Before everything shut down last year (2020), I was in New York City to see Hadestown, a musical loosely based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The play is framed, beginning and end, with Hermes singing: “It’s an old song, it’s a tragedy…but we’re gonna sing it again and again.”
Sitting with theatergoers, listening to an affirmation of the power of retelling a tale over and over, reminded me of the importance of liturgy, especially Holy Week. What we tell this week is more than a story.
In Holy Week, time and space are collapsed. We are immersed in the mystery: sitting with Jesus and his friends at dinner, walking with him to Jerusalem, witnessing the Cross and, in time, the empty tomb. We began singing “Hosanna” and end the week singing “Alleluia.” Again and again, we’ll sing.
