Triduum


Triduum is a Latin term which means “three days.” It refers to the three holy day of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Marking the Triduum helps us understand the Passion of Christ all in one piece. In fact, the bulletin we use for the Triduum is 24 pages long because it contains the worship services for all three holy days.

If you enjoy going to plays or shows, the best of these always seem to have three acts. The Triduum is one story told in three parts over three days. This is the story that Jesus began on Palm Sunday when He entered Jerusalem triumphantly to complete His saving work. There is no blessing or postlude the first two days of the Triduum because the service does not end – it continues the next day with the beginning of the next service.

We pray in our communion liturgy: “By his incarnation, he became one with us. By his perfect life, he fulfilled your holy will. By his innocent death, he overcame hell. By his rising from the grave, he opened heaven.” In this prayer, just like in the Triduum, we understand that we cannot separate one piece of Jesus’ passion from another.

The Triduum begins on Maundy Thursday. Maundy is another Latin word. It means “command.” Jesus gave His disciples a “new command” in the upper room on that Thursday evening. It was to celebrate His Lord’s Supper.

It is in the Holy Supper that the Lord Jesus comes to us personally and individually. He is both Host and Meal. He is truly and miraculously present in His Last Supper that we still celebrate as our Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins, new life and eternal salvation.

The altar is then stripped bare and covered with a black cloth in solemn preparation for the somber remembrance of Christ’s death on Good Friday.

The Triduum continues on Good Friday. It is a day that tears at our hearts. It is a day of deep mourning and also somber rejoicing.

We use a service called Tenebrae (meaning “darkness” or “shadows”). The seven candles on the altar represent the seven statements Jesus spoke from the cross. As each statement is heard, the candles are extinguished one-by-one and the lights in the church become dimmer. We leave the church in darkness, placing the nail we have been carrying for Lent into the cross in the back of the church.

The Triduum concludes with the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. The Easter Vigil has four parts:  gathering outside around the fire and lighting the Paschal Candle that symbolizes Christ’s death and resurrection, and then entering the church in darkness and gradually adding lights, reversing the shadows from the Good Friday Tenebrae service; the Liturgy of the Word with the recollection of God’s saving acts in the past; the Liturgy of Baptism and the renewal of baptismal vows; and concludes with the celebration of Holy Communion.

During this evening before Easter, the Church has historically baptized converts, children, and infants.  Then, as the sun rose in the East, they would celebrate their first Easter as Christians.  This year we have the special privilege of baptizing two infants and confirming three adults.

Easter is the most important day in the Christian church year. These three days, then, are the prelude to this all-important Feast of the Resurrection of Easter!

If you really want to understand what it means to be a Lutheran – sin and grace, Law and Gospel, death and resurrection, darkness and light, Baptism and Lord’s Supper – then there is no greater time to do that than during Holy Week! The Triduum emphasizes how all God’s gifts are given together in Christ’s Passion, and how important it is to worship each of the days of the Triduum.



PALM SUNDAY
Festival Worship … 8:00 & 10:30 am—Guitar, violin, brass, handbells, pipe organ, piano
The day Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly

MAUNDY THURSDAY
Worship … 6:30 pm—Guitar, violin & choir
The night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper

GOOD FRIDAY
Worship … 1:00 & 6:30 pm — WLS children, soloists & ensembles
The day Jesus died for the sins of the world

SATURDAY EASTER VIGIL
Worship … 8:00 pm — Solos & ensembles
Preparation for Jesus’ resurrection

EASTER SUNDAY
Festival Worship … 8:00 & 10:30 am—Guitar, violin, brass, pipe organ, piano, choir & ensembles
A potluck of breakfast foods … 9:15-10:15 am
The day Jesus rose from the dead

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