On Thursday evening, before our Maundy Thursday service, I stopped a visitor to introduce myself. She told me that she was a member of a large non-denominational church and was just visiting. Her next comment was one I won't soon forget. "You Lutherans do Holy Week so well."
I agree. The Lenten season is a journey. We're invited to travel with Jesus to Jerusalem where he will clear the temple a second time; teach His disciples; verbally spar with His opponents; establish a new covenant with His followers; suffer a horrific death.
Maundy Thursday we watch as God washed the feet of His creation. He replaces the Passover Meal with a better one - a meal in which He gives Himself in the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of sins.
Good Friday is a day that is only good for us. There was nothing good about what Jesus experienced. The sinless One suffers for sinners. Our Redeemer pays our ransom so that we might be set free from the guilt of sin and the fear of death and the power of the devil. That is why we worship on Good Friday - to be reminded of the price that Jesus paid for our redemption.
Today at Life in Christ we will have an Easter vigil service at 4:32 pm. And then we celebrate on Easter Sunday with 3 services - 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 am. Activities for the kids begin at 9:20 am. Join us as we reach the end of our Lenten journey and greet everyone with the greatest words ever heard - "He is risen! He is risen indeed!"
