“La plus belle des ruses du Diable est de vous persuader qu’il n’existe pas!”
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.
—Charles Baudelaire, 1864
On the day before Palm Sunday, it has been my custom to gather all the altar servers and musicians and give a little “pep talk” prior to launching into Holy Week rehearsals. I picked up this habit from a mentor way back in 2006. Recently, a colleague whose first Holy Week is upcoming at a major Anglo-Catholic parish in the United States asked me for a copy of my remarks, which he had remembered hearing at some point. Uncharacteristically, I’d always delivered them extemporaneously. Reflecting on this fact, I decided the traditional audience for these thoughts is too narrow, for what I have to say applies not only to the clergy, acolytes, and musicians who bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the liturgies of Holy Week, but to all of us who will be participating in them, whether in person or from afar.
My basic thesis is this: No other week in the Christian year is more spiritually powerful than Holy Week, and as a result, no other week is as spiritually dangerous to us. At the risk of sounding absurdly like Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” character on Saturday Night Live, who is always insinuating that Satan is personally lurking around every corner, I believe with all my heart that there is nothing that Satan would like better than to sabotage your Holy Week.
Now, if you want to understand “Satan” as shorthand for the powers of evil and darkness that beset us, that’s fine. Be however sophisticated or simplistic you want to be when it comes to the metaphysics of it all. But do not discount the reality and impact of evil.
While God’s modus operandi in the world is to redeem, Satan’s m.o. is to destroy. Just to be clear: God and Satan are not co-equal forces. That’s dualism. Holy Week demonstrates above all else that God is far more powerful than sin and death. But that doesn’t stop sin and death from trying their best to do their worst.
What this does mean is that if there’s a way that you can be ensnared, distracted, or otherwise derailed, the odds of a spiritual onslaught happening in your personal life are highest, I’m sorry to say, this week. This does not mean we should be paranoid. Rather, it means we should do our best to heed the warning we find in 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be watchful, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”
But how to be vigilant? Well, first of all, ask for God’s grace to cut each other some slack. Resist the temptation to judge each other and find each other wanting. As Paul teaches us in Ephesians 4:32, “be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” If there’s one thing that will trip us up, it’s hard-heartedness. Many of us enter into the events of Holy Week at a parish with such a high reputation for excellent music and liturgy with unrealistically high expectations of ourselves and others. If we make a mistake, or others make mistakes—move on! Don’t beat yourself up over it, and don’t hold it against someone else.
And if you find that you have sinned against someone, admit it. Say you’re sorry. Ask for forgiveness. “This isn’t rocket surgery,” as a friend of mine likes to say.
If there’s one thing that Satan would love to introduce into your life this week, it’s personal drama. Opportunities to feel injured and resentful will present themselves with convenient frequency. They are bait. Don’t take the bait, or rather, ask God to reveal these things for what they are. At the risk of sounding like Admiral Ackbar in Return of the Jedi, remember: “It’s a trap!”
The only drama I want to see or participate in this week is the drama of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. That’s the only drama that counts, because that’s the only drama that means anything. It’s the only drama that matters.
So any drama of our own must be deposited where it belongs, at the foot of the cross. And if you need to, avail yourself of whatever spiritual, physical, medical, psychiatric, or financial help you need this week. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling. It’s fine to be human during Holy Week; you are not expected to be any more or less than who you are. Grace abounds, especially when we commit ourselves to having each other’s backs. We need to stand in solidarity with each other as we remember the One who lived and died in solidarity with us. Because what we are doing is not simply remembering, but participating in those very saving acts themselves.
Many people nowadays are deluded by a false dichotomy when it comes to what is true and real versus what is spiritual and metaphorical. But reality is more than meets the eye. Ask any particle physicist. The mysteries of Holy Week will transform us for the better, if we cooperate with God’s grace in doing so. But just as easily, we can let evil sabotage us, and through us, distract others from the power that Holy Week holds.
So Holy Week is a dangerous week precisely because it holds the greatest promise for encountering God. If I sound like a kook, I hope I haven’t been used as a tool in tripping you up. Every year, I am hesitant to express these thoughts because I’m not generally a paranoid guy. But we are talking about reality here. And I would be remiss in my responsibility as a priest were I not to point out that we are not simply play-acting. Holy Week at its best is an encounter with a reality that is more real than we ourselves are.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk™.
Yours in Christ’s service,
N.J.A. Humphrey+
VIII Rector
Note from the Rector and Wardens
The parish mask mandate will be lifted on Wednesday, April 27. After that date masks will be strongly recommended but optional, unless public health regulations dictate otherwise.
We will offer a reception with food and drink immediately following the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 16 (see the notice in this week’s Thurible), at which masks are strongly recommended except when eating and drinking. Thereafter, circumstances permitting, coffee hours may resume, provided we have volunteers to coordinate them!
The common cup at communion will be restored as of Maundy Thursday, April 14. As has always been the case, communicants may choose to receive communion in one kind only. As per the Diocese, the prohibition of intinction, wherein the communion wafer is dipped into the chalice, remains in force. The only change is that all will now again have the option of making their communion in both kinds as of Maundy Thursday, as the Spirit moves each member of the Body of Christ, in accordance with their own conscientious discernment.
Yours in Christ’s service,
N.J.A. Humphrey+
VIII Rector
Lorne J. Swan, Rector’s Warden
Jessica J. Nee, People’s Warden
The Common Cup: How Safe Is It?
The Diocese recently provided this helpful information in an email to clergy:
Those who prefer to make their communion in one kind may continue to do so. Those who are comfortable and eager to return to making their communion in both kinds can be reassured by the science referenced in this article, written by the Rev. Michael Garner, an epidemiologist and priest of the Diocese of Ottawa. Additionally, the Bishop’s Committee on Healing Ministries has updated its brochure on safe liturgical practices, which includes sharing the common cup. As previously stated, however, we anticipate that many people will choose to make their communion in one kind for some time to come, and that is perfectly understandable and acceptable.