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For many of us the word 'wilderness' brings with it a sense of the negative. This year you may have felt like you've been in the wilderness; maybe you've felt a sense of lostness. Despite its negative connotations, however, the wilderness can be a place of growth and refinement.
Palm Sunday
(one week before Easter Sunday) is the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and
the people spread palm leaves in his path to welcome him (Matthew 21:1-11). In some Churches
everyone is given a little cross made from palm leaves.
Maundy Thursday is
the day when we remember the last
meal Jesus ate with His disciples before his death. He commanded them to
regularly break bread together in the future to remind them of His body broken
in death and to drink wine together to remember his blood shed for them. Jesus
also washed the feet of His disciples to show them how they must have an
attitude of service to one another and he told them to love each other as he
loved them. (John 13 verses 1-17).
Until 1689, it was custom in England for the king or queen to wash the feet of poor people in Westminster Abbey on Maundy Thursday and then to give them food and clothes. Today hte Quwwn still goes to Westminster Abbey but now she gives out specially made Maundy money. She gives a few people a bag of coins - one coin for every year of her life.
Good Friday signifies the day when Jesus was killed on a cross. The name may once have been “God’s Friday”. Although it is sad for Christians to remember the death of Jesus, it is also a good day because Jesus’ death was a sacrifice for people’s sins and symbolic of good over evil. (Matthew 26 and 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 , John 19)
Easter Sunday is
the day when Christians all over the world celebrate Jesus rising from the
dead. Special services are held in all the churches and some Christians hold
services to watch the sun rise.
Easter Monday – well, simply an extra day’s holiday!
