We’re in the sacred time of Triduum. Triduum from the Latin meaning “Three Days” marking the intense storytelling of our Christian story that follows the rhythm of sunset to sunset. Gabe Huck a Triduum liturgist spoke of these three days in the ancient Greek understanding of time as chronos and kairos that come together like an eclipse of sun and moon. It is the ritual retelling of the final days of the Jesus story that is both ordered in chronological time and yet caught in a time lapse.
We mark these three days from Thursday sunset to Friday sunset (day 1), from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset (day 2) and from Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset (day 3) by gatherings, rich symbols, story telling and identity shaping. It is rich, breath taking and energizing and intense.
It is a call to set aside all that we normally do over these three days and find other times to do so. Outside of our word…it calls us to set PVRs to record shows, to find another time to do groceries and errands and set aside all those things we deem so important to let go of schedules…chronos…and just get lost in the time of Triduum…kairos.
This is the only time of year we tell this Christian story in this way and like a child we are called to sit wide eyed with listening ears and ask “Tell me the story again…and don’t leave anything out!”
And as much as we can, we need to be attentive to the whole story thinking of it as a mini-series. We must watch everything to get the whole story…as we would never watch a tv miniseries and skip one of the parts knowing we would miss an integral part of the story. And let us resist the urge to say “I already heard that story or that part of the story”. Let the story speak to us in a fresh way…touching our story. Let us get lost in the stories, the symbols, the people gathered…let us leave our watches at home and be present to both the chronos and kairos of these days. Don’t rush to the end of the story…linger on the pages calling you deep into the story.
And you might be surprised at where you will be moved deeply, where you might hear a new phrase, where a symbol or a song will resonate in a way calling us to reflect and go “aha”. And so as we begin this day that invites us into Triduum…let us pray:
O Holy One
The Three Days beckon us into chronos and kairos,
into letting go and allowing our senses to be tickled
with the Jesus story.
May our breathing and pace slow down
that we may enter into this Holy Time.
We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen!
