The Week before Easter - commonly called HOLY WEEK

The week starting on Palm Sunday and continuing through the Saturday before Easter is commonly called Holy Week and the week in which the passion of our Savior is commemorated. The week starts with the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and ends with the death of the Savior on the Cross and the burial of his body in the tomb. It is a week of ups and downs without parallel and precedes the most joyous day of the year, the Day of the Resurrection or Easter Sunday.

Jesus has a triumphant entry into the city on the First Day of the Week (Sunday); on Thursday night he celebrates the Passover with his disciples in the Upper Room, he prays and agonizes over what he knows is coming in the garden of Gethsemane; Judas betrays him early Friday morning, his most trusted disciple denies him; the Jews condemn him to Pilate who in turn orders him to be beaten and humiliated; that does not satisfy the Jews and at their request, Pilate condemns a man he knows to be innocent to a horrible death to pacify the crowd of Jews assembled by the priests; Jesus is crucified, asks John to take care of his mother and gives up the ghost; his body is taken down and buried; the disciples are dispersed and discouraged; they have listened to their Lord, but not understood.

Think of this week from the disciples’ perspective, on the first day they enter with their leader into Jerusalem in triumph; mid-week they celebrate the joyous feast of the Passover, then their leader is betrayed, defends himself not and is killed. At the time they surely could not think of this as a Holy Week and certainly not a Good Friday. Yet on the first day of the week, our Lord is Risen, Risen indeed and delivers the promise of salvation in person.

What a week!

Wednesday
The first event of Holy Week was Wednesday’s Instructional Seder Dinner held at the SCAIR Center in Alpine, the facility courtesy of Wanda Michaelis and Lona Walsh. A Seder is the traditional ceremonial Passover dinner customarily held in Jewish homes. We had 14 attendees, including Sheri and Luke, friends of Susanne’s from Pine Valley.

Passover commemorates God's sparing of the Hebrew firstborn as he saw the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of their houses on the night of the Tenth Plague:

The Ten Plagues are the ten calamities visitated upon Egypt by God in order to convince Pharaohto let the Israelite slaves go to the desert for 3 days.

The plagues as they appear in the Bible are:

1. (Exodus 7:14-25) rivers and other water sources turned to blood killing all fish and other water life. (Dam)
2. (Exodus 7:26-8:11) amphibians (commonly believed to be frogs) (Tsfardeia)
3. (Exodus 8:12-15) lice or gnats (Kinim)
4. (Exodus 8:16-28) flies or beasts (Arov)
5. (Exodus 9:1-7) disease on livestock (Dever)
6. (Exodus 9:8-12) unhealable boils (Shkhin)
7. (Exodus 9:-35) hail mixed with fire (Barad)
8. (Exodus 10:1-20) locusts (Arbeh)
9. (Exodus 10:21-29) darkness (Choshech)
10. (Exodus 11:1-12:36) death of the first-born of all Egyptian families.

Then ten plagues correspond roughly to ten of the Egyption “gods”.

The "Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Khag Ha'Matsot) refers to the week-long period when leaven has been removed, and unleavened bread or matzah ("flatbread"), the holiday's primary symbol, is eaten to recall the rapid departure of the Jews from Egypt.

Many Jews observe the positive Torah commandment of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the Passover Seder, as well as the Torah prohibition against eating or owning Chametz (leavened products such as bread, cake, cookies, beer, whiskey or pasta)[5] for the duration of the holiday. In Israel, Passover is a seven-day holiday, with the first and last days celebrated as a full festival involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays").

Together with Sukkot ("Tabernacles") and Shavuot ("Pentecost"), Passover is one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shloshet Ha'Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. As described in the Book of Exodus, Passover marks the birth of the "Children of Israel" who became the Jewish nation, as the Jews were liberated from Pharaoh's slavery and allowed to become followers of God instead.

As Christians, it is of importance to us as the Passover dinner was Jesus’ Last Supper. Thus, it is an interesting part of our Christian heritage with deep historical roots and much significance that is often overlooked. This was the 26th Seder dinner Father Acker has held. He acted as head of the household and helped us through the entire ceremony.

The central ceremonial food item was matzah, a brittle flat bread eaten at Passover, which is unleavened bread the Jews were instructed to eat in remembrance of the haste in which they left Egypt.

This is the bread that Jesus broke before the Last Supper:

For in the night in which he was betrayed, he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me. (BCP page 80)

Ben Lizak prepared the sacrificial lamb, or pascha. There was a superb selection of side dishes; the most delicious kosher string beans and salt pork, two excellent potato dishes, asparagus, a zucchini casserole that was loved by all, including two people who hate zucchini, numerous traditional Jewish condiments and of course the traditional four glasses of wine.

Our 14 participants experienced a great time and wonderful food while learning a lot.

