What’s the Point of Holy Week Services?

Palm Sunday.  Let’s be honest, for those of us who go to liturgical churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, etc.) it’s a weird day to be sitting in the pew.  At the beginning of the service, we are administered a palm branch and are asked to joyfully wave it around while singing about Jesus’ honored entrance into Jerusalem.  Then before the service is over, Christ’s honored entrance ends in death and we sulk home (or to coffee hour) still holding our palm, of course.

As if to add insult to injury, we are expected to show up on Easter Day and feel happy that Jesus isn’t dead anymore.

No transition.  No explanation.  Just an “alleluia.”

If you find the week before Easter a little jarring you’re not alone.  But there is an explanation and lucky for us, it’s simple.  As holidays go, Easter is hard.  It’s much harder than Christmas.  At Christmas we get to look forward to a cute little baby.  On Easter, we need to deal with death first.  The reason that it’s such as startling jump from Palm Sunday to Easter Day is because there is a lot that happens in between!  Jesus does enter joyfully into Jerusalem but quickly disappoints his followers when they begin to understand He is not an earthly king.  Then Jesus is betrayed (Maundy Thursday), killed (Good Friday), raised from the dead (Easter Vigil), then the empty tomb is revealed (Easter Day).

Holy Week services challenge our expectations of what we should see and hear at church.  The mood can be scary  The altar looks different.  The music is different.  People in the readings are lying, fighting, and crying.  We hear about all the doubt the disciples struggled with and are asked to acknowledge our own doubts as well.  But, this is what reminds us that our savior is fully God and fully human, that he shared our struggles and that we will share in his victory.  This is the point of Holy Week.  It’s also the great joy of Easter.

I know it isn’t practical for everyone to attend five services in seven days. (If you do, it will be an experience not soon forgotten.)  But if you ever had a moment where you felt like a part of the story was missing, I encourage you to investigate it and attend an extra Holy Week service this year.  Because when we see Holy Week for all that it is, shouting “Alleluia!” on Easter Day seems like exactly the right thing to do.

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