30 March 2009

Neglected Rubrics for Passion Sunday

from Lutheran Service Book: Altar Book, page 501

4. During the silence before the Collect of the Day, the crosses may be veiled.

6. If the full passion narrative is read, other portions of the Service of the Word may be omitted, such as the Old Testament Reading, the Psalm of the Day or the Gradual, and the Creed. The sermon may also be abbreviated.

7. In order to assist the congregation better to hear the lengthy passion reading, the narrative may be divided into sections. Appropriate hymn stanzas or choral music may be inserted between some or all of the divisions. A fitting hymn introduction to the passion reading is stanza 1 of "Jesus, I Will Ponder Now" (Hymn 440).

8. To assist the congregation further, the Gospel narrative may be read by several readers. Suggestions for the division of parts are provided in the Appendix to this service. [Weedon's note: historic practice is the second option - three readers; this was traditionally chanted and the so-called "Gospel tone" that we use to chant the Verba was of a piece with the traditional chant formula.]

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are keeping 6 and 7. 4 is not part of tradition here yet.

If a rubric is a "may" does it really fit the category neglected?

William Weedon said...

It is neglected in the sense that many do not know that it may be done.

Dr Matthew Phillips said...

The veiling of the cross was a common practice in the medieval church. I've read a fair amount of sacramentaries on devotions to the cross. They were normally unveiled and venerated at some point too. I also like the medieval Palm Sunday processions.

Anonymous said...

Or you could use the alternate Gospel reading and just preach on Palm Sunday, reading the Passion on Wednesday evenings and on God Friday.
Do the crosses remain veiled throughout the Triduum? We customarily veil the altar cross at the end of the Good Friday Tenebrae service...

Mark

Rev. James Leistico said...

we've done 7 here since I've been here. The blue folders of hymn suggestion guides for LW 3 year series (I think it's called Proclaim) suggested that be done. The note in 6 about abreviating the sermon is especially important if it is also confirmation Sunday, since that rite adds on time too.
In recent years, I've taken a cue from James Douthwaite at St. Athanasius in VA. Sometimes he has preached a series of short sermons after each section of the Passion - see here:
http://www.saint-athanasius.org/Sermons/2004/Lent/2004-04-04.html

William Weedon said...

Mark,

That is also a possibility. The Good Friday Chief Service has the cross gradually unveiled as the versicle is sung: "Behold, the life-giving cross...".

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

Here we tend to have Confirmation on Palm Sunday - but we have gotten into an every other year pattern with having a class ready to be confirmed. This year there are no confirmands ready for Confirmation, so I will read all the readings and the full Passion, and then the sermon will be shorted - more of a Passion week Exhortation.

I thought about breaking up the Passion reading - but I decided not too - we already have a procession, plus we have four baptisms, so I didn't want to add more confusion.

Josh Osbun said...

When was Passion Sunday moved from Lent 5 to Palm Sunday? And as a follow-up, WHY was Passion Sunday moved from Lent 5 to Palm Sunday?

William Weedon said...

It happened with the advent of 3 year lectionary; I'm not sure of the rationale at all. Do note, though, that in LSB 1 year, the note on Judica: "This Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday."

Josh Osbun said...

Where are you finding that note concernign the one-year lectionary? LSB page xx and also the Lutheran Service Builder both list Palm Sunday as being Sunday of the Passion in the one-year lectionary.

William Weedon said...

Altar Book, p. 875.

Jeremy Loesch said...

Forgive me Wil, because I am relating something that I heard from someone that is not an authority, but the smashing together of Palm Sunday and Sunday of the Passion was something of a concession to the trend of declining attendance at the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. If fewer people were attending those services, we needed to find a way to give them the Passion story.

That is what I have heard, and I do not follow that logic/reason. We follow the Three Year Lectionary and this coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. We are reading Luke's Palm Sunday procession.

Jeremy

Anonymous said...

We read both Gospels... Palm Sunday at the Procession and the Passion Gospel in the regular place. It is a concession! Sad but true, yet I feel it is a proper pastoral decision since the option exists in the LSB materials. We have an attendance of 150 on Palm Sunday (sometimes more if Confirmation) and an attendance of 50ish on Good Friday. While I encourage Good Friday attendance (it is an evening service) I feel that it is good right and salutary that the body gathered hear the entire passion at least once a year, the Palm Sunday reading guarantees this.

Pastor Weedon wrote "It is neglected in the sense that many do not know that it may be done." Touche' to my comment!

Rev. James Leistico said...

Jeremy,
I had heard that too. But then for my Sem 1 year I did a paper on the historic practices of Holy Week for a Marquart class. I'll have to see if it's still on my laptop's harddrive so I can remember which was the custom - but I'm pretty certain it had nothing to do with declining attendance during Holy Week.

Josh Osbun said...

So the note about Judica traditionally being called Sunday of the Passion is a note in passing in a book that 99.99999% of the laity won't own and perhaps more than 50% of the clergy won't use? And the one resource that some of the laity will own and some of the clergy might use mentions nothing of this day being Sunday of the Passion in either lectionary?

Hmmm...that's interesting.

William Weedon said...

Actually, no. The historic reading for the day is Matthew's Passion; the historic reading for Monday is the rest of John 12; the historic reading for Tuesday is Mark's Passion; and for Wednesday is Luke's Passion; John's Passion invariably being read upon Good Friday. Thus those who attend all the services from Palmarum through Good Friday hear the story told from the perspective of all four evangelists.