It is clear that March forgot that if it came in like a lion it was
supposed to go out like a lamb. But April is sure to bring spring, and with it
the reawakening of God’s creation after a long, cold winter. Crocuses and
daffodils will not be stopped; they will bloom and we’ll know that winter is at
last behind us.
April brings Easter as well, and all the wonderful, moving worship
services that lead to that day when we gather to shout out “Alleluia! He is
Risen!”. We begin the month with our Service of Wholeness on April 6. We’ll
once again reconfigure the chairs in the Sanctuary to form circles of 12, each
circle “hosted” by an Elder. We’ll share the Lord’s Supper within each circle,
passing the bread and cup around the circle in much the same way the disciples
did when they shared their Last Supper with our Lord, each person receiving,
each person serving.
Then we’ll move on to Palm Sunday on April 13, our lively service
punctuated with our shouts of “Hosanna!” as we all wave our palm branches. Palm
Sunday worship has always been joyful and festive – as attested by this
600-year-old life-sized sculpture of Jesus astride a donkey, the donkey mounted
on a wheeled cart to be used in a Palm Sunday processional. The sculpture,
which is part of the collection of devotional art in the Cloisters Museum in
New York City, seems to sing out, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of
the Lord”.
We want to jump directly from Palm Sunday to Easter so we can echo our
“Hossannas” with our “Alleluias”, but we cannot get to Easter without first
remembering our Lord’s betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. Our Maundy Thursday
Tenebrae service – our “Service of Darkness” – will lead us as we walk with our
Lord from the Last Supper to Jesus’ last breath on the cross. The service
reminds us that for three days the world walked in darkness, until Mary
Magdalene found the empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday.
Then, on April 20th, we will celebrate the joy of the empty tomb, the joy
of our Lord’s resurrection as we gather on Easter Sunday, each of us eager to
shout out “Alleluia! He is Risen!” – and, of course, wave our alleluia wands.
So come and be part of all of our worship opportunities this month, as we
finally put winter behind us, the earth reawakening, and all of us born to new
life through our Risen Lord.
Alleluia, indeed!
Pastor Skip
