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Palm Sunday

The Paschal Mystery

In Lent we will frequently hear a word unfamiliar to English-speaking Christians, but one which, if we learn to use and understand it, will open our hearts and minds to the celebration of our redemption. The word is pascha. It is the ancient biblical word for Passover and is used in the Holy Scriptures both for the exodus/Passover event which saved Israel in the time of Moses, and for the death and resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate at Easter and on every Lord’s Day. Indeed in many languages the name of Easter is some variation of pascha—see particularly French, Italian, and Spanish.

Liturgists and theologians speak of the “Paschal Mystery,” a phrase heard often in the liturgy during Lent and Eastertide. Its meaning is brought home by William Pregnall, former Dean of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He describes the Paschal Mystery as the saving event by which God in all times and in all places saves the human race. It has been specially manifested at four points in history:

1. In the Passover/Exodus, which freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and journeying to the promised land;

2. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, which saves us from slavery to sin and death and leads us into the promised land of God’s kingdom;

3. In Holy Baptism, when we each become participants in the dying and rising of Jesus, and partakers of its benefits;

4. In our participation in the Eucharist, where all of these past events become present to us again and we are active participants in them.

Lent is not a gloomy time, a sad time, or a depressing time for those who are remembering what God has done for them. Our self-examination, which reveals our sin, prepares us to recognize our need for God. Then we gather Sunday by Sunday in the liturgy where our story as the people of God reminds us that God has met and still meets our need. Our fasting and self-denial give us the resources with which we can join Christ in his struggle against evil and death. Joining him in that struggle, we also join him in his victory.