Holy Tuesday

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Early Christian writing reveals that Holy Week has been marked since at least the 4th century. One such writer, a Christian noblewoman named Etheria, wrote from the Holy Land back to the women in her community describing daily worship in the week leading up to Easter. It is in this tradition that we share services this week.

SCRIPTURE SENTENCES:

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 71.1-3

PRAYER:

Ever-present God,
this day enfolds us and surrounds us:
be in our speaking and in our thinking;
be in our life and on our lips;
be in our hearts and in our souls,
be in our deeds and in our doing,
be in our thoughts and our meditation,
be in our hope and in our longing,
today and forever.
Amen.

READING:

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” —1 Corinthians 1.26-31

REFLECTION

Think upon the things that are not. It’s hard to do! St. Paul is in high rhetorical form as he creates his homily to God’s wisdom, always more profound than the wisdom of the world. Yet, in the midst of these comparisons and surprising shifts, he goes one further step: God chose the things that are not to nullify the things that are.

The things that are not to nullify the things that are. This puts me in mind of another verse from Paul, this one from 2 Corinthians 4: “Don’t fix your eyes on what can be seen, by what cannot be seen. What you see is temporary, what you cannot see is eternal.” Maybe he was talking about idols, since the ancient world was full of them. Maybe he was talking about material things, the things you can’t take with you. Maybe he was talking about overt signs of empire, something that never seem to leave us.

So we can’t be certain about what can be seen, or the things that “are.” But things that are not, the things that cannot be seen, they are legion: faith, hope, and love, an example that Paul loved best. Or how about courage, or patience, or conviction? Maybe you can’t see them, in the person who quietly makes their way through life, but they are there. Or the quiet helpers, the ones who serve out of view. Maybe this service is among the things that are not, the things that cannot be seen—but they are certainly eternal!

HYMN: My Faith Looks Up to Thee

May thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart
My zeal inspire!
As thou hast died for me
O may my love to thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be
A living fire!

PRAYER

Gracious God, we pray for your blessing
as we find our place in Holy Week.
Here may the faithful find salvation,
and the careless be awakened.
Here may the doubting find courage,
and the anxious be calmed.
Here may the tempted find help,
and the sorrowful be comforted.
Here may the weary find rest,
and the strong be renewed.
Here may the aged find consolation,
and the young be inspired,
in Jesus, the Christ.
Amen.

BLESSING:

The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4.5b-7