The Very Reverend Michael J. Pitts

Greetings from the Dean,

Liturgy and drama are closely connected art forms. We can think of liturgy as total drama, a play without a stage, without curtains, without a proscenium arch, a drama with words and actions, music and sometimes dance, in which we are all involved. In the drama of liturgy we are all both actors and spectators at the same time.

This is all especially true of the liturgy which takes us from Ash Wednesday in February to Pentecost in June. During this season, we play out the great drama of the ultimate conflict of Christ with evil and death.

It begins on Ash Wednesday when the ash, placed on our foreheads in the sign of the cross, presents us with our mortality, and calls us to take up our part in the great conflict. The six weeks of Lent are a preparation for the renewal of our baptismal vows made at the Easter Vigil, when we renounce all that is evil and turns us away from God, and when we reaffirm our faith in Christ. The period of Lent also dramatizes Jesus' time of testing in the wilderness, in which he prepared for his ministry. It is a time for us to take part in the drama, both by some form of renunciation, as a symbol of Jesus' fast, and by study to help us in our baptismal ministry, which we again undertake to perform as we renew our vows at the Great Vigil of Easter. The Bishop asks:

"Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

We answer: I will, with God's help."

With the Sunday of the Passion the drama begins its second act. In a procession around the church (outside, if the weather co-operates) we reenact the story of Jesus' entry to Jerusalem, as told in Mark 11:1-11, carrying palms as his followers did, and even with a donkey. Here in Christ Church Cathedral we use a pantomime donkey, which is actually very appropriate, since there is a strong element of clowning involved in the original story. Jesus enactment is a humorous critique of the world's desire for power and glory. (Do you remember how well "Godspell" brought out this clowning motif?)

After three days of quiet reflection, on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, we return to high drama on Maundy Thursday. First, being a Cathedral, we celebrate at noon the Bishop's Eucharist, at which the oils of healing and anointing are blessed for use in the Diocese. Then in the evening we reenact Jesus last supper with his disciples, combining both Mark's story of the supper, with John's story of the washing of the feet (feet are really washed). As this part of the liturgy closes, the church is stripped of all decoration and we move in procession to the Meditation chapel which symbolizes the Garden of Gethsemane. All night long a watch of prayer is kept, and then on Good Friday, at the time St Mark tells us Jesus hung on the cross, we pray and meditate with words and a cappella singing, departing from the church in silence.

The Great Vigil of Easter (like Christmas, in a way) is a fascinating example of the way the Christian tradition has taken into itself and Christianized more ancient beliefs. The lighting of the fire (on the Cathedral forecourt) and the paschal candle probably have their origins in pagan celebrations of the vernal equinox, but now it tells the story of the light and warmth brought by the risen Christ to his people. We read passages of Scripture which retell the whole story of Creation and Salvation. We renew our baptismal vows (as mentioned above). Some are baptized and confirmed, and then, in the breaking of bread and sharing of the bread and wine, we know again Christ's risen presence among us. This celebration of the Eucharist is repeated on Easter Day, as it is on each Sunday of the year. This particular act of the drama closes six weeks later, with the celebration of the gift of the Spirit to the Church at Pentecost.

This whole season asks us to reflect that our Christian duty is not so much about "coming to church". It is rather about taking part in the drama, and through the drama, discovering the truth that makes us free. It is about being renewed in our commitment to Christ, and in our participation in his mission to the world around us, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Yours sincerely,

Michael J. Pitts

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