Holy Monday (April 29th)

Joseph and the Fig Tree

Remember last night at Bridegroom Matins, we heard about the story of Joseph and Jesus' parable of the Fig Tree? Well today we'll talk more about them.

Joseph

This is the same Joseph with the "coat of many colors." 

No, not the singing, dancing Joseph!

He was the 11th son of Jacob (also known as Israel). Joseph's brothers were extremely jealous of him because their father seemed to love Joseph best of all. One day Joseph's brothers took him and sold him to a band of slavers who then sold him into slavery in Egypt. There he worked for a high ranking official, who's wife wrongly accused Joseph and so her was thrown into prison. While in prison he began to interpret the dreams of some of the prisoners. Word of his abilities spread so far that when the Pharaoh himself was troubled with a dream, he asked Joseph to interpret. The Pharaoh then made Joseph his right hand man, governor of Egypt in charge of the people's care.

Want to read the whole story? You can find it in Genesis 37;39-41.

Why Joseph? Well, Joseph's story is taken as one of the earliest symbol's of Christ's suffering and resurrection. Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, enslaved and imprisoned, but in the end he rose to one of highest offices in Egypt and was able to help the Egyptians, and his own family, through a tough famine. Jesus will be mistreated, denied, and finally crucified, but in the end he will rise again and save all mankind.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

When Jesus was walking with his disciples he found that he was hungry and so he stopped beside a fig tree to get some of its fruit, but he found that the tree was bare--it had no fruit! Immediately the fig tree shriveled up and died. (Mat. 24: 3-35) This tree was a symbol of those who, though they might appear outwardly to have faith, but they do not show the necessary fruits of virtue and righteousness, so they die. It is a reminder to all of us.

We also hear the first parts of the stories of some other well known figures from the Old Testament: Moses and Job. 

Why Moses and Job? 

Well, Moses is the one who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (where they ended up at the end of Joseph's story). He delivered his people, just like Christ delivered us from slavery to sin and death. 

Job is the ultimate symbol of suffering, as we read that though he was blessed by God with many children, much land, and much wealth, he lost everything and yet never lost his faith in God.

We'll hear more about Moses and Job tomorrow.

It's all about Bible stories for the next few days!

Sorry, we have no picture's from today's liturgy. =( 

Tonight's service:

Bridegroom Matins:
St. George Lawrence - 7PM
St. George South Glens Falls - 5PM

Hope to see you there!

For Parents:

You can use the Scripture readings during Holy Week as your kid's bedtime stories. It involves them in what's going on in the Church even if they cannot be part of the services.

Monday Bridegroom Matins

Sunday (Monday) Bridegroom Matins

"Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom he shall find awake. But he whom he shall find neglectful is verily unworthy. Behold, therefore, my soul. beware lest thou fallest into deep slumber, and the door of the kingdom be closed against thee, and thou be delivered to death. But be thou wakeful, crying, Holy, Holy, Holy are Thou O God. Through the Theotokos, have mercy on us."

- Troparion of Bridegroom Matins

Sunday night begins the first service of Holy Week. The bright colors and the palms which had decorated the Church this morning are now taken down and replaced with black. The joyfullness of the morning has now turned to sorrow.

During this service, the icon of Christ called "The Bridegroom" is brought out and placed in the middle of the church, while the choir chants the hymn above.

On each of the first days of Holy Week, the Church remembers some events and stories from the Bible that relate to what is happening to Jesus and the things that he taught us.

On Holy Monday we remember the story of Joseph (the one with the coat of many colors) and the Parable of the Fig Tree.

We'll talk more about them tomorrow.

The journey continues. . . . .

Jesus Arrives! (Palm Sunday: April 28th)

Palm Sunday - Jesus Come to Jerusalem

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: 

behold, your King comes unto you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey."

- Zechariah 9:9

Today is the day when the church celebrates Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem. It is the days before Passover, and the crowds of people who are coming into Jerusalem have just heard about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus, the King, enters into Jerusalem humbly, since is riding on a simple donkey rather than a majestic steed. Never the less, the crowds of people aren't going to let this event happen quietly. They shout "Hossannah!" "Hooray!" and wave branches of palm trees to show their excitement. In fact, they are causing such a commotion that the Pharisees ask Jesus to make them quiet down. Jesus says, "No. Even if all these people were to be silent, the rocks and stones would start to sing and praise God." The whole world celebrates the day when Jesus comes into Jerusalem, to begin his journey to the cross and the tomb--the journey which will save his people from death.

