All the many worship services of Holy Week are not just an odd collection of old liturgies. They are a series of opportunities for the follower of Jesus to be incorporated into the narrative of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection. And each one is dependent upon the other.
Palm Sunday sets the stage as we carry palms like they did in Jerusalem and welcome Jesus as our King. On Maundy Thursday, we participate with Jesus in his new testament to his people - He is to be the sacrifice for our sins and we receive the benefits of his sacrifice tasting Christ himself in the meal he offers as both host and meal. Good Friday we slowly hear the account of what Christ has done as darkness increases - a reenactment of that terrible, but most blessed day. During the Easter Vigil, all the history of God's mercy for his people come together along with darkness and light, fire and water as we viscerally dive into the narrative. And Easter morning we hear the cosmos-shattering, life-changing news: "Christ is Risen!" And we ourselves are changed in the hearing of those amazing words after a whole week of incorporation into the story.
The Church will rehearse this story again and again every year until Christ returns and all things come to fruition and fulfillment. So I invite you to dive into this story together with God's people and be forever blessed in your hearing and eating and drinking and mourning and rejoicing once again.
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