Category: Holy Week

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Holy Saturday Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Scripture Triduum

In the empty spaces.

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The 46th word in my Lent lexicon is:

EMPTINESS.

After the high drama of Good Friday People often talk of holy Saturday as a “tomb day”, a time to sit with the emptiness that follows death, to allow the events of Good Friday to sink in. I recognise the yearning for that and its wisdom yet, it’s not an experience I recognise from monastic life.

In practice for many of us Holy Saturday is very much a hybrid day, we are aware of its emptiness, the mourning and the uncertainty. We also have to acknowledge that the Easter vigil is fast approaching and that Easter liturgies and treats do not plan themselves. So it is also a day of preparation and anticipation that can be very busy.

As we move through this hybrid day I’m reflecting on these words from the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah from this morning’s Office of Readings:

“The favours of the Lord are not all past, nor his kindnesses exhausted; every morning they are renewed: great is his faithfulness. My portion is with the Lord says my soul, and so I will hope in him.”

Even in the midst of his lamentation Jeremiah is able to acknowledge the kindness and faithfulness of God, and to put his hope in that. His words speak to me of the hybrid reality of the day.

It seems to me that the emptiness of Holy Saturday calls us to imitate God’s kindness to others as we get on with the many preparations for Easter, and to ourselves as we seek small moments of quiet during the day.

In the emptiness of Holy Saturday where are you aware of the Lord renewing your capacity for kindness?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Good Friday Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Scripture Triduum

Hope in a dark place

The 45th word in my Lent lexicon is:

DEATH.

Image ©Turvey Abbey

In many ways it sums up the essence of Good Friday, the day compels us to look death in the face with all the pain and suffering that brings. At Office of Readings on Good Friday we sing the Lamentations of the Jeremiah. This morning I was struck by their opening lines:

“All of you who pass this way, look and see, is any sorrow like the sorrow that afflicts me?”

It perfectly sums up Good Friday, especially in such hard and uncertain times when we all carry so much suffering and when our society often seems determined to choose death over life. In such times the cross is the only place that can hold our suffering and our fear of death.

Yet, in Lauds I found the Lamentations were given a new and broader perspective by these verses from the Byzantine liturgy:

“How can you die, Christ our Life?
How can you lie in the tomb?
By your death you will destroy the power of death,
And you will raise the dead from their tombs.”

They echo the heart breaking sorrow of Jeremiah, giving us a place to acknowledge our own heartbreak and suffering. Yet, they also carry us beyond that. They point out that our faith doesn’t stop at the cross. The cruel death of the Cross is a staging post on our journey to new life in the resurrection.

They remind us that the Christ who lay in the tomb is already risen. He is with us in the sufferings and uncertainties of our times and will lead us through that to the new life that his resurrection promises.

As we face death before the cross this Good Friday where are you inspired by the hope of the new life Christ promises?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Maundy Thursday Scripture Triduum

A new commandment

The 44th word in my Lent lexicon is:

LOVE.

Image © Turvey Abbey

It’s the second time this word has made an appearance in my lexicon, but it seemed worth revisiting. Listening to Paula Gooder’s reflection on the women of Holy Week I was touched Susanna’s words to the other women after Jesus and the disciples head to Gethsemane, leaving a sense of dread behind them:

“That’s the problem with extravagant love, it brings with it extravagant heartbreak.”

Her words seem sum up all everything this Holy Week journey, and indeed the whole gospel is about, the call to love with all its delights and costliness.

This love is symbolised on Maundy Thursday by Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. It’s an act of love, service and fellowship that touches my heart every year. It recalls the thousands of services we are called to perform for each other every day. Its simplicity and practicality encapsulates everything from loading the dishwasher to listening to and supporting the broken hearted.

As we carry out the action in our liturgy we hear these words from John’s Gospel:

“I give you a new commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you.”

Jesus’ love is complete and wholehearted. It takes a clear-sighted view of his disciples, seeing all their faults and still loving them. It’s extravagant and generous. It calls us to love in the same way, both accepting and giving love wholeheartedly and extravagantly.

