Easter came! Lent is finished, and we were able to celebrate! I hope each of you had a wonderful day celebrating the work that Jesus accomplished.
I wrote last week about how Holy Week is a pretty busy week for liturgical churches, but then I only ended up being able to participate in part of the week's events. I missed the Maundy Thursday service because of a migraine, which was disappointing. The communion liturgy always begins with "On the night He was betrayed..." so it was a little sad to miss taking communion on the symbolic night that He was betrayed. Brad and Claire went, though, which was good particularly because Claire asked me ALL DAY if she could go to church (we didn't make it to Bible study that morning because I'd had to schedule a doctor's appointment during that time, and I guess Claire needed a church fix. There are way worse things than being hounded by my daughter because she wants to go to church.).
I did make it to the Good Friday service, though. Guys. Good Friday services are so good and so hard. I thought that Blacknall did a marvelous job with the service. One of the elements of Tenebrae (which mean "darkness," by the way) services that I find to be really moving and significant for reminding me of the weight of the crucifixion is the gradual darkening of the sanctuary as the service progresses. There are several segments of scripture readings (usually called "lessons") that track the timeline of Jesus' betrayal through his crucifixion, punctuated by either choir-led or congregational songs that correlate to the readings. The different churches we've been at over the past few years have all had their own takes on how to go through the process, and they've all been very meaningful. Blacknall did it in, what I thought was, a beautiful way.
The choir and a group of readers were in the balcony, leaving the front of the sanctuary bare of all distractions, excepting the altar table with 7 candles. Rather than having individuals take turns reading the scripture passages, the readers took more of a "radio theater" approach, with one person reading the "narrating" segments while others voiced particular characters involved in the story. It wasn't a drama, exactly, given that they were going through the actual passages, but it did add dimension to the presentation. In between readings, a little girl would extinguish the candles (one candle per reading) and the overhead lights were dimmed a little more each time. There was also a song between each reading, either performed by the choir or sung by the congregation. After each song was a period of silence, each silence stretching longer than the last. The combination of the darkening sanctuary and the silence did so much to emphasize the heaviness of Jesus journey to the cross.
One of the most "real" and difficult parts of the service is the passage where Pilate asks the crowds who they would like him to release, and they/we the congregation respond with, "Give us Barabbas!" "Crucify Him!" and "Let His blood be on us and on our children!" It's unbelievably humbling and difficult to interact with that passage. It's hard not to tear up when you hear yourself chanting those things in unison with a roomful of people.
After the final reading (the death of Jesus), there is no official dismissal. Just darkness. All candles extinguished, all lights turned off. Everyone is invited to sit as long as they'd like or leave whenever ready. I imagine the weightiness and sorrow of the evening would last longer if some of us didn't need to make a stop by the nursery for a pick up on the way out the door. :)
For our two years in Boston, we participated in an Easter vigil (an ancient church practice) on Saturday evening, leading into Easter Sunday, and IT WAS OUR FAVORITE THING OF THE WHOLE YEAR. I wish I could take each of you to experience it. Although, the significance of the vigil is definitely heightened by going through the somberness of Lent together. Blacknall doesn't hold a vigil but rather keeps a Silent Saturday, much like Christ Community in Jackson. It was HARD to see posts about Church of the Cross's vigil posted on social media; it's an amazingly and deeply significant element to Easter worship that we miss with ALL OF OUR HEARTS.
But then Easter morning came! And we worshiped joyfully with our new church! Claire was pumped to wear her "beautiful dress!" that my Aunt got for her and join us for the singing parts of big church. She was a doll and thoroughly enjoyed it. New Baby must have been excited, too, because I contracted throughout the. whole. service. Oof. The weather was lousy and gross, but we enjoyed our day nonetheless, including having a couple of friends over to grill that evening (it quit raining long enough for Brad to use the grill, thank goodness).
I could NOT get her to cooperate for a picture. There is just too much to look at in the sanctuary, guys.
With her Easter happies. The balloon was actually given to her by her Sunday School teachers, bless them. Balloons are only her favorite things EVER.
We also finished our Resurrection Eggs! It has been so much fun to watch Claire learn about them and enjoy going through them every day. I'm definitely looking forward to going through them again with her over the next few years and seeing how much she gleans from the process. And, as promised, here's a rundown of what she would say with each egg:
Egg 1 (leaf for Triumphal Entry): It's a leaf means HOSANYA!
Egg 2 (cracker for Last Supper): It's bread. Jesus broke it and ate it and said, "This is my body."
Egg 3 (coins for Judas' payment): It's coins. Jesus had a friend who wasn't good and gave the money back.
Egg 4 (rope for Jesus' beatings): Jesus got a lot of spankings, and it hurt very much.
Egg 5 (cloth and thorns): The thorns hurt Jesus' head very much, and the cloth was for hurt his feelings (the best we could do at explaining mockery).
Egg 6 (paper cross): It's a cross they put on Jesus' back, and it hurt him very much.
Egg 7 (nails): It's nails they put in Jesus' hands and toes. It hurt him very much.
Egg 8 (King of the Jews sign): It's a sign that says "King" and hurt his feelings (again, mockery).
Egg 9 (toothpick and sponge for spear and wine sponge): It's a sponge for him to drink. They poked him in the side.
Egg 10 (small baggie of seasonings for burial spices): They put it on his body when he was dead to smell nice.
Egg 11 (rock for the tomb): They put a rock there. And it hurt very much. (No, Claire, it didn't hurt. It was to keep his body there.)
Egg 12 (empty): Where is it? (That's the point, Bear. Jesus rose again! He wasn't there!)
Unfortunately, the empty egg isn't terribly exciting for her yet, but hopefully, it soon will be.
Thanks for following along on our Lent and Easter journey! We really enjoyed the process and are already looking forward to next year. He is risen! Indeed.
And, some Easter snapshots for you:
Easter basket made by our lovely friend, Mrs. Romine. Isn't it beautiful? The contents include: lamby and chocolate cross from Nana + "bunny bubbles," glitter glue pens, one of those multi-color clicky pens invented by NASA (but with girly, Easter colors), Anna and Elsa bubble bath, and pipe cleaners for her craft stash. She was thrilled with everything. And I got all of it (minus the Nana items) from the Target dollar spot.
Having an absolute blast chasing her "bunny bubbles."
Her first egg-dyeing experience. She was only "meh" about the process. But she did wear the bunny ears the whole time. :)
Aunt Donna and Uncle JD sent her an Easter package! It included sparkly stickers and Minnie stickers (she looooves stickers), as well as a book about the Littlest Bunny in Tennesse. :) She had a blast practicing her carefully-honed sticker-removing skills. Y'all, this kept her occupied for at least 20 minutes.
And the day after Easter, Baby Sister's Easter basket from Mrs. Romine showed up on our doorstep! Claire was thrilled and insisted on filling it up with items she felt Baby Sister could use.
And then I found this exhibition of Claire's haberdashery skills a few days later. Happy Easter!
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