You might not have come to the Seder dinner for many reasons, too busy, not interested in a bunch of stiff old stuff, wanted a “real dinner”, or who knows what other reason. If you were there, you know the dinner, while very interesting and helpful in building our knowledge base, was entertaining and really fun. The Beadle might also point out the food was truly excellent. Far better quality than you would find in any restaurant and in sufficient quantity, no brag, just fact. Make a point of attending next year.

Thursday
The day after the Seder brought Maunday Thursday. The word "maundy" comes from the Latin "mandatum" which was the Latin translation for "commandment." Jesus said during the Last Supper on Thursday of Holy week, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12) "Maundy Thursday" is also known as "Commandment Thursday." 

Thursday is the day of the Last Supper, all the more meaningful for those who attended the Instructional Seder the night before. After the Passover dinner at which Jesus set forth the instructions for what was to become our Holy Communion service, he spent time in Gethsemane garden. Gethsemane (oil-press) is the name of an olive-yard at the foot of the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus retired with his disciples, and which is particularly memorable as being the scene of his agony.

A Holy Communion Service was held at Victoria Chapel with 10 attendees. The Maundy Thursday service includes the ceremonial washing of the feet by the priest, following the example set by Jesus at the last supper and ends with the stripping of the altar.

Hap Arnold read the Epistle for the evening which came from the Eleventh Chapter of the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians beginning at the Twenty-Third Verse:

I HAVE received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

This epistle recalls the institution of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion when Jesus blessed the Passover matzah before the meal then broke it; with the symbolism of his body given for us, rather than the breaking of the bondage. Then after the mean, He took up the cup at the Passover meal set aside for Elijah.

The Gospel for Maunday Thursday comes from the Gospel according to Saint John, the Thirteenth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse and describes Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper:

NOW before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

After the Creed, in the place normally taken by the Sermon, Father Acker put on a towel and washed the feet of each of the congregants.

Many people find the washing of the feet by the priest uncomfortable. On his hands and knees, Father Acker washes your foot, dries it and looks up at you, “Thank you for your service.” In your heart, you remember the words of the General Confession from Morning and Evening Prayer. How many times this past year, or week for that matter, have you done what you wanted, not what you should have done. How many times did you put off doing what you should have, what Jesus wanted, so you could do what you wanted. And he is thanking you…

How much more uncomfortable were the Apostles who had their feet washed by our Lord?

Friday
Good Friday was the day in which Jesus was tried by the Jews, tried by Pilate, condemned, crucified, died and was buried. Except in hindsight, this was not a Good Friday at all.

Pilate’s actions made famous the line, “I wash my hands of this.” While he might have attempted to wash the guilt for the murder of the world’s one truly innocent man on to the Jews, he remains the one who condemned him to death. Pilate was nothing if not a politician and bureaucrat. The condemnation was to him the simplest solution to the problem of a Jewish hierarchy’s manufactured crowd’s anger. What was the death of one Jew to him? Yet he was worried enough to attempt to wash his hands of the guilt.

Friday at Noon
The Alpine Christian Community gets together for an Ecumenical Stations of Cross at noon at Queen of Angels (Roman Catholic) Church. Father Acker and the Free Teen Guitar Class kids: Kurtis Walden, Ryan Howell and Jack Arnold played their guitars as traveling music for the outdoor event. We had about nine members fortunate enough to be able to get time off work to attend the event.

Friday Evening
There was a service at Victoria Chapel with 8 attendees which included the Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion, albeit in a simple fashion.

The Gospel, much like the Gospel for Palm Sunday was read as a participatory reading and was so effective as to make the hair on the back of ones neck stand up at points. The Gospel came from the Nineteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the First Verse:

PILATE therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Cæsar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment-seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every sol-dier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

Saturday
Fourteen of our members gathered for the Easter Vigil and lighting of the Paschal Candle with traditional flint and steel.

From the time Jesus left his body on the cross until the resurrection, little is known. It is said in the Apostle’s Creed that “He descended into hell”, where he did battle with the Devil for our souls, a battle the Devil was destined to lose. Remembering the Jewish day starts at sundown, sundown on Saturday brings the Easter Vigil and the lighting of the Paschal Candle with traditional flint and steel.

It also is the first of the celebration of the resurrection, the Easter Feast, the most joyous day of our Christian year.

This year it also brought the first breaking of the Lenten Fast with a wonderful chocolate cake from Alice which was enjoyed by 14 of our members.

Sunday
Tomorrow is the first day of the new week, Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. We expect to have a fairly large turnout as people celebrate this, the most important day in the Christian year.