It seems to me that those are equally challenging. As we begin to celebrate the Triduum I am aware of how much our broken hearted world world needs that transforming, extravagant love.

Where are you called to accept the extravagant, heart breaking love of Christ this Holy Week?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Facing betrayal.

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The 43rd word in my Lent lexicon is:

BETRAYAL.

Even writing it I’m aware that it’s a harsh and unforgiving word. Yet, reading today’s gospel it’s hard to find any other word to describe what goes on. Judas, for whatever reason, has come to the conclusion that he will betray Jesus to the authorities. Once again, Jesus shows that he is fully aware of what is going on and of where it will lead:

“He said ‘I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.’”

It’s easy to identify with Jesus in this passage. We all know how it feels to be betrayed, we know the hurt, disappointment and heartbreak that it brings. We know it shatters lives and relationships.

It’s easy to identify with the disciples, indignant at the suggestion that this could be any of them as they chorus their:

“Not I, Lord, surely?”

Any of us have ever been mistakenly accused of anything can understand the indignation and heart that they must have felt.

It is much harder to identify with Judas, the betrayer. It’s so tempting to put him on the outside, to make him a scapegoat for all our own faults. It’s easy to tell ourselves that we would never have acted as he did. But if we are honest we have to acknowledge that in the course of our lives we too betray both Christ and ourselves.

So this hard gospel, and this hard word holds a mirror up to us. It asks us both to acknowledge the times we have been betrayed, and the times we have been the betrayer.

What mirror is Christ challenging you to look into this Holy Week?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Glory revealed.

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The 42nd word in my Lent lexicon is:

GLORY.

Glory is not necessarily the first word that would come to mind when we think in the darkness, fear and betrayal that mark Holy Week. In today’s gospel, as Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with his disciples, Judas prepares to betray him. Jesus is fully aware of this, and indeed tells him to get on with it.

It seems that already Jesus has a clear idea of where all this is heading, even if his disciples are still in the dark. We certainly are all too familiar with where this all leads, and there is very little in it that speaks to us of any human understanding of what glory might mean:

“Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.”

He calls us to look again at “GLORY”, and at what true glory might actually mean. It couldn’t be clearer that it doesn’t mean anything we might recognise. It’s not connected to fame, wealth, recognition or celebrity or anything else our culture might recognise as glory.

The glory he speaks of can only come from one source, a wholehearted commitment to doing the will of the Father. As we move through Holy Week It becomes more and more obvious that Jesus has made that commitment. We know what that looks like for him. In calling us to follow him he invites us to us to discover what that would look like in our own lives and to make the same commitment.

Where are you being called to glorify God in your life this Holy Week?

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Baptism Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Scripture Uncategorized

The anointed one.

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The 41st word in my Lent lexicon is:

ANOINTED.

It’s a word that has deep roots in our faith history and in our liturgical practices. At baptism we are all anointed with chrism to share in Christ’s role as “priest, prophet and king.” We are anointed again at our death. Throughout the Scripture anointing marks someone as having a special role from God.

Today’s gospel opens a new perspective on anointing. In frightening and uncertain times the disciples gather at Martha’s house It offers them an oasis of hospitality and safety in the increasingly dangerous times.

In times of great danger questions and doubts that we thought we’d put to rest often resurface so it is easy to understand Judas’ distrust and questioning. I imagine he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

In the midst of the tension Mary’s action provides a fresh focus. Her action doesn’t deny or banish the fear or the danger, instead it points to a deeper reality:

“Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was full of the scent of the ointment.”

Her anointing once again marks Jesus as the chosen one of God. Jesus tells his disciples that she has anointed him for his burial, acknowledging that he is facing death, and preparing his disciples for that. As the scent of her ointment fills the house her simple action is a sign that love is stronger even than death. As she anoints Jesus she reminds us that our Holy Week journey ultimately leads us through death to the new life of resurrection.

As we move through Holy Week how does the anointing of your baptism sustain you?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Palm Sunday Scripture

Sing Hosanna.

