Local pastor talks about Holy Week

By Alex Ross Roswell DAily RecoRD

Like so many, Daniel Tisdel remembers growing up with the brunches, egg hunts and church services that have become synonymous with Easter Sunday, but for him, it was the entire week leading up to that day that held significance.

That period known as Holy Week marking the arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a central part of Christian scripture. For Tisdel, the pastor of St. Marks Lutheran Church in Roswell, those days leading up to the holiest day of the year have always held just as much significance as Easter Sunday itself.

“For me growing up, that was important too because it felt like to just jump right into Easter, it seems like you were missing something,” said Tisdel.

According to a survey from the middle of 2022 from the Gordon Cromwell Theological Seminary, there are 2.56 billion Christians worldwide, and for them, Easter is a day of resurrection and hope. That Christ’s teaching, philosophy and spirit are timeless and everlasting, but it is the days and sacrifice, the questioning and the persecution of Christ that give it context.

The eight-day Holy Week consists of Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. How different churches and denominations observe each of those days leading up to Easter Sunday vary, but Tisdel said at St. Marks, he and many of the 80 members of his flock observe Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

In Scripture, it is on Maunday

Thursday when Jesus and his apostles gathered for the Passover Meal, an event known widely as the Last Super, followed by Jesus’ arrest. Maunday Thursday is overlooked by some denominations, but Tisdel feels it is nonetheless important.

“I really like Maundy Thursday because it’s sort of an opportunity to talk about why we believe the things we believe,” he said.

Members of St. Mark’s can attend a church service that day but one that has some differences from others including ceremonial foot washing. The altar is also stripped of many of its adornments, including candles and candlestick holders, the cloths that cover the altar and Bible.

“It’s the only time of the whole year — between the time of the end of the service Thursday and the Service Easter Sunday — that all the pretty stuff in the church is taken away,” Tisdel explains. For some, that can be hard to witness, but while Tisdel does not seek to make church attendees depressed, it offers a break in the celebratory feel that most church services take, while allowing them to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice but also their own individual faith.

“It’s good to go through these highs and lows. It’s good to go through these times of struggle,” he said.

Another feature of the Maundy Thursday service is the ceremonial foot washing for attendees, though for those uncomfortable with exposing their feet they can have their hands washed.

Maundy Thursday, Tisdel said, is a time to assess one’s faith and confront difficult questions about it. Because the feet are a part of the body people are most embarrassed by, he explains that makes the foot washing an appropriate metaphor for that spiritual self-reflection.

“Part of the joy of lent and Holy Week is being open and willing enough to let these parts of us that we aren’t always proud of to kind of show,” he said. Good Friday, according to scripture, is when Christ was put on trial and crucified. At St. Mark’s, the altar remains stripped during the year when communion is not offered. There are fewer hymns sung, giving the service a more somber feel.

But on Sunday the atmosphere is much different. Those who forgo church during much of the rest of the year are more likely to attend, and the adornments that had been removed are returned to the church altar along with bright Easter lilies. The church is filled with music. From Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, Tisdel said he and his church members refrain from using the word “hallelujah” during their service.

In fact, Tisdel said, the church has a banner with the word “Hallelujah” that is hidden during Lent. It is a tradition he calls “burying the hallelujah.” Tisdel said during the service he and the children then go out and find the banner, bringing it back into the church and Hallelujah is reintroduced into the vernacular of the

“That is a silly little tradition, but I think there is a good reason behind it. It is about bringing back the celebration of new birth and new life in the church,” he said.

Easter is a holy day on the Christian calendar that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is described in the Gospels of the New Testament, which millions of Christians read every year, especially during the Lenten season, a 40-day period that directly precedes Easter Sunday.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John comprise the canonical Gospels. Each book can help Christians understand and connect with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The following are passages from each of the canonical Gospels that help to tell the story of the resurrection of Jesus.