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As we quickly move through the days of Lent, heading toward Holy Week, we take time to assess honestly what it means to be a child of God. Lent comes from an Old English word, lencten, which meant “Spring season.” It is, as others have said, the “Springtime of the soul.” As Spring prepares nature for the fulness of life in Summertime, Lent is a season of preparation for the church’s season of life- Easter. It might be helpful, then, to take a look at the season of Lent and refresh our memories about some of the important days during this journey to the cross.

Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the day on which the season of Lent begins. The season of Lent lasts forty days, excluding Sundays (which always are feast days in remembrance of Easter). At worship, we are called into each year’s Lenten journey to the cross and to the disciplines of Lent, especially prayer, fasting, repentance and works of charity. During the worship service, ashes are placed on our foreheads as the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall remain” are spoken over us as a reminder of our mortality. In the ancient church, it was the day of expulsion, when those undergoing church discipline were excommunicated temporarily until the forty days ended. Traditionally, no baptisms were held during the season of Lent, but were kept for the celebration of the Resurrection.

Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion. This day marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. During the service, we remember with palm branches the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna!” The worship service turns more somber half-way through, as the focus of the worship centers on the suffering of Jesus, as the whole passion narrative is read and we are reminded of the entire story of the arrest, trial, scourging, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. This sets the tone for the rest of the week.

Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday begins the great three days of worship surrounding the greatest mysteries of our faith, traditionally called the Triduum. The word  Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means commandment. Our Gospel reading for the day shares with us the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and includes the “new commandment” that Jesus gives to his disciples, “love one another as I have loved you.” On this night on which Jesus is betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, we recognize what is about to come by stripping our altar during worship.

Good Friday. Good Friday is a day of meditation and prayer which focuses on the crucifixion. It is called “good” because it centers our understanding of God on this central event by which God comes to us and takes on our greatest threats, including death. The cross shows what great suffering God will endure to restore relationship with us and walk with us through the trials of our own lives. The worship for this day is austere, omitting communion and reducing musical interludes so that periods of silence may bring us to fruitful reflection.

Holy Saturday. This day is not commemorated traditionally in the church until the Easter Vigil in the evening. We have begun the practice, started last year, of gathering on this day to meditate on the reality of the death of Jesus and to contemplate what the cross has cost God.

Easter. The day of resurrection. On this day, we stand with Mary at the tomb and hear her say, “Rabbouni,” which means teacher, as she realizes that Jesus is alive. We rejoice in a God who defeats death in order to give us life. Then, one week later, we shout out with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” when he witnesses the resurrected Christ. We, too, then become the speakers of this great message, the story of a God whose love is so great this God will do whatever is necessary to be a part of our lives and give us abundant life. We recognize ourselves as God’s Easter people, unleashed upon the world to love one another as Christ has loved us as we take this good news to the ends of the earth.