Good morning and a blessed Maundy Thursday to you.  We find ourselves in such a rich week of worship, don’t we. The Holy Week began, of course, last Sunday with Palm Sunday, this evening with Maundy Thursday worship at 7:00.  Tomorrow Good Friday worship at the 7:00 p.m. And then Easter day this coming Sunday at 8:45 and 11:00 am.  It is such a rich, rich time.  And I commend these worship opportunities to you.

I want to talk to you today about the colors that we see in the church, specifically, the paraments that change with the various seasons. And they preach.  There are no words, of course, associated with them.  But the colors preached.  I think of the blue of Advent; that color that signifies hope and confidence.  I think of the white of Christmas signifying joy, gladness and Light.   There is the color that is most prevalent in the year of the church, and that is green that signifies spiritual growth. The purple of Lent that signifies somberness and solemnity. The color red signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit. When we see those various colors, those colors preach to us.   

We find ourselves in this time of the year in a great deal of color change in terms of the paraments of the church. The Lent purple gives way to the color of scarlet on Palm Sunday, and then color of scarlet tonight for Maundy Thursday.  The color scarlet is only used in two worship services all year long.  Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday.  It represents the passion of Christ.

Turn with me please to Mark 11:9-10

9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!

    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 

    Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Echoes, of course, of the text from last Sunday, Palm Sunday. That word “hosanna” mean “to save us”.   That's precisely what Jesus came to do, to go to the cross, to shed his blood for us (the color of scarlet on Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday).  

Tomorrow evening, Good Friday, is really a day of worship in the life of the church where there is no color. The starkness of the sanctuary. We leave in silence, remembering the great sacrifice.

Let's go to Mark 15:37-39

37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Good Friday we remember the passion. We remember why Jesus Christ went to the Cross, to pay the debt for our sin. The color of scarlet reminding of the passion is removed as we enter into the day of Good Friday, a day of essentially no color. 

And then, of course, this coming Sunday Easter Day the color of white (sometimes you'll also see paraments in Gold) signifies the importance of this, the highest of these holy days. Each Sunday, of course, is a little Easter.  And what Joy it is for us to live in the reality that the sacrifice for our sins has been accepted, and that the tomb is empty.  

Color changes this week. And those colors, and even the absence of color on Good Friday; it all preaches. As we gather for worship, we worship the one who has redeemed us and called us his own in the waters of baptism. And as we see the color, we are preached to.

Let us pray.  Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for your goodness and for your grace. We thank you for the richness of this week of worship.   We pray, Father, for your blessing upon the service tonight, Maundy Thursday, tomorrow,evening Good Friday, and then as we enter the Easter season this coming Sunday. 

Thank you Lord, for how we can hear the preaching that comes through the paraments of the church. How to paraments give rise to words, as we remember the meaning of the colors.  In Jesus’ Strong and Holy name we pray.  God's continued blessings to you this week.  Encourage someone. 

Pastor Eibel