Recent Articles, Holy Week & Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025
Easter Sunday
Holy Week Introduction
Holy Week – summary of the days
Holy Week – Day by Day
Holy Week video – Where it happened
Holy Week Links, 2025
Easter Sunday
Commentary, Easter, Year C
Visual Lectionary Easter Sunday,
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The Stations of the Cross began as the practice of pious pilgrims to Jerusalem who would retrace the final journey of Jesus Christ to Calvary.
Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church. Many explore the stations on Good Friday.
3 versions of the stations
1. VTS version – video and reflection guide
2. Mary Peterman – paintings
3. Creighton – Catholic version
Holy Week Introduction
Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Easter is the most sacred time of year.. The purpose of Holy Week is to reenact, relive, and participate in the passion of Jesus Christ, his triumph, suffering and resurrection. Ultimately it’s about ours. From our Baptism liturgy- “We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.” Every Sunday is an Easter.
From early times, Christians have observed the week before Easter as a time of special prayer and devotion. As the pilgrim Egeria recorded in the late fourth century, numerous pilgrims to the holy city of Jerusalem followed the path of Jesus in his last days. They formed processions, worshipped where Christ suffered and died, and venerated sacred sites and relics. The pilgrims took the customs home with them. Holy week observances spread to Spain by the fifth century, to Gaul and England by the early seventh century. They didn’t spread to Rome until the twelfth century. From this beginning evolved the practices we observe today on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Holy Week: Where it Happened
In this video conducted by 206 Tours, you will see sites of Holy Week in Jerusalem, including the route of Palm Sunday, the site of the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley, the site where he was sent to the High Priests, the dungeon where he was kept as a prisoner in complete darkness, the house where he was taken to Pilate, the site where he carried the cross, Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of the Resurrection.
Holy Week – summary of the days
- Jesus, at the Mount of Olives, sends two disciples to secure a donkey and a colt; makes his “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem; weeps over Jerusalem.
- Jesus enters the temple area, then returns to Bethany.
Monday –
- On Monday morning Jesus and the Twelve leave Bethany to return to Jerusalem, and along the way Jesus curses the fig tree.
- Jesus enters Jerusalem and clears the temple.
- In the evening Jesus and the Twelve leave Jerusalem (returning to Bethany).
Tuesday –
- Jesus’ disciples see the withered fig tree on their return to Jerusalem from Bethany.
- Jesus engages in conflict with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
- The Disciples marvel at the Temple.
- Jesus delivers the Olivet Discourse (in which he predicts the future) on their return to Bethany from Jerusalem.
Easter, Year C
I.Theme – Easter celebrates the reality of Jesus’ resurrection in all its many aspects. Hope, Transformation, Evangelism and a new life.
In all the accounts (different from the other Hellenistic accounts of the day) Jesus is VERY present at the Resurrection. He is not a ghost. He is not an apparition. Jesus is very real and very present. The second detail is that the resurrection accounts do something. They make real the covenant community of the disciples. They are about to be sent; they are about to become apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciple community is formed. One might even say is birthed and bound together by the experience of this very real present Jesus.
John’s Gospel, one of the longer accounts of the Resurrection, shows the ability of the risen Christ to bring transformation and hope into the most difficult situations of human pain and grief is powerfully and movingly highlighted. With this encounter, John ‘leads the reader from the empty tomb to that which is the real meaning of the resurrection – the creation of a new relationship between Jesus and those who believe in him.’
Luke’s Gospel is known for the role of the women. The fear of Mark’s women is not present here, but rather a sense of purpose. The “men” however have a new purpose for the women – that they relate the news of the resurrection to skeptical disciples, and the remembrance of Jesus’ description of his fate. The women “remember” what the disciples see as an idle tale. Once again, the women tell the disciples but the disciples do not understand. However, the key word for Luke is “amazement.” In Luke’s account, Peter seems to question and wonder what has happened, as opposed to Matthew and Mark.
The Corinthians reading is the oldest of all testimonies to our Lord’s resurrection from the apostle Paul. Indeed, the point at which 1 Corinthians 15 stands closest to the Gospels is the identification of Simon Peter (Cephas: verse 5) as among the first to whom the risen Lord appeared (cf. Mark 16:7; Luke 24:34; John 21:1-8). At this point, Paul’s list omits the most obvious part of all the gospel resurrection narratives, when his account is set next to them — where are the women? Paul’s writings precede the writing of the Gospels. It is historically impossible to know what kind of information Paul received from others about the resurrection. The point is that while Paul was late to the Church, Paul senses God’s presence and grace and that Jesus dies to save sinners for all.
The Acts reading emphasizes the broader nature of the resurrection spreads the message of Christ to all and in particular the Gentiles. It is Peter’s missionary speech to Cornelius, a Gentile centurion, and his household. The conversion of Cornelius marks an important turning point in the understanding of God as impartial and consequently the outreach of the Church to Gentiles. Many “circumcised believers” (11:2) rejected and feared the possible inclusion of Gentiles in the Church, but Luke makes clear that Peter himself (even before Paul) began the mission to the Gentiles under the direction of the Holy Spirit (1:8) because his idea of God had changed.
“Noli Me Tangere” (Touch Me Not)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm – Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Page 760, BCP
Epistle- Acts 10:34-43
Epistle- 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Gospel- John 20:1-18 Gospel – Luke 24:1-12
Holy Week Links, 2025
1. Dennis Bratcher’s Holy Week article
3. Family Activities During Holy Week
4. The Events of Holy Week for Children
5. Facts about Crucifixion from a physician
6. What are Stations of the Cross?
A. Virginia Theological – Video, reflection guide
B. Stations of the Cross – Mary Peterman. Art
C. Stations of the Cross – Creighton University
"Inspired by the St. Matthew and the St. John Passions of J.S. Bach, which interweave scripture texts with commentary, I gathered hymns, prayers, and art as responses to the text of the passion according to St. Mark. I chose northern European paintings of the 15th and 16th century, focusing on details to prompt the imagination toward completing the mood and event. Perhaps I meant the pictures to be like day to day impressions, shards of reality which carry complete truths. – Suzanne Guthrie
9. Holy week in two minutes (Youtube)
10. Praying Holy Week – Brothers of St. John the Evangelist
11. Holy Week with Jesus – TryTank This resource asks for your mobile phone number. “This year, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, you’ll receive text messages in real-time so you can walk with Jesus during his final days. When we say ‘real-time’ we mean it! Some text messages will arrive early in the morning or late at night as we truly walk with Jesus and experience the events leading to His death and resurrection. As you read the texts, our hope is that you’ll live the Easter story as if it were happening in the moment.”
12. Ideas to celebrate Holy Week
13. Holy Week, an Introduction Holy Week and Easter Explained using a video.
Visual Lectionary Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025
Click here to view in a new window.