Holy Week 2026
What is Holy Week?
Since Advent, we have been telling a Story.
We began with four weeks of waiting. We then remembered the story of the Birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. We told the story of His revealing in the season of Epiphany: how he was revealed to the faithful of Israel as their messiah; we saw Him circumcised at the Temple and heard strange prophecies about Him; we remembered how he was met by Magi and hailed as King not only of Israel, but of all kings and kingdoms; and we watched him begin his ministry with Baptism in the Jordan River.
Weeks ago we stood with the disciples on the mount of Transfiguration and saw Our Lord gloriously magnified, speaking with men we thought were long dead. We thought, “Forget Christmas! This must be the final moment, the moment when He takes his Throne and rules the world.”
And then we began Lent.
This was less than fun. Instead of being a season of glory it was a lot more a season of exposure, of shaking, of reckoning with weakness, of failure, and death. We set-out to follow Christ, and were told to pick up our crosses and follow Him. We do not like carrying our crosses. We have not liked Lent.
Now we continue to tell the story in the Final Week of Our Lord’s ministry; a week the historic church has called Holy Week.
Palm Sunday
What:
Palm Sunday announces Christ’s Kingship with a confusing conflict of emotions: On the one hand we are celebrating that He is our King, we begin by shouting “Hosanna!” and waving palm branches wildly (and please, do it wildly, tell the story well). At the same time, we are already in our hearts preparing to join the mob and shout “Crucify Him!” and “Tolle, tolle! Crucifige!” just as soon as He fails to meet the unstated expectations we have placed upon Him. We wanted Him to be ‘king’ and ‘god’ insofar as those things meant what we wanted them to mean. We are dismayed at a King who suffers, offended at the spectacle of a crucified God.
When:
March 29, 2026 @ 4:00 pm | Liturgy of the Palms & after-service Potluck
Where:
Olivet Baptist Church
1775 Beretania St., Honolulu HI
Bring:
(1) Yourself, your household (where applicable), and anyone else you can invite; (2) A potluck dish to share.
Maundy Thursday
What:
On the night that Jesus was betrayed Our Lord didn’t do any of the things a politically savvy king ought to have done, at least not according to worldly standards. No campaigns, no tactics, no positioning for defensive maneuvers. Instead he gathered his friends, “ascended” with them into an upper room and… washed their feet? And then… shared a meal with them? This is a strange thing for a king to do. What’s going on here? At the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and commanded them to love and serve one another as he had done. This day commemorates the Lord’s example of servant ministry, the institution of the Eucharist, the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Judas, and the denial of Peter.
When:
April 2, 2026 @ 5:30 pm | Liturgy & Agape Feast
Where:
First Chinese Church of Honolulu
1054 S. King St., Honolulu HI
Bring:
(1) Yourself, your household (where applicable), and friends; (2) A potluck dish and/or drink to share.
Good Friday
What:
Okay… last night was bad. But we’ve seen the movies: Robin Hood’s men will rescue him; Obi-Wan Kenobi will get away; that guy from The Count of Monte Cristo will take revenge on his enemies. Right? This is how it happens. Peter will stage a counter-attack, or Pilate will see that Jesus is innocent, or the crowds will revolt against the Jewish leaders… or Jesus, as powerful as He is, will break his chains and slaughter his enemies. Right? Why else would we call this day good Friday unless something good happens? We call this day good precisely because none of those things happened. We’ve had it wrong. Jesus doesn’t break his chains, because it’s only by wearing them that He can break our chains: the chains of sin and death. Jesus doesn’t slaughter Romans because it’s only by surrendering to the torture that He can defeat the true Enemy. Jesus doesn’t save himself because He’s saving us.
When:
April 3, 2026 @ 3:00 pm | Liturgy
Where:
First Chinese Church of Honolulu
1054 S. King St., Honolulu HI
Bring:
Yourself, your household (where applicable), and anyone else you can.
Holy Saturday
What:
Holy Saturday is the sabbath of all sabbaths, the rest day of all rest days. Don’t rush into Easter, wait for it. Be at Peace. God is defeating Sin, the World, and the Devil. He has descended to the dead. Waiting is difficult. Wrestle with the waiting. But then!... In the evening of Holy Saturday (historically after sundown) the lights we’ve extinguished flare back to life, the alleluias we’ve buried during Lent are voiced again, and our hopes are restored. At the end of this long day of waiting –O joy of joys!— Christ has risen from the dead, and a raised the world with Him. And everything we’ve given-up is given back to us. Get those “Alleluias” we buried in Lent ready –we’re about to say them for a long time!
When:
April 4, 2026 @ 6:00 pm | Liturgy & Baptisms & Festival Potluck to follow
Where:
First Chinese Church of Honolulu
1054 S. King St., Honolulu HI
Bring:
(1) Yourself, your household (where applicable), and anyone else you can; and (2) the drink or snack or food that you’ve missed most during the Lenten Fast —it’s yours again to share with others after the service.
Easter Sunday
What:
Here we are: Easter Sunday. The day we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. In the beginning, God drew Adam, the first man, from the ground and gave him life. Today, Christ, the new and better Adam, rises from ground with a new kind of life –eternal life. In the beginning, Adam was placed in a garden. Today Christ rises and finds himself, like Adam, in a garden. This time however the serpent is crushed; now the curse is broken; death has been defeated, in the most unexpected way, by an even stronger Death. This is the greatest of all Stories. Today we rejoice to tell it boldly. Today in the very place where life was lost, with all of the same symbols, life has been regained.
When:
April 5, 2026 @ 10:00 am | Liturgy & Easter Feast & Egg Hunt
Where:
Ke’ehi Lagoon, Weinberg Hall
2685 N. Nimitz Hwy., Honolulu HI
Bring:
Yourself, your household (where applicable), everyone and anyone you can