Beloved in Christ,

As Christians, this Holy Week is a time for us to draw our focus–our eyes of faith–upon God’s works for us. Take note of the special theme-focus of each of these days of Holy Week.

Palm Sunday–Sunday of the Passion
Shouts of triumph draw us to the streets of Jerusalem. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The crowds are not yet able to understand that the gift of life they await must come at the cost of a death–the death of God’s Son–His Servant. But if God wounds, He will also heal, both the Servant Himself and, through Him, also the people He gathers to Himself.

Holy Monday
Strong in God’s Spirit, the Servant does not falter on the road appointed for Him. He has set out to open the eyes of the blind and free the captives from prison. His love spans the whole creation–all people are enclosed by His love. We are summoned to ready ourselves to feast on the abundance of His house and drink from the rivers of His delights–in the new life first given in Holy Baptism–and sustained and strengthened through His Word and Supper.

Holy Tuesday
Again, the Servant of the Lord is our focus. He is the Restorer of Israel and the Light of the nations. Remember that Jesus had predicted His death and the harvest produced by His death. The foolishness of God triumphs over the wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 1:18-25). The cords of death will coil around Him as the waters of Baptism swirl about those who go down into death with Him. God will hear our cries for pardon and life. He rescues us from our powerful enemy even as He raised up His Servant.

Holy Wednesday
The betrayer plays his necessary role in the drama of the Servant’s passion. His profit was 30 pieces of silver. Our profit is the new and greater Passover by which the blood of the last Lamb is sprinkled on the lintel of the world. This week He will offer His back to those who would beat Him. He will not shrink away from the mocking and the spittle, because the Sovereign Lord who will vindicate Him is near. When we are least powerful, still possessed by sin and weakness in faith, God justifies us through Christ’s death.

Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday)
Jesus celebrates the Passover one last time with His disciples. Now He established His new covenant, ushered in by the shedding of His blood. God in His compassion for us causes His Son to experience the entangling cords of death, drawing Him into the grave. Though He was entombed by God’s will, yet by His mercy He was also raised to life. Christ feeds us with the bread of His body and the new wine of His covenant so we may abide in His name until we eat and drink anew with Him in paradise.

Good Friday
Today the church proclaims the Passion according to St. John. In John’s Gospel, the crucifixion is no defeat. By it the Father glorifies Himself and the Son. Today we behold God’s Son–stricken by God, smitten and afflicted for our transgressions. We know that it is our guilt that has done this to Him. But what was done was done by His will. In His suffering, death and victory we receive mercy and find grace to help us in all our needs. Christ is the great Reconciler between us and God.

Holy Saturday
During the hours following the liturgy of Good Friday up to the celebration of Easter, the church in spirit joins Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” in mourning at the tomb in Joseph of Arimathea’s garden. Joseph had claimed the body of Jesus, and after the loving ministrations of the women, it was laid to rest in the new tomb. The oppressive hand of Jesus’ enemies still makes itself felt by the presence of the Roman soldiers sent to prevent any attempt by the disciples to steal Jesus’ body for their purposes. However, the presence of the Son of God in the tomb transforms that place of stony death into the womb of new life.

EASTER DAY
“Alleluias” ring again throughout the church! Alleluia comes naturally and easily to our tongues, for the Lord who went down into death has conquered. Easter is the chief festival of the church year. This is The Day of the Resurrection of Our Lord! The resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ means that we have shared in His passover from death to life in the waters of Holy Baptism. We are renewed by the living Word of God and sustained on our pilgrimage through this earthly life by Christ’s body and blood in His Sacrament of the New Covenant. Every Sunday we celebrate Christ’s victory over death and the grave for us and receive His Easter blessings: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

(Adapted from Proclaim CPH, 1994, pp. 203-236)

A blessed Holy Week to you in the Lord!

Pastor Kotila

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Board of Elders meets this evening (Tuesday) at 7:30PM.

All Bible studies will resume beginning on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Thursday: Maundy Thursday Divine Service with Stripping of the Altar at 7:00PM

Friday: Good Friday Tenebrae Vespers at 7:00PM

Sunday: The Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord
Divine Service at 9:00AM
Coffee Hour at 10:15AM

Please keep Maggie Karner in your constant prayers for healing, along with strength for herself and Pastor Karner and family.

Also pray for strength and healing for all on our Prayer List, including Jeannine Quistberg, who has Stage 4 breast cancer. She had surgery and will be undergoing radiation treatment.

We give thanks to God for all who labored so hard to provide our church and guests with a most delightful Palm Sunday Brunch. Thank you to the Ladies of Holy Trinity for hosting this event. The food was delicious and the fellowship was great! Thank you to all who made donations to the Rev. Breuer Scholarship Fund.

Kari and Pastor thank all the members for their help and words of care and concern for Kari’s dad, Gene. He actually is doing quite well, and he is undergoing some testing to uncover what the trouble may be. Thanks so much for your kindness and prayers!

SERVING THE LORD THIS WEEK:

Ushers: Paul Arbesman
Mike Plourde
Elder: Tom Wollenberg
Altar: Mary Wollenberg
Acolyte: Desiree LaFontaine
Coffee: Easter Sunday