Today’s festival is a bridge between the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle that comes to a close today and the Lent-Easter cycle that begins in several days. On a high mountain Jesus is revealed as God’s beloved Son, echoing the words at his … Continue reading
On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentance. Marking our foreheads with dust, we acknowledge that we die and return to the earth. At the same time, the dust traces the … Continue reading
Palm Sunday Reconsidered – The Lutheran Witness Over the years some have suggested that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (known as Vatican II) of the Roman Catholic Church “messed up” our Lutheran observance of Palm Sunday by inserting … Continue reading
The liturgical color is either scarlet or white. What does the name mean? The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum;” it is from a verb that means “to give” or “to order” — command. After Jesus and the disciples … Continue reading
No vestments or paraments are used on this day. The stations of the cross The stations of the cross is a devotional practice that consists of 14 stations, each one standing for an event that occurred in the passion of … Continue reading