Tell me more – What does Seder really mean?
The Passover Seder (Hebrew: "order", "arrangement") is a Jewish ritual feast which takes place on the first evening of the Jewish holiday of Passover (the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar) in Israel, and on the first and second evenings of Passover (the 15th and 16th days of Nisan) in the Jewish diaspora. In 2007, these dates correspond to Monday night April 2 and Tuesday night April 3 in the modern Gregorian calendar. Incorporating the holiday meal, the Seder relives the enslavement and subsequent Exodus of the Children of Israel from Ancient Egypt through the words of the Haggadah, the drinking of Four Cups of Wine, the eating of matzot, and the eating of and reference to symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate. Since the Seder is typically a household and family ritual, as well as being observed by congregations and groups, there are numerous gatherings that perform Seders, and thus there are often variations on this ritual; however, there are also similarities among Seders due to having similar Haggadot upon which to base the ritual.

The Seder is considered an integral aspect of Jewish faith and identity. As the Haggadah—which contains the complete Seder service—explains, without the Exodus, the Jews would arguably still be slaves to the Egyptian Pharaoh and would never have realized their role as a nation. Therefore this is an occasion for much praise and thanksgiving to God. It is considered a mitzvah (commandment) to embellish one's retelling of the Exodus on this night. Often the Seder lasts into the early hours of the morning of the next day, as participants continue to learn Torah and talk about the events of the night and sing special Passover songs included in the Haggadah. (Indeed, traditional Haggadot encourage this by pointing out the example of ancient Rabbis who discussed the Exodus at a Seder until the morning Shema (roughly 7am.)[1]

Unlike other public holiday observances that are traditionally held in the synagogue, the Seder is specifically designed to be conducted by a family at home, with or without guests. (However, the Seder may also be conducted by any group of people, including synagogue members, hotel guests, singles, students and travelers—see below, "Public Seders".) This focus is derived from the opening words of the Torah verse which is the source for the mitzvah of retelling the Exodus from Egypt: Vehigadta levincha' bayom hahu leymor ba'avur zeh asah Adonay li betzeysi miMitzrayim - "And you shall tell it to your son on that day, saying, 'Because of this God did for me when He took me out of Egypt'" (Exodus 13:8). The words and rituals of the Seder are a primary vehicle for the transmission of the Jewish faith from parent to child, and from one generation to the next.

Much like fasting and going to services on Yom Kippur, attending a seder is a ritual that many secular Jews take part in, too. Perhaps this is due to the celebratory nature of the event and the joy of family and friends gathering together.

Just one more question
After sitting through the Seder dinner, I was wondering, what is manna? Did they see this sign in the desert?

Your Beadle has written a fine six page treatise on manna and another on matzo. If you would like to get a copy of either, drop him a note at thebeadle@mac.com.

But, briefly - according to the Bible, the mysterious substance which was provided miraculously by God to the Hebrews during their forty years in the desert descended by night like hoarfrost in the form of coriander seed of the color of bdellium (Book of Numbers 11:7). It was collected before sunrise, before it melted in the sun. The people ground it, or pounded it, and then baked it (Num. 11:8). A double portion was to be found on the day before the sabbath, when none was to be found. When the Hebrews arrived at Gilgal, on the 14th of Nisan, and began to eat the grain grown there, the manna ceased.

Matzo (also Matzoh, Matzah, Matza, Hebrew מַצָּה maṣṣā) is a Jewish food item made of plain flour and water, which is not allowed to ferment or rise before it is baked. The result is a flat, crunchy, cracker-like bread.

Matzo is the traditional substitute for bread during Passover because of the prohibitive commandment of eating chametz. Moreover, eating matzo the night of the seder fulfills the positive commandment of eating matzo at the Passover seder.

Various commercial brands of matzo also come in flavored varieties, such as poppyseed- or onion-flavored. For those who cannot eat wheat, oat and spelt matzos with kosher certification are produced.

Obligation or Opportunity?
Friends tell us they have an obligation to attend church every Sunday. As good Pharisees, they are able to justify attending after a certain time on Saturday as counting for Sunday. That way they don’t have to waste a valuable Sunday on God.

Would you consider the proper perspective is that we have an opportunity to worship our Lord in a manner fully consistent with all the Biblical teachings on Sunday? There is actually nothing magic about Sunday, if the service was only available on Thursday, that would serve. With our Anglican Church, we have an unparalleled opportunity to worship without worry about heresy or treason being an insidious part of the service.

We have an opportunity to worship in an environment where God – Honor – Country are neither mutually exclusive nor unwelcome.

See you on Easter Sunday!

Father Acker posts a .pdf version of the current Beadle’s Report on the church website:

http://alpineanglican.com/BeadleReports.htm

An alternative version of the Beadle’s Report a single photograph and simple text is available at:
http://thebeadle.blogspot.com/

or with one photograph per issue and colorful text at

http://web.mac.com/thebeadle/iWeb/BeadleBlog/Blog/Blog.html

All back issues of the Beadle’s Reports are available on request from:

thebeadle@mac.com