“Bishop Beneamin (Ritual and Meaning) – The Ritual of Holy Week – 18/4/2016

Bishop Beneamin (Ritual and Meaning)

Let's talk to His Holiness today about when the Week of Sorrows begins. What is the message behind the arrangement of the Lenten Sundays? How is the Book of Tobit related to the general baptism and its connection to the Friday of the Consecration of the Church? How is the Week of Sorrows positioned between the raising of Lazarus and the resurrection of the Lord from the dead? What is the liturgy of Good Friday and the significance of the names of the days in the Week of Sorrows? Your Holiness, I have many questions and I am eagerly awaiting your answers.

I will take the blessing of this episode, and I thank Your Holiness for choosing the Week of Sorrows instead of the topic for today. Because indeed, throughout the year, there are annual opportunities for spiritual elevation. Of course, some mistakes may be ingrained in human nature and are difficult to change. Therefore, in order to bring about change, there is a need for days that carry a specific characteristic that uplifts the human being.

Even if a person is unable to achieve spiritual elevation, they still require special grace. Yes, that's right, and they desire to ascend. Therefore, they must take advantage of this opportunity. Sometimes people say that the Psalms are recited in a lengthy and repetitive manner. Yes, if a person does not engage themselves in contemplating the meaning of the Psalm or reading it, and if they do not enter into self-reflection and fight against the roots of evil and negative behaviors, they will not feel significant progress or great benefit during the Week of Sorrows. His Holiness Pope Shenouda said that one who does not repent, and repentance is the change for the better, will not have another time for repentance during the Week of Sorrows.

Because it is the suitable environment for repentance or the supportive atmosphere for repentance. During this time, the holy Forty-day Fast is considered a period of repentance, but this week is the peak or golden opportunity for repentance, or we can call it the "highest level."

There is some confusion about when the Week of Sorrows begins, whether it is after the Palm Sunday celebration and the consecration or before that on Lazarus Saturday. And why does the reading of Lazarus Saturday start the Week of Sorrows?

Therefore, we kindly ask Your Holiness to clarify this aspect.

Yes, there are many people who believe that Christ started suffering from the night of Friday and entered into agony. But the truth is that Christ experienced different types of sorrows. Specifically, they focused on the physical pains such as scourging, beating, the crown of thorns, the wounds, the crucifixion, and the nails. This was properly manifested on Friday, starting from Thursday night when the Lord Christ faced trials and judgments, even though He was without fault, "I find no fault in Him." Although He was tried before kings and high priests, they did not find any fault in Him that would make Him deserving of punishment. He became the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

But the truth is that there are three types of sorrows that the Lord Christ encountered. Firstly, there was the psychological pain, as it was said, "I was wounded in the house of my friends," and this is a prophecy about the Lord Christ and the wound He received from His disciples who betrayed Him, denied Him, abandoned Him, and fled.

So, this was the pain of human weakness, which made the Lord Christ say, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." He said it clearly, and perhaps this is the first type of sorrow that accompanied Him throughout the period starting from Saturday.

Because he knew that his disciple would betray him, it means that he was the one who experienced psychological pain. He objected to Judas' words when he spoke about wasting the perfume on the back of the Sabbath. Why this wastefulness? Wastefulness is an act of expressing love for your teacher. The Lord Jesus praised Mary, Lazarus' sister, when she poured the perfume and said, "Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. She has kept this for the day of my burial." This is a beautiful act. Judas, on the other hand, was concerned about money because he was in possession of the money box. He wanted the price of the perfume to be put in the box, but he was a thief. The Scriptures testify to this about Judas, indicating his psychological pain, which is very difficult, even more so than physical pain.

The second matter is his confrontation with evil, and his confrontation with evil began from the beginning. He faced the evil of the Pharisees and their conspiracies, and the evil of the people who opposed our Lord and opposed the truth. The most difficult confrontation is confronting a person against the truth. Despite the clarity of the truth, a person who stands against the truth is against God, because God is absolute truth.

After that, the physical pains come. Therefore, we can say that the first pain was the psychological pain he faced in difficult times, "a wound in the house of his loved ones."