Palm Sunday at St. George's

Fr. Philip blessed the palm branches and pussywillows during Matins.



Today's Epistle Reading - Philippians 4:4-9

Today's Gospel Reading - John 12:1-18

 

We're celebrating too! The priests are decked out in their gold vestments. The choir and people sing loudly as we process around the church carrying candles and palms, just like they did in Jerusalem all those years ago. Young and old, parents and children, we are all here announcing to the world the good news of Christ!!

The choir leads the people as the sing, "Holy God! Holy God! Holy Mighty, have mercy on us!"

 

Are bad things going to happen to Jesus when he goes into Jerusalem? 

Sure, we know what will happen to Jesus this week, but we also know that He is going to rise from the dead and save all of us with him!! 

So for now, we celebrate!!

 

 

Tonight's Services:

Bridegroom Matins (check your local Church schedule)



Hope to see you there!

For Adults:

Fr. Alexander Schmemann: "Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week"
St. Theodore Studite on the Week of Palms

Parent Resources:
Some coloring pages can be found as part of the "Journey to Pascha" mini-unit from the Christian Ed. department of the OCA. 

Lazarus Saturday (April 25)

Lazarus is alive!

What happened today?

Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha and a dear friend of Jesus, has been dead for four days. The disciples had told Jesus that his good friend, Lazarus, was sick, but did not come to visit him because, as he told His disciples, "His sickness is not for death. It will be for the glory of God." 

When Jesus finally comes to Bethany, Lazarus is already dead. Mary and Martha tell Jesus that if he'd been there, then Lazarus wouldn't have died. Jesus asks to see where his friend had been buried. When he gets to the tomb Jesus cries for his friend. He then asks that they open the doors of the tomb. Mary protests, saying that there would be a smell (he's been dead for four days after all), but Jesus wants it opened anyway. He pauses for a moment to pray and then calls to into the tomb, "Lazarus come out!" Lo and behold, out walks Lazarus, with his grave clothes still wrapped around him. Jesus had raised him from the dead!

Word began to spread like wildfire about what Jesus had done. Jesus and His disciples are planning on going up to the big city, Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover. Lots of people were coming to the city for the feast, and soon they would all know about Lazarus. But, remember that the Jewish authorities are waiting in Jerusalem and plotting to condemn Jesus to death.

See the icon at the top of this post? Can you identify all the people and tell what they are doing?  (If not, get your parents or siblings to help out!) There sure is a lot going on!

What happening today at the St. George's?

Fr. Philip and Fr. Edward each served Liturgy this morning for the feast.

Notice anything different about the colors in the Church?

Thats right! It's not purple anymore. It's gold and white!

That is because Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday are celebrations, so we deck out the Church to match the happy occasion!

Here's Fr. Philip changing the clothes to white. The Church got a good cleaning too!!

Epistle - Hebrews 12:29; 13:1-8

Gospel - John 11:1-45

"May He Who by raising Lazarus from the dead confirmed the Universal Resurrection for our salvation. . .have mercy on us and save us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth mankind."

AMEN!

There will be Vespers tonight at 5PM (at both Churches)

More updates after Vespers!

Tomorrow's services:

Palm Sunday

Matins 9AM

Divine Liturgy 10AM

Bridegroom Matins 
(check your local church schedules)

Hope to see you there!!!

For Parents:

Speaking the Truth with Love: Lazarus Saturday Fr. Hopko
Alexander Schmemann Taking it Seriously

And for tomorrow, if you are interested in making Palm Crosses:
Palm Cross Diagram
Palm Cross Video Tutorial (There are many more out there too!)

A Week Out of Time

So, why do we do all these services during Holy Week?

Why do we carry palms and branches in a procession on Palm Sunday?

Why do we stay and pray with Jesus after his death?

Why do we stay up late a night to be there when Jesus breaks the gates of Hades and rises from the grave?

 Is all of this just in remembrance of history 

or maybe a simple reenactment to help us understand what happened so many years ago?

NOPE. 

WE ARE THERE

.

at Lazarus' grave

as Jesus enters Jerusalem

in the garden with the disciples when Jesus is taken

at the foot of the cross when Jesus breathes his last

at the tomb when the women discover the stone rolled away

in the upper room when the disciples see the risen Jesus

Now I know, you are probably saying, "Those things happened way back in history. We are not in Jerusalem, we're in Massachusetts or New York! How can we be there and see all these things which already happened?"

Well I'll tell you.

