Passing-Thought

Easter as a liturgical suspense

It dawned on me on Saturday that the suspensefulness of Easter is a blessing experienced only by believers this side of the resurrection. Think about it. The close disciples of the Lord all scattered; they completely forgot or misunderstood Jesus' prophecy. The Jewish and Roman authorities at least remembered the prophecy and had some sense of suspense: they thought the disciples might attempt to steal away the body after three days, hence their appointment of soldiers to guard the tomb. The only sense of suspense felt by believers was in the women, but they were anxious to finish his burial preparations after the Sabbath. Thus, Christ's resurrection was anticipated by no one but Christ. He shocked the world.

Now we can anticipate Easter as it approaches, not to diminish it's shocking once-for-all happening in history, but to set a liturgical focus and special celebration of it. The suspense of the coming of Easter was heightened for me through passion week observances. This past week our church celebrated with the Lord's Supper (Maundy Thursday) followed by Tenebrae (Good Friday). As many of you may know, a Tenebrae service sings through hymns and reflects on passion narratives, extinguishing candles to represent the growing darkness that fell upon Christ during the crucifixion, until the last candle is extinguished with "It is finished...". Everyone departs in silence without a closing benediction.

Easter Sunday, then, is the resolution to the suspense of leaving in darkness. On that day, God's new creation light dawned, shattering darkness forever. Hallelujah!