"Proclaim" is Dorothy Bergquist’s setting of Psalm 99. Carolyn Bergquist, soprano. Marla Lowen, pianist. Listen to this beautiful piece here or on our podcast.
Maundy Thursday
In many ways, tonight is one of the most difficult for me because it is this night that we engage in rituals and traditions that are the exact opposite of the physical distance we need to keep at this time. Maundy Thursday is a very physical night. We gather together in person to wash feet and to take, and eat, and drink. But we cannot do these very activities in a way that can keep us safe, to keep that social distance that we need at this time. So logistically it has been really challenging to think how can we authentically commemorate this evening in a way that maintains that necessary distance. This is also a night which brings so acutely the pain of that physical distance when we cannot do these things that require us to be too close to one another so we can be safe at this time.
Holy Week Whiplash
What a week this has been for the disciples as we just heard in those two Gospel readings. The week began on Sunday with such joy as Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem on a donkey, with a crowd cheering him on, waving their palm branches and shouting out, “Hosannah, hosannah, hosannah!” And then, in the course of just a few short days, everything changed, everything shifted as Jesus now exited Jerusalem carrying his cross. And that crowd was now jeering him and shouting out, “Crucify him!”