Image © Turvey Abbey

The 40th word in my Lent lexicon is:

HOSANNA.

Palm Sunday resounds with hosannas as Jesus entered Jerusalem surrounded by joyful and hopeful followers. The joy reflects the ancient hope that has sustained the people through generations of occupation and suffering:

“Blessed is he who comes to free us, David’s son our Lord and King! Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, all your love and worship bring.”

Yet we know how quickly those hosannas turn to the jeers that leads to crucifixion and death. The people have come out full of hope and expectation. When their need isn’t instantly met in the way they expect it soon turns to anger and frustration.

This movement is mirrored in our liturgy where we move almost immediately from celebrating this triumphal entry to listening to the reading of the Passion. All this can make it tempting to dismiss those Palm Sunday hosannas as superficial, even false.

This misses an important point. The hosannas of Palm Sunday remind us that we don’t have to wait until life is perfect to praise God. Even when life is fragile, uncertain, even when we are angry and frustrated and our needs are not being met we can sing hosanna.

Beginning holy week singing hosannas helps us to focus. It reminds us that although in this week we face the worst we can do and the worst we can be that is not the end of the story. We can carry those Palm Sunday hosannas in our hearts as we move through the darkness of Holy Week and Good Friday until we come out into the new light of resurrection.

What hosanna are you being invited to carry through this Holy Week?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Holy Saturday Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

Grief and hope

A Holy Saturday reel from the archives based on the Byzantine liturgy. I love that it’s full of hope and allows space for grieving…

Where do you need to find space for grieving and hoping this Holy Saturday?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Good Friday Gospel Holy Week Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

A second chance.

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A post from the archives for Good Friday.

This week I’ve been listening to Amy Jill Levine’s courses on Holy Week and the Good Friday. One of the things she highlighted is how often Jesus offered people a second chance, Zacchaeus, all those tax collectors and sinners, the woman taken in adultery come to mind and there are many more.

It has an added significance as we revisit the passion, and see the second chance offered to those who denied and betrayed him, to those who sat on the side lines or runaway, or who only found the courage to come to him under the cover of darkness.

As we come to Good Friday, facing the stark reality of the Cross, it can feel like the time for second chances has run out. As we commemorate the crucified Christ it can seem as though we have reached the end of the story, and that our hopes are ending in death, disgrace, betrayal and failure. On Good Friday we begin Lauds by singing these verses from the Byzantine liturgy:

“Life-giving Lord, it is right to sing your praise, for your hands were stretched out on the Cross, and so you destroyed the power of death.”

We start Good Friday by acknowledging Christ as our “Life-giving Lord”, a powerful reminder that the Cross is not the end of the story, but a gateway to new life. The Cross is an essential part of our faith, we need to face it, acknowledging the suffering and death it represents. And, we need to accept the second chance it offers us with it’s promise of new life.

What second chance is Christ offering you this Good Friday?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Maundy Thursday Scripture Uncategorized

The light of love.

As we begin the Triduum here’s a post from the archives for Maundy Thursday

All week we’ve watched tension, uncertainty and fear growing around Jesus and his disciples with the Gospels getting increasingly dark as we’ve journeyed through Holy Week. I often think of the gospel for this evenings mass of the Last Supper as a bright spot in the midst of that darkness.

As he gathers with his disciples to celebrate the Passover Jesus is fully aware that his hour has come. He knows that he is about to be betrayed and that he will soon be facing a brutal and humiliating death. In the midst of that darkness he chooses to wash the feet of his disciples in saying to them:

“If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.”

Jesus’s action takes us back to Mary anointing his feet and we can almost smell the scent permeating the air again. Both gestures treat the bodies of others with respect, honour and compassion. Later we will watch with horror. Later we will watch with horror as Jesus’ body is battered and tortured.

It doesn’t take away the darkness of fear, the or the suffering he is about to undergo, it won’t take away the brutality of crucifixion. It does show us that love cannot be overcome or destroyed whatever we face. It challenges us to discover ways that we can bring the light of that love into the dark spaces of our world today.

Where are you being called to carry the light of Christ love to those around you today?