The second matter is the confrontation with Satan, evil, and the followers of Satan among the people who claim to be religious among the Jews, those who observe the Law and the Mosaic regulations. Then comes the physical pain, which started from Friday night, known as the Week of Sorrows or the Paschal Week, which is a week dedicated to contemplation, praise, and prayer in eight different readings, from Lazarus Saturday to Holy Saturday. Why Lazarus Saturday? It symbolizes the confrontation with the consequence of sin, which is death. It was necessary to show that the Lord Jesus is able to defeat death before entering the realm of death through the resurrection of Lazarus. Thus, the vision of resurrection was very clear even during the Week of Sorrows.

How, sidna?

The Lord Jesus always had authority. On Sunday, when he entered Jerusalem and cleansed the temple, they asked him, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" He answered them, saying, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. For the authority was declared in the baptism of John when Christ was anointed with glory and became the Savior of the world. And the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ." They refused to answer by what authority.

He said to them, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?" If they said it was from men, then he would ask them, "How? For John was like a prophet and greater than a prophet, as the Lord Jesus spoke of him. And if they said it was from heaven, he would say, "Why did you not believe? Why do you question him about authority?" The Lord Jesus was in the midst of agony and at the peak of his power. He cursed the fig tree and it withered from its roots. The disciples were astonished by this. He cursed the fig tree because it had no fruit. The leaves were supposed to cover the fruit, but it appeared without fruit. He said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again," and the fig tree dried up completely. This is authority.

Then he began to speak about Tuesday and his second coming, and about the parable of the virgins, the banquet of the King's son, the wedding of the King's son, and the great banquet. He started to clarify his identity. He began to pronounce woes to the scribes and Pharisees, indicating his strong authority. Even when Judas came to kiss him and betray him, he said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" This was before the kiss. He said to him, "Do what you came to do, son of man," after he kissed him. But he said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" This question made him reflect and contemplate. He said to him, "Peace, Teacher," and kissed him. He said to him, "Do what you came to do, son of man."

Even while Judas, when he was betraying the Lord Jesus, met the soldiers, he drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." He took the servant's ear and healed him, as if nothing had happened. This is authority.

The entire events of Holy Week proclaim the resurrection and the authority of the Lord Jesus. His authority over sickness, his authority over evil, his authority over a diseased faith, his authority over death in the resurrection of Lazarus. It signifies powerful authority. He says, "My house shall be called a house of prayer," proclaiming his divinity and cleansing the temple. The resurrection was evident in all the events of Holy Week.

Therefore, Holy Week begins with Lazarus Saturday, because of the resurrection of Lazarus. Of course, the resurrection of Lazarus had already occurred, but the Church arranged this Saturday to commemorate the resurrection of Lazarus, and the Church celebrates the resurrection of Lazarus on this Saturday that precedes Palm Sunday.

On the Saturday evening, on the eve of Palm Sunday, the Church celebrates an event that took place at this time, which is the gathering of the family of Lazarus with the Lord Jesus and the anointing. This incident happened six days before Easter, meaning on the Saturday before Easter, as Easter was on Friday and the Last Supper was on Thursday. But the offering of the Paschal Lamb took place between the two suppers, the Thursday supper and the Friday supper. This signifies the exact time of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.

We can also talk about the trial and judgment of the Lord Jesus, involving both the Jews and the Gentiles. Both of them participate in salvation. Everyone agreed that they found no fault in Him. The high priest asked Him, "Are You the Son of the Blessed?" And His trial took place on Friday night. He said to him, "You have said it. And from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." The veil was torn, indicating the end of the Aaronic priesthood and the beginning of the Christian priesthood.

Then in a message behind the arrangement of the Sundays of fasting, this beautiful arrangement confirms the preparation before the week of suffering, which means the preparation. It is on the Sunday of the Ascension that the acceptable method of worship is announced, not only the how of worship but also how we present acceptable worship, or even the hidden aspect, enter your inner chamber and close your door. One of the treasures is that fasting is an opportunity to accumulate the work of our Lord's grace. And there are other treasures worth considering, treasures of a different kind.

