Holy Week

Holy Week is a unique and grace-filled time of the year. This is a week that is exalted both in character and in significance. It commemorates and celebrates the central events of the Christian faith. These events encapsulate the core tenets of Christianity. This is no ordinary week. As its name suggests it is steeped in spiritual significance.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. This is a remembrance of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem a short time before his death. Jesus rode into town seated on a colt and the people came out in great numbers to welcome and honour him. They ‘spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”’(Mt 21:8-9) In those days it was common for kings to return to their kingdoms after long journeys or wars riding triumphantly on their horse. The people would gather in the streets to welcome their hero. Jesus, the Bible tells us, did not come triumphantly on a horse but rather on a humble colt. This signified the kind of kingship he embraced. He wasn’t one to show off his power and prestige, or to bask in his own glory. His kingship was not of this world (Jn18:36) and hence he wasn’t like any earthly king. This event however is important in order to understand the inscription placed over his head at the time of his crucifixion. It read: Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. The Bible tells us that Pilate wrote it in four languages but contemporary artists continue with the Church’s preferred linguistic choice: Latin. Hence you will find INRI (Iesus Nazarenous Rex Iudaeorum) inscribed over Jesus’ head in any painting, sculpture or artistic depiction. In keeping with Biblical tradition, Christians use blessed palms in their worship on this day and make a procession, hailing Jesus as their King.

The next important day in Holy Week is Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice. It is the first day of the Easter triduum or the first day in preparation for Easter. Jesus shared a last meal with his disciples before he was betrayed and killed. Before they began to eat Jesus did something the disciples couldn’t comprehend and Christians find hard to imitate. He rose from the table took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet (Jn 13:4-5). The Master washed the feet of his disciples and asked them to do likewise (Jn 13:14). This is the first of the three events that Maundy Thursday commemorates. The second is the Institution of the Priesthood. Jesus presided over the meal and through his words and actions established a new kind of priesthood. He showed by example that a priest is a mediator between God and man. His service ought to be servant-like. The third event is the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks he broke the bread and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood (Lk 22:19-20).” These actions form the core of the Holy Eucharist or Mass which is celebrated daily in churches across the globe. The Eucharistic bread and wine are consumed as the real body and blood of Jesus. Jesus himself said “Take this my body … and drink this my blood in remembrance of me (1 Cor 12:23-25).”

Good Friday follows Maundy Thursday and it is the day on which Jesus died. His death was preceded by a painful betrayal, an unfair trial, vile insults and painful torture. On this day, Christians are invited to relive the Passion of Jesus as He suffered and died for the sake of the entire human race. Jesus was God and He didn’t require to go through all this suffering to redeem humankind from the clutches of evil. Yet, He chose to do so. No other religion records such a sacrifice. This is indeed a confounding and controversial belief that Christians hold and proclaim: God died for Man. It raises a multitude of questions and may even seem superfluous to some. Nevertheless, it stands as a testimony of love and bears a universal message that was taught by Jesus himself namely, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”(Jn 15:13).

Holy Saturday is a preparation day for the great feast of Easter. The single most fantastic and yet crucial claim in all of human history: Jesus was crucified and buried and on the third day he rose again. This truth is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. One of the early converts who later went on to become one of the greatest missionaries, St Paul, writes in one of his letters to the early believers: “If Christ did not rise again, then empty is our preaching and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). The feast of Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian religion but due to its low marketing possibilities it has been relegated to a celebration of secondary importance. It forms however, the crux of the Christian faith and this point cannot be emphasized enough.

As Holy Week commences, Christians prepare to enter into an intense spiritual journey with the Lord Jesus. The events that unfolded during this week have changed the course of human history whether people of the modern world accept it or not. If the spirit of Holy Week is lived then it has the potential to change lives and alter destinies. This is a favourable time. These are the days of salvation.