The Paschal Triduum
Posted by Isaac Butterworth | Filed under Liturgical Year
Jesus’ final Passover with his disciples was observed on the Thursday night before his crucifixion on Friday. Each year, as part of a longstanding tradition, Christians observe these holy days as Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Many Christians also hold a vigil on Saturday in anticipation of the celebration of Easter the following day, which, of course, is Sunday.
This series of observances has come to be called the Paschal Triduum, or the three days of Passover, the great saving act by which God delivered the ancient people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. For Christians, the full meaning of Passover is witnessed in God’s redemptive work in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
In his book, Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross writes:
Taken together, the death and resurrection of Jesus form the heart of the Christian story; thus the Triduum represents the center of the Christian year. Think of the messianic prophecies we rehearsed in Advent, the mystery of the incarnation we pondered at Christmas, the revelation of the kingdom we studied during Epiphany. Then in Lent we readied ourselves for a dramatic endpoint, the cross, and in Easter we will celebrate an explosive new beginning, the empty tomb. Pascha then is both culmination and inauguration…” (p. 165).
The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin mandatum, which means “commandment.” It refers to the new commandment that Jesus gave his disciples on the night before his death: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34, NRSV). Jesus spoke these words just after having demonstrated his love for the disciples by washing their feet. In like manner, many Christians still wash one another’s feet during the celebration of Maundy Thursday. Almost all Christians who gather for worship on this day celebrate the Eucharist, or communion, since Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on this occasion.
Preparations for Good Friday may occur near the end of the Maundy Thursday observance. Some churches remove the paraments in their worship space (“strip the altar”) to symbolize the way in which Jesus was stripped before his execution. The cross in the sanctuary may be draped, representing a “fast of the eyes.”
Good Friday (originally, perhaps, “God’s Friday”) is, of course, a commemoration of the crucifixion of our Lord. Scripture tells us that Jesus was on the cross from noon until three o’clock. Some churches observe these three hours by meditating on the seven last words of Christ from the cross:
- Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
- He replied [to the criminal who had asked Jesus to remember him], “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
- When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother…” (John 19:26f.).
- And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
- After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).
- When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
- Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
If fasting is a spiritual discipline that you find helpful, Good Friday is a fitting day to observe a fast.
The Easter Vigil is held at any time between sunset on Saturday and sunrise on Easter morning. When Christians gather for a service, the liturgy traditionally consists of four parts:
- the service of light
- the ministry of the Word
- the sacrament of baptism or the reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant
- the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
The Paschal Triduum is “theater” in the best sense of that word. The three days, experienced in succession, enable us to rehearse yet again the drama of Divine deliverance, not just as spectators but as those who are drawn into the action. The story of salvation becomes our story, and our stories always tell us who we are.
Photo Credit: “Step into the Light” by Saxon Moseley