Because in the victory over Satan, the experience comes after. Whoever does not accumulate cannot triumph. And after that, the clever son comes, which is repentance, leading the scene. Before it, there are three boundaries, and after it, there are three boundaries. Before it, there are ascension, treasures, and experience, and after it, there are the Samaritan, the paralytic, and the blind-born. Repentance takes the scene, and the Samaritan becomes a living symbol of repentance. She said to him, "Go and call your husband," so he stepped on the head of the camel, as they say. She said to him, "I have no husband," so he answered her, saying, "Well, you said, 'I have no husband,' you had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband." And she started saying, "I see that you are a prophet, knowing things that no one else knows." So he answered her with complete truthfulness and began to talk about salvation and worshiping in any mountain. He said to them, "You worship what you do not know."

She started saying to him, "We know that when the Messiah comes, he will tell us everything. So the one speaking to you is he." Then she went and left the jar and the well and went to Samaria. It indicates that the Messiah has arrived.

Is this the quenching in the Gospel, O Lord?

The quenching is the well of living water, the work of the Holy Spirit. After that, the paralytic came, symbolizing the will's disability and its healing. Sin renders the will paralyzed and strikes it with paralysis. Then the blind and darkness came, and this is the result of sin. Then came the enlightenment through the baptism of the living water in Samaria, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the water with the paralytic for healing by command. He was unable to descend into the water, so Christ said to him, "Rise." Neither water nor anything else. And the water in the blind-born brings about a change in nature. Notice this progression: quenching leads to healing, a change in nature, and enlightenment.

After that, we come to the celebration of Palm Sunday, preceded by the Saturday of Lazarus, and then the Eight Readings that include the Pashons of the Passion. These celebrations mean that the need has been fulfilled. Well, now I understand that sin renders the will paralyzed, and that Christ came to heal the will and transfer man from darkness to light. So, how can I worship? How can I accumulate treasures in heaven? How can I overcome the devil? How can I repent? How can I quench my thirst? How can I be healed? And how can I undergo a natural change like the blind-born?

And after that, to enter the week in which salvation was accomplished through the cross and the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, O Lord, on the preceding Friday, the Church in its early prophecies read the Book of Tobit. Your Grace connects us to the Book of Tobit, so what does it mean that it is specifically read on the Friday before the blind-born threshold? Does it have a connection to baptism?

It is the story of Tobit, a story that illustrates a good man loved and made by God. The angel Raphael came to him, the companion of his son, to reap the fruits of his good deeds. Throughout the fast, we say, "Blessed is the one who grinds with the poor." This is an example of mercy towards the poor and how he gathered the fruits of his good deeds. He brought material goodness and married his son and triumphed over the devil. Thus, joy filled Tobit's heart after much suffering in his life. The story of Tobit is a story of a soul that loves our Lord and gives, reaping the fruits of what it has given.

And the Friday preceding Palm Sunday signifies a change in nature. This is how a religious person should be, a giving person who has God's joy in their life and triumphs over the devil in all matters. Their eyes are completely opened, and it has a connection to baptism and enlightenment, just like the blind-born. Whoever is not born of water and the Spirit cannot see, meaning with their eyes. In baptism, we renounce the devil.

The conclusion of the fast, O Lord, is associated with the general lantern. So why is the lantern for the entire year specifically used at the end of the fast?

The testament of St. James regarding the work of the Holy Spirit says: "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."

During Holy Week, we are very preoccupied with the events of the Great Week because the events unfold quickly and the confrontations are intense. It is a week that keeps us very busy in worship. People would sit in the church and not leave it. That's why the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are read throughout Holy Week.

Before that, the entire Bible used to be read, but that may have been during the entire fast. So, the prophecies related to the events of Holy Week were selected. It is supposed that Holy Week means that we are very busy in it. Therefore, if someone is sick, they are attended to on the Friday of the conclusion of the fast, which is the day we reap the fruits of the fast and achieve spiritual healing along with physical healing. The idea of healing is embodied in the fast. Also, due to the busy schedule of the clergy during Holy Week, everyone attends the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. If someone is sick, they are anointed with oil because they have attended the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, and this sacrament can be performed outside the church, at the patient's home, due to their circumstances. And since the homes of believers are also considered churches, churches started to be established in believers' homes, such as the House of St. Mary of Mark and the Church in the World.