The Ascension of Our Lord is traditionally observed on the Thursday in the Sixth Week of Easter, but we have transferred its observance to today, the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
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Bearing Witness. Serving Others.
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FRIDAY: On Passion Sunday, the
focus is on the suffering (passio)
of Christ, but on Good Friday, the Crucified One is put forward as the sign
of God’s victory over sin, death, and evil. Isaiah’s depiction of Jesus as the
‘suffering servant,’ so important to the early Christians as they sought to
understand the events of Good Friday, is read as the prelude to the Passion
according to St John, who presents Jesus as the one whose glory is revealed on
the Cross.
In the shadow of that
Cross, the Church then prays for the entire world, using an ancient form of
prayer in which the leader ‘bids’ (asks) the people to silently pray for
various groups of people. The service concludes with a solemn act of adoration
as we sing both of Christ’s great love for humanity and his triumph over death.
On Maundy Thursday the focus is on the community of disciples Jesus creates by his passion and resurrection; a community of which we are part. The church-community is known by mutual subjection in service, following Jesus’ example in washing his disciples’ feet, and by the celebration of Jesus’ abiding presence in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. After we who have been reconciled celebrate the Sacrament, we are led into the contemplation of our Lord’s Passion, as the altar is stripped, and Psalm 22 is sung. We go out in silence into the darkness of evening, meditating upon Jesus’ descent into darkness on the night before his crucifixion.
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