We began Holy Week with the procession of palm branches and the adult confirmation of Josehp Manuel Sala Díaz on Palm Sunday, March 24. Josehp is a contract maintenance worker. We welcome him as a member of our congregation.
In Venezuela, real palm branches are easy to find. We have observed the Palm Sunday processional every year except for the two years of the COVID-19 lockdown. The reenactment of our Lord’s triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem is ancient. Perhaps the earliest account is that of Egeria, a woman who lived in northern Spain, in a region now known as Galicia (
many Venezuelans can trace their ancestry to this region). From 381 to 384 A.D., Egeria went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She kept a
journal in which she gives firsthand testimony about how Holy Week was celebrated in Jerusalem in the fourth century. On
the Sunday before Easter, people would gather on the Mount of Olives and march into the city with palm and olive branches. Participants sang psalms and proclaimed blessings as they moved toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This year, because of the war with Iran,
this procession was cancelled for the first time in centuries as the Israeli government prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After the Reformation, the tradition of a
Palm Sunday procession was preserved, especially at certain locations like Magdeburg. In April 2003, I spent the entire month in Venezuela (yes, that was during the U.S. invasion of Iraq) and was privileged to witness that year’s Palm Sunday procession at Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Lutheran Church in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.
Disciples for life
On March 23, I had the opportunity to visit Corpus Christi Lutheran Church in Barinas and teach a session in “Discípulos de por vida,” a catechetical course based as much on Luther’s Large Catechism, as much as the Small Catechism. The course was developed as a unit in the deaconess training program of Seminario Concordia El Reformador in the Dominican Republic. The Lutheran Church of Venezuela’s Juan de Frias Theological Institute is now offering the course to all interested members and and all catechumens. Since Corpus Christi has not called a full-time pastor, I will be taking turns every three months with Eliezer Mendoza, pastor of Cristo es Amor (Christ is Love) Lutheran Church in Barquesimeto (about three to four hours north of Barinas) and his assistant pastor, Juan Carlos Silva. Pastor Mendoza also is director of the Juan de Frias Theological Institute. The congregations in Barinas and Barquesimeto comprise the entire Western Zone of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, which is all the territory between Valencia (an hour and a half west of Caracas) and the Colombian border.The theme was the “first tablet of the Law”, by which is meant the first three commandments. These deal with what constitutes a right relationship with God. “ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). The other seven commandments comprise the “second tablet”, right relationship with other people. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). These commandments constitute the universal moral law, that is, God’s will for how all people should live. We also discussed the other types of law contained in the covenant of Mount Sinai: Civil laws for the governing of the ancient nation of Israel, many of which did not apply outside the land of Israel, even at the time; and ceremonial laws governing private and public worship, which distinguished the worship of the true God from idolatry and pointed to the first coming of the Messiah, and why these types of rules and regulations were not intended for all people for all time. Then we discussed the three uses of the moral law: as a brake to keep the evil impulses of men from getting out of hand in the social order; as a mirror, to convict people of their sins and show them the need for a Savior; and as a guide for Christian in making life decisions.
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| Maximiliano reading the story of Jonah. |
Learning in our library
Before the schools closed, Luz Maria had her afterschool students do activities in preparation for Holy Week. The afterschool program continues with 10 to 12 students attending regularly, Monday through Thursday. There are also always five to six in attendance who are not involved with the program full-time, but who are using our books and other study resources for specific projects. We have made our educational space into something of a public library (which the community does not have). It is a place for older students to drop in and study in quiet area with books and no distractions. Two of Luz Maria’s more outstanding students are Mateo and Maximiliano. Maxi is in third grade and came to us not even knowing the complete alphabet or how to write his name. It had been recommended that he receive psychological evaluation to treat his incapacity to learn. Now he reads and writes at a level appropriate to a boy his age. Mateo was delighted to discover that he was named after an apostle and evangelist, and is most enthusiastic about Bible study, in addition to improving his grades at his public school.
