Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

One great week

By Colin Howland

Published February 1, 2010 in Witness

Have you ever had an experience where the events of your life suddenly seem to pass before your eyes in a matter of seconds? Frequently, these incidents will elicit from us a sense of joy and longing to relive the good things that have happened in our lives. The cause of these dramatic flash floods of memories might be triggered by something very simple, a kind of accidental encounter: a picture in a photo album, a drive through a neighborhood where you used to live, a delicious smell in the kitchen. Quite often, though, we seek to rekindle these strong memories and emotions through elaborately planned events: a homecoming weekend, a Christmas tradition, a class reunion, or a family vacation. We might observe that much of the joy in these events is the shared experience of memory, but also the increasing impact these events may have on us over the years. Put simply, we recall in these moments things which have made us who we are, and they so define us we can’t imagine our lives without them.

Each year PCPC devotes an entire week to the commemoration of Christ’s passion and resurrection. The observance of what we call Holy Week dates back to fourth-century Jerusalem. Known at that time as The Great Week, the days from Palm Sunday to Easter were spent in dramatized worship, with the participants literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus throughout the week. Preparations had begun seven weeks before as worshippers, through prayer and fasting, prepared to recount the Paschal Mystery, that Jesus died and was raised again.

The Great Week culminated in what Augustine called the triduum, or three days, beginning on Thursday evening and ending Sunday morning. The triduum was viewed not as a series of independent events, but as a single celebration of the One Event, the event that brought redemption and inaugurated the re-creation of the world. Consequently, these final days of the Great Week were almost nonstop worship, including the Lord’s Supper and an all-night service on Thursday, and a pilgrimage to Gethsemane and Golgotha with readings about the arrest and trial of Jesus on Friday. Friday evening found worshippers meeting around a wooden cross. Saturday evening an all-night vigil service was held including the annual baptism of communicants. Easter was then celebrated beginning Sunday morning and continuing with eight days of worship and feasting.

Great Week at PCPC

Our own celebration of Holy Week includes eight days of worship beginning on Palm Sunday and ending Easter evening. In addition to Sunday morning and evening services, we have a service at noon Monday through Friday in the Sanctuary. Each service contains the reading and preaching of the scripture with an emphasis on the passion (i.e. suffering) of Christ, singing, and prayer. On Thursday we gather for our annual Maundy Thursday service. Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum novum, referring to the new commandment Jesus taught His disciples (John 13:4). This is New Commandment Thursday. In the history of the church, this service has focused on three key areas of Jesus’ last week of ministry: the institution of the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and His new commandment to love one another. Our Maundy Thursday service ends with a Tenebrae service of deepening shadows, where the death of Christ is marked by the gradual extinguishing of the light in the church. Finally, a single lit candle enters, reminding us of the truth that death could not triumph over our Lord, and that He had authority to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:18).

We end Holy Week with a triumphant celebration on Easter morning, but continue with resurrection themes through what is known as the Great 50 Days of Easter leading up to the celebration of Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church.

We invite you to worship with us during Holy Week this year. Come to remember what the Lord has done for us on the cross and by His resurrection from the dead. Come in order to see again, or maybe for the first time, how that One Great Week changed everything, and that you could never imagine life without it.