Think back to every liturgy you've ever been to. What is the very first thing that the Priest says? (If you can't remember, ask your parents or look it up in your prayer books.)

Have you found it? Yup, that's right. he says:

"Blessed be the Kingdom"

Now why does he say such a thing? Is the priest just letting us know that the Kingdom (of heaven) is a nice place? And why is he talking about the Kingdom of Heaven anyway, I thought we were in our Church?

AH HA!

The Church during Liturgy is the Kingdom of Heaven.

When we have these services we are participating in the ways things will be in the Kingdom of Heaven. All the hymns and the prayers let us know that we aren't just at St. George's any more, we are also involved in something much bigger, something beyond time as we know it.

I'll let Dr. Who explain:

Things aren't always as simple as they appear to be. And that's pretty great for us because it means that when we are in Church, God allows us to be a part of something which we normally wouldn't be able to do: jump outside of time. 

So, what does this mean for Holy Week? 

Well it means that we didn't have to be in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. in order to participate in those events which changed the world forever. All these hundreds of years later, we still get the chance to be there and to see all those amazing things.

Quite often, if you listen, even just a little bit, during Church services you can hear clues which let you know that something very special is going on.

For instance, last Wednesday we heard:

"Lazarus is in the tomb two days, seeing the dead of all ages. . ."

Notice that this is in the present tense, not the past. 

Lazarus is dead now. And soon (very soon indeed) he will not be dead any more.

So lets stop thinking of Holy Week and Pascha as a time when we remember things which happened a long time ago, and. . .

Be there with those crowds on Pam Sunday!

Be there to weep with the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross.

And be there with the women when they discover that Jesus Christ is not dead, 
but has Risen!!!

Why a Holy Week Blog?

The Events of Holy Week and Pascha in the Orthodox Church.

Greetings all!

On Lazarus Saturday, April 7th, our Church begins a journery with Christ. We travel with Him to Jerusalem, listen to His last teachings with the disciples, are with Him at the cross, watch over Him at the tomb, and finally rejoice in His glorious third day Resurrection! We don't just remember the events, we mystically participate in them.

Mat. Sarah and Fr. Philip started this blog in 2012 as a way to help the Sunday School students of St. George Church in Lawrence, MA to understand what happens in our Church during Holy Week. Since Fr. and Mat. Begley have moved to NY we've expanded our blog to include what is going on at  St. George Church in South Glens Falls.

Because many of our children have school during the day or are too young to go out at night they miss participating in some of the more exciting liturgical celebrations of the Church year. It is hard to talk to children about Holy Week; its better if they see and participate in it. To that end, we will be hosting this blog in order to let them know what is happening at the church, even if they are unable to attend.

What you'll see:
- A description of where we are in the Holy Week/Paschal Journey
- Daily Gospel readings
- Pictures (and maybe even video) of liturgical services
- Links to activities for children and some interesting articles for parents
- Q&A

Be sure to check your local Churches Holy Week schedule, which can be found in your weekly bulletin, as a reminder of what's coming.

**Last year's blog posts are still on this website, so if you want to get a feeling of what a certain service might be like, check it out!

Hopefully what you see here will move you to come participate with us! As wonderful as it might be to see pictures and descriptions, it is even more wonderful for everyone to be present and praying together. 

God Bless!


P.S. This blog is not just for children! Though helping Sunday school students was the original impetus  for starting this blog, it can be just as useful if you are an adult. Due to work schedules and other commitments many adults don't see all that happens at our Churches during Holy Week. Check us out and see what you are missing, or better yet, come to Church and be a part of this Holy Week with us!

Lazarus Has Died

The Death of Lazarus

Last night, at Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, we remembered that Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus, has died and was just recently buried.

We sang:

"Lazarus has now been two days dead in the tomb, and he sees the dead from all the ages. There he beholds the sights of terror, the prisoners of death, a multitude that no one can count. His sisters weep bitterly, looking upon his tomb, but Christ comes to bring his friend to life, that a single hymn of praise may be offered up with one accord by all: 'Blessed are you O Savior, have mercy on us!'"

Why do we remember the death of Lazarus? It's because in a few days, something miraculous is going to happen to him. Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead!

But for now, Lazarus is in the tomb and Jesus is on his way to Bethany and then to Jerusalem. The journey has begun. . . .

Holy Week 2013!

April 28- May 5th

Things are going to change a bit this year (new location!) but its still going to be packed full of information and ways to get involved in Church Life during Holy Week.

Watch this space! More to Come!

Christ is Risen!

CHRIST IS RISEN!!!!

