On Facebook this morning, a friend used the word Triduum. Having never seen it before, I looked it up, although I could see the word Tri (three) and Diem (day) in it. Sure enough, trusty Wikipedia tells me that it is the period of three days that begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.
Although never Catholic, I find beauty in their regular celebrations. Some call them rituals like that is a bad word, but I find rituals to be a lovely way to remember.
Studying to teach 1st to 4th grade Sunday School on Sunday, I slowly read John 18 and 19 with my morning coffee, sitting at my father's desk (where he wrote decades worth of sermons), facing the backyard garden which I see through the 3 six foot windows in front of me. (our bedroom view is deluxe) I am blessed and this is where I love to linger.
Here's some of what I marked ... things that popped out at me.
John 18:4-6
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them,
“Whom do you seek?”
They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
He said to them, “I am He.”
And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
The Great I AM. These are the words God gave to Moses to describe Himself, way back in Exodus 3:14. The Great I AM. Here the power of God is seen once again. (isn't it amazing that they continued to arrest Him after being literally thrown to the ground? If you choose to be blind to God, you will do dumb things!)
I also noticed that even though Jesus basically surrendered Himself to arrest, they bound Him (18:12) Then in 18:22, one of the officers struck Jesus with his hand. He struck a bound man. Such cowardice. Such rage.
In John 18:36-37, in a discussion with Pilate, Jesus plainly states,
"My kingdom is not of this world.
For this purpose I was born
and for this purpose I have come into the world -
to bear witness to the truth."
Pilate's response is his infamous question, "What is truth?" (John 18:38)
Jesus was in and is in control of everything. Good to remember. This is a hard concept when we merge it with the existence of evil in our world. God created everything to be idyllic in a garden, but left man with the CHOICE to love and follow Him. Man had the temptation of satan, but always with a way to escape that temptation.(1 Corinthians 10:13) And so, thousands of years later, man's poor choices and resulting evil are dealt with through the cross. Yet mankind retains the choice of whether to love and follow Him. God did not want robots. God wants true relationship with people who choose Him. And through the cross He gave that choice - the choice to live in fellowship with God - to all mankind. (John 3:16) But it's still a choice. In this exchange, we see Pilate wrestling with this Truth. I hope he kept wrestling and seeking...
I'll end with John 19:25 where we are told that "...standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and..."
Whew. That's enough to break this mother's heart. In fact I drew a broken heart in the margin of my Bible. 💔 If you have a child, or love a child, you don't need me to elaborate on the pain.
♫ Ancient Words, ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.♫
This Triduum, read the Word, even if you think you know the story.
God loves to meet you there to reveal more of Himself as you seek Him. 💗
