Easter messages Area clergy recount Christ's life, death and resurrection

Mar. 27—For Christians, Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the days before Easter commemorating the last days of Jesus Christ's life.

According to Scriptures, on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was greeted by people who gave him a hero's welcome during the Jewish Passover celebration.

The crowd carried palm branches, which are a symbol of joy and victory, and spread them throughout the streets.

Holy Week

Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper, when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified.

The word maundy is derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment, and refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper.

On Good Friday, Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and Christ's death on the cross.

Holy Saturday is the last day of Holy Week and ends the Lenten season. It commemorates when Jesus' body was in the tomb after his death.

As Christians prepare for Easter, some may attend an Easter vigil service.

On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christians believe that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his crucifixion.

This year, with ongoing COVID-19 concerns, pastors are continuing to embrace technology to share their messages with those unable to attend services.

In-person, live-streamed services

The Rev. Alice Tondora, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 309 Lincoln St., downtown Johnstown, said the services will be live-streamed Palm Sunday and Easter on the church's Facebook page.

"We have a very large sanctuary, so we will meet there to have services and we have plenty of room to social distance," she said.

Tondora said Holy Week is a time to think about Jesus and his sacrifice.

"Before we take a step into Good Friday to think about his last words and the commandments, he tells us to love one another, to do this in remembrance of me when he holds the bread and cup," she said.

"It reorients us and focuses us again on what it means to follow Christ."

Tondora said on Palm Sunday, Christians remember when Jesus was in Jerusalem and the people had their expectations of what kind of a king he would be and they were thrilled to see him.

"There was an impromptu parade and they grabbed palm branches and they put them on the ground as he rode the donkey," she said.

"That's when we remember the praise and joy that before too long will change into the cries for his crucifixion."

'Self-giving love'

Tondora said on Holy Thursday, Jesus had the Last Supper, and during the meal, he stopped and washed the feet of the disciples.

"He told them, 'I've done this for you, love one another,' and it's a reminder for us of the self-giving love that we should have, and he also gives the sacrament of communion that night," she said.

A service will be held at 7 p.m.

Tondora said Good Friday goes from the Garden of Gethsemane through the sham trials and carrying the cross to the hill for Jesus' crucifixion and death.

"We'll have a noon Good Friday service, where we'll go through the Scripture passages of the Passion and we'll have communion," she said.

Tondora said Holy Saturday is a day she doesn't feel most people think of or talk about enough because that was a day of silence when they truly thought Jesus was dead.

"Their friend was gone and their hopes were dashed, being there in the silence of that place," she said.

"Sometimes we think God is silent for us, but God is there and has something else in mind that we can't even fathom," she said.

On Easter Sunday, services will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Grandview Cemetery and 10:45 a.m. at the church.

"There's just something special about saying 'He is Risen' when you're standing in a cemetery, and that's really one of my favorite services of the year," Tondora said.

The Easter message will focus on the Gospel of John, where Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and speaks of his resurrection.

"When we have our big pipe organ in the sanctuary and the first notes of 'Jesus Christ is Risen Today' are heard, it is triumphant," Tondora said.

"When we are at Grandview Cemetery, it's peaceful and confident and it has a completely different feel."

She said Easter is vital to the Christian faith.

"If he were not resurrected, we would be the most pitied, but he is and this is what makes us Christians," Tondora said.

Pastor Mark Murchie, of Scalp Level Church of the Brethren, 270 Hoffman Ave., Windber, said the plan is to live-stream Holy Week and Easter services via the church's YouTube channel.

"For those who attend in-person, we ask them to wear masks and we're leaving a pew space in between everyone," he said.

Remembering Jesus' sacrifice

Murchie said Holy Week is a time to remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for sins.

"It's recognizing our gratitude to him, but also our desperate need for him in our lives and our need for his forgiveness, healing and relationship with him," he said.

Murchie said on Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem and it was a day of celebration with people rejoicing in their king.

"It's the same way for our service and it's one of celebration and includes a virtual kids program of them singing together and we'll carry palms and lay them at the altar," he said.

A 7 p.m. Holy Thursday service will be held.

"For our denomination, we have a 'Love Feast' and that is a special remembrance of the Last Supper, where we typically have a fellowship meal, feet washing and holy communion," Murchie said.

"It's a solemn service and a time to stop and reflect on what Jesus did for us and set our hearts on him. You free your mind from distraction and focus our hearts on Christ."

Community cross walk

In lieu of a Good Friday service, the church will participate in a Windber community prayer cross walk from noon to 3 p.m.

He said his Easter message focuses on the theme of "But God ..."

"There are several places in Scripture where that phrase is used," Murchie said.

"For Easter Sunday, I'll be speaking from Ephesians 2:1-10 and focusing on how God has intervened in our lives and world to save us from sin so that we can be made alive in Christ. As we look to the message of Easter, we look to what God has done through Christ and the love he's shown us through Christ. We can trust his heart and character knowing who he is."

The Rev. William Rosenbaum, pastor of St. Clement Roman Catholic Church, 114 Lindberg Ave., Upper Yoder Township, said Masses are live-streamed on the church's website and YouTube channel and shown at 3 p.m. Sundays on Atlantic Broadband Channel 9.

Those wanting to attend Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter services will need to register.

"We need to social distance and need to know how many people will be attending," Rosenbaum said.

"I can fit 120 people in the church with social distancing."

He said Holy Week is a time to focus on God's love.

"That's especially true on Holy Thursday with the idea of Jesus washing people's feet and giving us the body and blood at the Last Supper; on Good Friday with his sacrifice of giving his life for our redemption and forgiveness of our sins; and then on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, we celebrate the powerfulness of God's love that Jesus could be raised from the dead, and we celebrate the promise Jesus gives us out of his love that we will live eternally after our life here," Rosenbaum said.

