lord’s Supper, which begins tonight and is completed at the Festival Divine Service on Easter morning.”

It is a great blessing to go to this service and have the chance to “peak in the tomb” before Easter Sunday’s services, and hear the Word proclaimed so completely.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Holy Week, Lego Style

We’ve spent the last few days reading through the events of Holy Week, with the help of the Lutheran Study Bible (we needed a little insight on Tuesday and Wednesday). This has encouraged Turkey’s determination to recreate Holy Week in Legos. I think the final product was a pretty good representation of the events of the week!

Palm Sunday

Monday in Holy Week–Jesus clearing the temple.

Tuesday in Holy Week–Jesus teaching in parables on the Mount of Olives.

Maundy Thursday 

Good Friday

Saturday in Holy Week

Easter Sunday–He Is Risen!

Quote of the Day

“What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. ‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.’ ‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.’” (quoted in For All the Saints, vol. III, p. 1037)

Karfreitag

I had the opportunity to take the children at a German Good Friday service at Holy Cross, Wartburg, this morning.

It’s a beautiful old church. From what I was able to gather while there, the congregation is 170 years old, and the stone tower is almost 100–that’s some major American Lutheran history!

It was a wonderful experience. I’ve somehow managed to never make it to a German service before, even though I’ve always wanted to. I really enjoyed being able to worship in the language of my grandparents and great-grandparents, and I discovered that after all these years, my high school German stuck with me enough that I was able to (mostly) follow the service.

I was also impressed with how Turkey was able to follow along. That’s one of the beautiful things about the liturgy–if you know it in one language, you can figure out what’s going on, even in a foreign language. The rest of my children weren’t as interested in following the service, they just wanted to watch and listen. And it was quite something to hear all of those voices singing in German!

The part of the service that really choked me up (I knew there would be something!) was the Benediction. Not really sure why, but I really enjoyed hearing something so familiar and comforting in the language of my ancestors:

“Der Herr segne dich und behüte dich.
Der Herr erleuchte sein Angesicht über dich und sei dir gnädig,
Der Herr erhebe sein Angesicht auf dich und gebe dir Frieden.”

Good Friday–The Reproaches

Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have raised you up out of the prison house of sin and death, and you have delivered up your Redeemer to be scourged. For I have redeemed you from the house of bondage, and you have nailed your Savior to the cross. O My people.

Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have conquered all your foes, and you have given Me over and delivered Me to those who persecute Me. For I have fed you with My Word and refreshed you with living water, and you have given Me gall and vinegar to drink. O My people.

Thus say the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? My people, is this how you thank your God? O My people.  Lutheran Service Book

The Triduum

Once referred to as the “still days,” the Triduum marks the three-day period from Maundy Thursday to Holy Saturday. The services of those three days are actually three parts of one long service, culminating in the Great Vigil of Easter.

On Thursday, we are blessed with the opportunity to partake of the Sacrament one last time before the altar is stripped in preparation of the solemn services of Good Friday.

On Friday, we enter the now-bare sanctuary, to hear the words of our Lord’s suffering and death, and hear the Bible slammed shut as we ponder Him giving up His Spirit for us.

On Saturday, is the agonizing wait, as we hold our breaths throughout Jesus’s rest in the tomb. And then the Great Vigil, in which the Light is brought back, and the first glimpse of the opening tomb is observed.

The Paschal Triduum marks the highest and holiest point of the church year. From Thursday through Saturday, we walk with Jesus from the Upper Room to Gethsemane to the trial, and finally to Golgotha. We watch as His body is placed in the tomb, and we weep with his mother and disciples. But we know the Story doesn’t end there, and we wait, with all the company of heaven, holding our breath, and waiting for that glorious festival on Easter Sunday…