Hmmm...thinking that I don't much like having the Passion narrative read on Palm Sunday.
I know. Folks can't or don't get to church on Good Friday, and, for them, if the Passion narrative is not included in the Palm Sunday liturgy, the story in church leaps from Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the triumph of the Resurrection, with nary a nod to the Crucifixion. Still....
It's jarring and I hate it. And--at the risk of sounding like an exclusive old curmudgeon--I don't really care about those folks who skip straight from Palm Sunday to Easter. It's a choice they are making and I think the liturgy ought to reflect the procession of events in the Gospel--not rush everything because someone in power is afraid that the pew-sitters will "miss the point."
ReplyDeleteSome might argue that they miss the point because the church gives them an out. If you've "done" the Passion on Palm Sunday, what incentive do you have to come back and do it again on Good Friday?
(Why yes, Mimi--I *am* grumpy today. What makes you ask? ;-)
Doxy! A woman after my own heart, but I already knew that.
ReplyDeleteI think the liturgy ought to reflect the procession of events in the Gospel
Exactly. And I'm not grumpy. Jesus dies, and then comes the Last Supper and the Crucifixion again. It's jarring.
I'm also grumpy because Dear Friend wore the purple chausible today instead of the red one. But that's a whole 'nother story... ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo red, then? Well, that's enough to make any Episcopalian worth her salt grumpy. Don't tell Dear Friend I said that! We had red, and our red altar frontal is lovely.
ReplyDeleteused to be a Passion Sunday prior to the Palm Sunday. Apparently went away. Truly no way to get to Easter except through Good Friday. Not many like to dwell on Thursday/Friday/Saturday but think what it must have been like in that first few days. Think what it would be like to have your very best friend killed. What the emotions must have been like. The suffering and the sacrifice made for us -- wow! Theen, out of literally nowhere comes Easter!
ReplyDeleteYes, jarring
ReplyDeleteFred, I remember Passion Sunday, but that doesn't make better sense to me than what we do now.
ReplyDeleteJarring, it is, then, susankay.
We did Palm Sunday until after communion - then we read the Passion Gospel and left in silence. makes for a bummer coffee hour tho
ReplyDeleteIt jarred with me too when the new lectionary came in. Before that, in Wales, Palm Sunday was just that and the events of Holy Week were allowed to unfold day by day. In the UK Good Friday is a public holiday (until 20 years ago almost all the shops would have been shut) so most people have plenty of chance to get to church if they choose. Grump, grump....
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling. Still, it may depend on how well it's done.
ReplyDeleteAt St. Laika's we did Palm Sunday and nothing else. It was very difficult putting the service together because there is so little liturgical material available for Christ's entry into Jerusalem and only two or three well known hymns.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It disrupts the narrative, and does an end run around the inexorable progression of the story.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, perhaps it's to make the perfidy of the people celebrating particularly clear. One of our friends commented to me that "here we are, celebrating him before we kill him. We're all such hypocrites."
The man who "played" Jesus in our procession sang Jesus in the Passion chant. Lovely bass which contrasted with the high tenor singing Pilate. So that part was all right.
makes for a bummer coffee hour tho
ReplyDeleteYes, I can see how that would happen.
Before that, in Wales, Palm Sunday was just that and the events of Holy Week were allowed to unfold day by day.
Perpetua, exactly. I'd like the liturgies in Holy Week to follow the story in the Gospel.
"Sir", how do you do it well? It's not just Palm Sunday. The jarring comes for those who attend the other Holy Week services.
MadPriest, I noted that St Laika's did not include the Passion narrative. You did a fine job with what is available.
You did a fine job with what is available.
ReplyDeleteWell, with my blog's readership you quickly learn how to do that.
IT, when the story is fitted into one service, the betrayal by those who so recently celebrated Jesus' return to the city is made plain.
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling at Jesus in "lovely bass" and Pilate in "high tenor".
MadPriest, are you shooting a wee barb in my direction? You seem out to get me today. Or perhaps I'm just paranoid. :-)
I like Ann's idea. It's Margaret does likewise. I'm going to lobby for it next year but doubt I'll get anywhere. Our current priest is a stickler for liturgical correctness. Since I'm Senior Warden and I sing in the choir, I can't really boycott.
ReplyDeleteDon't take it personally. It's an "anyone who gets in my way" situation today.
ReplyDeletePiskie, I would not go so far as a boycott. :-). Ann's and Margaret's compromise is an improvement, but I wish the story followed the Gospel order throughout Holy Week.
ReplyDeleteIt's an "anyone who gets in my way" situation today.
MadPriest, thanks for the heads-up. I know what to do.
Having the reading of the Passion after Eucharist works --and those who do not care to hear the Passion on Palm Sunday can exit a little early and not hear it.
ReplyDeleteBut perhaps we would do well to remember that perhaps none of this week should be linear and rational.... just thinking aloud.
oh dear --wv: poper
I hope not.
margaret, I've never experienced the liturgy done with the Passion narrative following the Eucharist, so I can't say whether I'd like it or not.
ReplyDelete...perhaps none of this week should be linear and rational....
Something to think about, surely.
I hope some of you got to sing a favorite hymn for Palm Sunday:
ReplyDeleteRide on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
0 Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O'er captive death and conquered sin.
I’m also finding the timeline a bit jarring as I post one painting per day from Doug Blanchard’s “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” as means stretching out the story over 3 weeks...
KittKatt, we did not sing the hymn yesterday, but MadPriest included it in his Palm Sunday liturgy podcast at St Laika's.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I sat in the choir yesterday thinking the same thing, but felt I was probably the only one. We should follow Holy Week in the right order and not move Good Friday to Palm Sunday. It is rather jarring.
ReplyDeleteBooCat, I'm surprised that I have so much company. I thought my "Thought For the Day" was waaay out there.
ReplyDelete