TRULY HE IS RISEN!!!

Unfortunately, some technical difficulties have made us a bit late in posting pictures from the Paschal Service last night and Agape Vespers this afternoon, but we wanted to make sure that we wished everyone a joyous Pascha/Easter!!!!

Holy Saturday!

Holy Saturday Morning

Liturgy of St. Basil

Saturday morning's liturgy is one of the most exciting of Holy Week! Today we saw the church go through many changes, from the darkness and sadness of the past few days to the light of the coming Resurrection! We also see all of salvation history, from creation to Moses, through Jesus, all in one service.

Can you still see the Epitaphios?

One of the most important parts of today's liturgy were the 15 Old Testament readings (well, we only read seven of them.) Traditionally, this liturgy was the service at which new Christians were baptized. They had been spending many weeks learning about the church, and it was at this service that everything was brought together for them. This is was their final "lesson" before their baptism. We'll let Fr. Edward explain:

You probably would have recognized a few of these Old Testament stories. Do you remember when we read about Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea? Well, we read that same story today!

And we even sang the exact same song that those Israelites did once they had finished their crossing. (It is a very old song indeed!)

Finally, in the last reading we hear about the Three Holy Youths in the Fiery Furnace.

[video coming soon]

As they walked around in the furnace, in the middle of all that fire, they sang a hymn praising God and asking the whole world, nature included, to praise him too! We sang their song as well.

[video coming soon]

Right before the reading of the Gospel sometime amazing happened. As you can see from the pictures and videos, the Church is still covered in purple (for Great Lent), but suddenly everything changes to white. The priests vestments, altar boy robes, altar clothes--everything is now white to symbolize the Resurrection!

Everyone helps to get the Church ready!

Fr. Philip read the Gospel, in which we hear about how the myrrh bearing women went to the tomb in order to anoint Jesus' body (because they hadn't been able to have a real funeral for him).

Instead of finding His body, they find an angel who tells them that Jesus has gone; He has Risen! While the women are on their way to tell they disciples they meet Jesus himself, who tells them to let the disciples know that He is alive and that He will come to meet them. This is the first time we get to hear about Jesus' Resurrection!

To celebrate, Fr. Edward sprinkles flowers and laurel leaves all over the whole Church! (They stay there the whole week.)

Now the church has been make ready for Pascha/Easter. The time has nearly come!!!

Good Friday - Lamentations

The Lamentations Service

On the evening of Good Friday (which is actually Holy Saturday), we celebrate the Lamentations Service. At this service, we mourn Christ's death, but at the same time we remember why He died. The songs and hymns may be full of sad lament for all He suffered for us, but they also contain the hope and joy of the coming resurrection. Christ may be in the tomb, but He is certainly not at rest! He is doing the work of salvation, going down to Hades to raise Adam and Eve and all the other men and women who have died and to raise them up to heaven with him. This is why the Church seems to happy, even though we are remembering a sad event.

At the beginning of the service we see that members of the Church have lovingly decorated the tomb of Christ with beautiful flowers!

Can you still see the cloth icon, the Epitaphios?

The choir then sings the Troparia for Holy Saturday (also called "The Noble Joseph").

Soon the whole Church begins to sing the Lamentations, in four different languages! (English, Arabic, Slavonic [Russian] and Greek) These are a special set of hymns, in which about how sad we are that Christ had died. Many of them are written from the point of view of Jesus' mother Mary, the Theotokos. We hear her crying and mourning at the grave of her son, and we too mourn with her.

"In a grave they laid thee, O my Life and my Christ: and the armies of the angels were sore amazed, as they sang the praise of thy submissive love."

During one of the last verses, Fr. Philip went around the entire Church and sprinkled everything with holy water!

Close to the end of the service, the whole congregation made a procession, with candles, outside into the streets. Four men carried the Epitaphios, or the cloth icon of the buried Christ, while the choir slowly chanted, "Holy God."

The procession went across the street.

And over by the park!

Then back into the Church as everyone passed under the Epitaphios.

We then had a special Old Testament Reading from Ezekiel: the story of the raising up of the dry bones. God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to a bunch of bones, and suddenly they rise up and become living people again! ("Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Oh hear the word of the Lord!") This was a foreshadowing of Jesus' resurrection.

At the end of the service, everyone received a flower from the tomb.

Then members of the Teen SOYO (and others) spent the night at the Church. They kept Vigil: reading Psalms continuously throughout the night, right up until Church began the next morning.

The Resurrection is nearly upon us!