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'Dying to Life' (Lent, a journey to Easter & beyond)
Holy Week - April 14th - 19th
Holy is the week....
Holy, consecrated, belonging to God....
We move from hosanna to horror with the predictable ease
of those who know not what they do.
Our hosannas sung, our palms waved,
let us go with passion into this week.
It is time to curse the fig trees that do not yield fruit.
It is time to cleanse our temples of any blasphemy.
It is time to greet Jesus as the Lord's anointed one,
to lavishly break our alabaster
and pour perfume out for him
without counting the cost.
It is a time for preparation....
The time to give thanks and break bread is upon us.
The time to give thanks and drink of the cup is imminent.
Eat, drink, remember:
On this night of nights, each one must ask,
as we dip our bread in the wine,
'Is it I?'
And on the darkest of days, each of us must stand beneath the tree
and watch the dying
if we are to be there when the stone is rolled away.
The road to Easter morning
is through the unrelenting shadows of that Friday.
Only then will the alleluias be sung; and the dancing begin.
Ann Weems - Kneeling in Jerusalem
Monday 14th | Isaiah 42:1-9 |
Tuesday 15th | Isaiah 49:1-7 |
Wednesday 16th | Isaiah 50:4-9a |
As a worship leader I find this the most powerful week in the church year - each day is a build up to Good Friday - Jesus approaching his death as an act of love. I have found that to plan a 20-30 minute daily service, and offer it twice early morning or over the lunch hour and again early evening making it an ecumenical time has been very rewarding for all.
There are a variety of themes that can be picked up from the readings - the nature of servanthood [Isaiah readings], the various symbols of the week, the week through the eyes of the various participants. One year I took the cross itself as the theme and this year I plan to use focus meditations from 'Stages on the Way' each beginning with the words 'It was on the Monday/ Tuesday etc.' I usually use the same format and often the same beginning and ending words each day and usually rely upon music from my CD and Tape collection rather than singing.