Well, I’m writing this at about 9:30 pm on Good Friday, which means I’ve almost made it to the end of this fast. Tomorrow evening, after the Easter vigil, where we’ll begin to celebrate Easter, baptize 5 people, and welcome 3 more into membership, I’ll break my fast. I began it on Ash Wednesday when the ashes were imposed on my head. I’ll end it with communion tomorrow night. Wow.
I really meant to blog today about last evening’s worship and didn’t get a chance to, and now it’s after the Good Friday service as well. It’s been a crazy and amazing two days. I absolutely love Holy Week. I’ve also been pretty weak at different spots during these two days, so I’ve really had to pace myself and rest occasionally. Let me begin with Thursday.
We had a soup and bread dinner that was followed by a foot washing service. I was bummed that I was fasting because the soup and bread smelled wonderful. I asked one of my friends who was there if it was any good and he politely told me that everything tasted terrible and that I wasn’t missing out on anything. He was helping me stay away from the temptation. The footwashing part of the service is becoming one of my favorites, in part because I’m always so surprised when people actually do it. We set it up so that it’s more ceremonial than anything – just pouring water over feet and then drying with a towel – but it’s still a stretch for most (including me). As I sat and watched my church folk washing each other’s feet at four stations, it was amazing. There was such a good spirit to it all. Children were even washing each other’s feet – really cool. The last one to get his feet washed was my son, Elijah. One of the girls got him to go up there, but he got nervous, so I went up to help. He did so well (and so did she). What a special moment. Deb was nice enough to take a picture on her phone and send it – so I’ll post it.
Tonight was one of my favorite worship services, the tenebrae. If you haven’t been to one, it basically goes like this: the passion narrative in a gospel (for us John) is read through in chunks, and between readings we sing a song about the cross or Passion and the sanctuary is progressively stripped bare and the lights dimmed. The last thing to go is the Christ candle, carried out to signify the death of Jesus. It’s such a moving service, and the people doing the readings, music, and stripping the sanctuary did great. That worship service is always a very emotional one for me. There is something about it that really makes Good Friday hit home.
I was also able to pray quite a bit today. Part of it was as a part of the prayer vigil from last night through noon today. I also prayed through the stations of the cross found on this blog (the link is on the top). It’s been a moving couple of days. I’m excited to do some baptisms tomorrow. It’s one of my favorite things that I get to do as a pastor. I’m also getting psyched up for Easter morning. Nothing gets you ready to hear about the resurrection like a Good Friday service.
As I sit here typing, I realize that I have less than 24 hours to go in this fast. I am certainly ready to eat. My body really shouldn’t go much longer like this. I’m tired. But there is a part of me that is sad that it’s ending. The fast has changed how I’ve prayed through Lent and it has totally defined my days in such a way that God is brought to mind more constantly. These 45 days have been dominated by a spiritual discipline, actually by two, and that’s been a great experience. I’m glad I’m almost done, but I’m also very grateful to have done it.