Holy Week and Easter

Holy Week – The Passion

Holy Week is the week before Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday and includes the holy days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The story of Holy Week stretches from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through the Last Supper, and on to Jesus’ arrest, trial, sentence, crucifixion, and burial.

I am the vine, you are the branches…
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

—  John 15, verses 1 and 12

Image for Holy Week courtesy of Gary Gocek.

Easter – A New Heart, A New Spirit

Easter season begins at sundown on Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. The equinox usually occurs on March 21, which means the date of Easter can range between March 22 and April 25, depending on the lunar cycle.

The season extends for fifty days, ending on Pentecost.

One year for Lent, I took weekly walks—long walks on the beach, through the woods, and along neighborhood streets. On each walk, I picked up and brought home some small, seemingly-worthless natural object that caught my eye.

During Holy Week, I went over my Lenten collection, giving each item a period of time with my full attention. In each found object, I caught a glimpse of the Spirit that lives in all matter.

Here’s what I picked up and brought home to share for the Easter season.

A broken-off branch covered in yellow lichen.

A knot of wood, with the center missing to form an open doorway.

A black and white stone with a patch of red, and a thin white cross etched into the red.

A white feather.

A pink stone in the shape of a heart.

A green stone with swirling strata like ripples on water.

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

— Ezekiel 36:26