The Cloth on the Cross

Written by Danny Castiglione

Christ is Risen!

When you walked into the crowded sanctuary on Easter Sunday you might have noticed that a white cloth was draped on the cross. For the six Sundays before Easter a purple cloth was there, and last Friday and Saturday, a black cloth. That white cloth will remain for six Sundays and then be removed, and we will not place another cloth on the cross in the sanctuary until next February.

Why do we do this?

The tradition of draping the cross or following “The Stages of the Cross” as a symbolic depiction of the Easter season, goes back hundreds of years in Church history. We practice it at Waypoint because we believe it annually provides us with a visual way to reflect on and remember the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

What do the colors mean?

There are typically 3 colors used by the local churches that practice this tradition: purple, black, and white. The purple cloth represents Christ as King, reminding us that Christ is our Savior and King, and we are mere mortals saved only by his grace and mercy. The purple cloth remains on the cross from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (this is the season of Lent). The black cloth represents the mockery, suffering, crucifixion, and death of Christ. The black cloth remains on the cross from Good Friday, through Holy Saturday (the day Jesus was in the grave). The white cloth represents the resurrection of Christ. The white cloth remains on the cross from Easter Sunday through Ascension Day when the cross remains bare until next Lenten season.

How can we use this tradition in our own worship and reflection?

As you enter the sanctuary over the next five weeks, look up at the white cloth on the cross. Take some time to reflect on the beauty and glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Think about the 40-day period it represents, when the risen Jesus walked on the Earth teaching and loving his people, preparing them for the coming of His Holy Spirit.

Then after Ascension Day (May 18 this year), each time you look at the empty cross, give praise to God that the risen Jesus has ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, reigning over the Earth. Praise the Father and the Son for sending the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, His Church, as we worship Christ and build His Kingdom!

“This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:

Christ was revealed in a human body

and vindicated by the Spirit.

He was seen by angels

and announced to the nations.

He was believed in throughout the world

and taken to heaven in glory.”

1 Timothy 3:15b-16 (NLT)

Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil

Written by Erika Castiglione

Holy Saturday is the day between Good Friday and Easter, and it marks the end of Lent. It is a time of anticipation, and a time to contemplate the time between when Jesus said, “it is finished,” bowed his head, and gave up his spirit (John 19:30), and the time when the women discovered the empty tomb and the angel declared, “He is risen!” (Luke 24:6). Throughout church history many Christians have marked this day with prayer and fasting.

This year we are asking you to consider taking one hour of your day (or night) to pray, wherever you are, to prepare your heart for Easter, to pray for Waypoint Church, and to pray for the many visitors we will have on Easter Sunday. For some it will be the first time ever to go to church and for others it will be a return after many years.

We hope to always celebrate the glorious reality that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has made a way for our salvation, and we hope to always provide a hospitable environment for those who are exploring Christianity, but Easter provides a unique opportunity to put both of those things front and center.

If the thought of praying for an hour feels a little daunting, I have created a guide to give you an outline of what this time might look like. I pray this would be a sweet time of communion with God!

You can sign up for the Prayer Vigil here.

Lent: Preparing for Easter

Written by Danny Castiglione

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17

What is Lent?

Lent is a 40-day period before Easter that many Christians throughout church history have set for aside for self-examination and repentance.

How do we practice Lent at Waypoint Church?

Practicing Lent is not required for Christians, but we think it is a helpful practice for us as individuals and a church body. So, we encourage Waypoint people to join us.

Here are some of the ways you can practice Lent:

-Ask God what spiritual disciplines you can practice this Lent season to draw closer to his goodness and his presence.

-Come to the Waypoint Academy class on Spiritual Formation

-Join us for the Ash Wednesday Prayer and Worship Service on Wednesday Feb.22

-Listen to the most recent Waypoint podcast on Lent

-Watch this short video from Kathy Keller about practicing Lent

-Read the daily 40-day Lent Devotional from Kathy Keller

-Join the Maundy Thursday (April 6) dinner with other Waypoint people in your community (the specific details about this will be announced in a few week)

-Join the Good Friday service on April 7

-Come on Easter Sunday, April 9, ready to celebrate the risen Christ and the new life we have in him.

If you have questions about Lent or anything related to it or about your spiritual life or the Christian life in general. Please reach to us, we are here to help you on the journey!

And finally, I will end this post with part of the Ash Wednesday liturgy that has been recited by Christians around the world for over 400 years…

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

the early Christians observed with great devotion

the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection,

and it became the custom of the Church that before the Easter celebration

there should be a forty–day season of spiritual preparation.

During this season converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism.

It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins

and had separated themselves from the community of faith

were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness,

and restored to participation in the life of the Church.

In this way the whole congregation was reminded

of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ

and the need we all have to renew our faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Christ’s Church,

to observe a period of lent:

by self–examination and repentance;

by prayer, fasting, and self–denial;

and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word.

To make a right beginning of repentance,

and as a mark of our mortal nature,

let us now kneel before our Maker and Redeemer.