April Fools

The Church day begins at sunset so Great and Holy Friday begins tonight after dark.

And today is Holy Thursday and will remain so until the sun has set when Good Friday will begin in a Liturical sense.

Today by conincidence today is April Fool's day, a day of jokes and merriment, the humor usually derived at some others expense.

Holy Week has sombre tones unshared with the usual antics of April Fools day which do not, and are at times dischordant with the prevailing emotion of Holy Week.

Indeed the lightness of posting on this blog in the past few days is perhaps an unconscious relection of this, for when contemplating Christ's crucifiction and Glorious Resurrection the affairs of the everyday world slide into insignificance and banality.

This Hymn for Holy Wednesday was sung during the Matins service last night, after the sun had set and belongs with today

Today Christ comes to the house of the Pharisee and a sinful woman draws near and flings herself at his feet, crying, ‘See one who has been drowned by sin, without hope because of her deeds, yet not rejected with loathing from your goodness, and give me, Lord, forgiveness of my evil deeds and save me’.

Verse 1. We have been filled in the morning with your mercy, O Lord, and we have rejoiced and been glad in all our days.

The harlot spread out her hair for you, the Master; Judas spread out his hands to the lawless: she to receive forgiveness, he to receive silver. And so we cry to you, sold and who set us free, ‘Lord, glory to you!’

Verse 2: Let us be glad, for all the days you have afflicted us, for the years we have suffered adversity. Look upon your servants and your works, and guide their children.

A woman foul-smelling and defiled drew near, pouring tears upon your feet, O Saviour, and proclaiming your passion. ‘How can I gaze upon you, Master? For you have come yourself to save a harlot. You roused Lazarus from the tomb after four days, raise me who am dead from the deep.

Accept me in my misery, Lord, and save me’.

Verse 3. And may the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us. Direct the work of our hands, O direct the work of our hands.

So tonight Good Friday begins as does the Easter Holiday. How tonight plays out for each of us is individual choice, we may choose a path of hedonism and drunkeness - there is no work tommorrow after all.

Or we may choose contemplate our Lords Passion.

The Eastern church will begin tonight with the Service of the 12 Gospels which will help us do just this. A beautifil service one whose length measured in worldly time is quite long but measured in God's time but an instant.

The Gospel Readings for the Service of the Twelve Gospels