Holy Week is rapidly approaching. Next week is already Palm Sunday! Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and then Easter follows. Since I will only be with you Palm and Easter Sundays, I want to answer three frequently-asked questions about the days in Holy Week.
- Why is the Thursday before Easter called Maundy Thursday? “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning mandate. As Christians, Christ mandates that we serve; this was what Jesus showed when he washed the feet of his disciples that night so long ago.
- Why is the Friday before Easter, the day Jesus was crucified, called Good Friday? In other words, what’s so good about it? I researched several theories. One is that Christians believe there is something very good about the day Jesus died upon the cross for our sins, because that day led to the Resurrection and to ultimate victory over sin and death. The other theory is that good used to mean holy-as in sacred. In other languages the day is referred to as “Sacred Friday” or “Passion Friday.”
- What is Holy Saturday and how is it commemorated? Some Christian traditions, notably our Catholic friends, hold an Easter Vigil awaiting Christ’s Sunday morning resurrection. The Vigil employs fasting, praying, and meditating on his passion, death, and “descent into hell” that we have traditionally confessed in the latter version of the Apostles’ Creed. The descent into hell, echoing Acts 2:31, points to Christ’s “freeing the just” (per Catholic Catechism) who had gone before him. Many Protestant theologians believe that this scripture is more about Christ’s death being real and complete. For us, Lent includes and ends on Holy Saturday.
I look forward to celebrating Palm Sunday and Easter with you all and hope we have occasion in future years to commemorate Holy Week together more fully.
Blessings!
Rev. Sandi Anthony