Blessing of palms

On Palm Sunday, there will be a blessing of the palms that will be distributed at the end of Mass.

"This is a reminder of Jesus' triumphant visit to Jerusalem, which will end with his suffering and death," Rosenbaum said.

A Holy Thursday service will be held at 7 p.m.

"It's a Mass in remembrance of the Last Supper and how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, which calls us to discipleship of serving one another," Rosenbaum said.

On Good Friday, a liturgical commemoration of the Lord's passion and death will be held at 1 p.m.

"We'll have special prayers, veneration of the cross and we'll also receive communion," Rosenbaum said.

"We start in silence, and as I process in, I will lie on the floor prostrate because of the sadness of the day. We also will leave in silence."

At 7:30 p.m., Shadow Stations of the Cross will be offered.

He said on Easter, Christians celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead and his power over sin.

"The message will be one of truly believing that God loves us and believing in the power in God's love, and not only do we believe, but we live our lives as believers, meaning we love and help those around us," Rosenbaum said.

The Easter vigil Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. Holy Saturday, and the Easter Sunday service will be held at 9:30 a.m.

Pastor Johnny Bayush, of Flood City Church, 1723 Scalp Ave., Johnstown, said services are live-streamed on the church's website for those unable to attend.

"For our Easter service, we're asking people to register on our website so we can make sure that we're not getting an influx of people," he said.

'Never Forget'

Bayush said throughout Holy Week, the focus will be on a series of sermons called "Never Forget."

"On Palm Sunday, we'll be talking about sin and what sin means, because I think it's important that we understand that to have a greater appreciation for Easter and what the cross means," he said.

Bayush said Holy Week is a foundational week for Christians.

"We can rejoice at what happens next, so it's somber at first, but then it's joyful," he said.

A Good Friday service will be held at 5 p.m.

"We'll have communion and it's going to be more focused like a worship and prayer service," Bayush said.

The Easter message will culminate the "Never Forget" series.

"We talk about about current events and we say never forget because we don't want Easter to become just another story," Bayush said.

"It's a real event that we can never forget."

An Easter Sunday service will be held at 10 a.m.

"It's one of the most well-attended services for churches, so it's not only getting the message of Easter out and what it means for us as Christians to have a savior, but it's one of the biggest opportunities we have to share that with some people for the first time," Bayush said.

He said throughout Holy Week and into Easter, the hope is people will have a better understanding of what the cross means.

"Christ paid for our sins," Bayush said.

"I don't want it to become just another story. I want us to have an appreciation for what it meant and for us to never forget."

Bishop's message

The Easter message by Bishop Mark L. Bartchak, of the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese, tells the story of three men who lived in the same retirement community in Florida and went to the funeral home when one of their neighbors died. On the way home, two of the men were discussing all the things people were saying about the deceased: "He was a great humanitarian, who cared about his community. He was a great husband and father."

The third man in the group remained silent. So they asked him, "What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?"

He quickly responded, "He's still breathing!"

"That response suggests that the third friend would rather be alive than dead," Bartchak said.

"And it suggests that he was not ready for death and/or was afraid of dying. In case you did not take some time on Good Friday to think about it, the Lord Jesus was afraid of dying."

He said Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the faithful that Jesus prayed to the father not to let him suffer the punishment of death. But in an act of faith, he begged the father to give him all the strength and courage to die on the cross in order to save the world. It was a prayer of humility and total submission to the will of God.

"As a result of that act of faith, Jesus did suffer," Bartchak said.

"He died on the cross, and his breathless, lifeless body was placed in a tomb. When Mary Magdalene saw him on the morning of the resurrection, she did not recognize him until she heard Jesus say her name. Until that personal encounter, Mary Magdalene and the other women and the apostles were crushed. They felt abandoned and defeated. They had committed their lives to the Lord Jesus and his Gospel. But after what happened at Calvary, they could hardly breathe."

He said an angel told them that the Lord Jesus has been raised from the dead and he plans to meet with them. The same risen Lord plans to meet with his followers who celebrate the resurrection, Bartchak said.

"When the risen Lord appeared to the disciples in the upper room, his first word was 'Peace,' " Bartchak said.

"In Hebrew, it is 'Shalom,' which is a greeting and a blessing in which you wish another person that all is well, all is whole, and everything is right with that person as the Lord wants it to be."

Bartchak added that John's Gospel says when Jesus greeted the worried, frightened and discouraged disciples who were in hiding after Jesus had been crucified and buried, he breathed on them. He said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.

"One way of discerning if someone is alive is to determine if the person is breathing," he said.

"It's called a 'vital sign.' On Good Friday, the Lord Jesus truly died. But on the third day that we call Easter, the Lord Jesus made it clear that he is alive as he breathed into others the life of the Holy Spirit."

Bartchak said it seems like uncontrollable circumstances have held Christians bound for a long time. That is precisely why his followers need to look to Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross. He has broken the power of sin and death through his resurrection. The Lord Jesus shares hope, promise and the blessing of eternal life through his church, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

"I wish everyone the same blessings that the Lord Jesus wished upon his first disciples," he said.

"During this Easter season, remind yourself and others to check vital signs, and if there is even just a small shortness of breath, ask the Lord to breath on you or someone you know who is trying just to catch their breath," he said.

"Daily prayer, the word of God, the sacraments, and works of mercy for the good of others are the fresh air that we all need."

Bartchak added that after visiting the funeral home, the third man in the group was silent. So they asked him, "What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?" He quickly responded, "He's still breathing ..."