Tenebrae
THE term Tenebrae (Latin word for “darkness” or “shadows”) is a Christian religious tradition celebrated in modern Holy Week on Wednesday or on Maundy Thursday. Earlier it was an ancient monastic night and early morning services of the last three days of Holy Week. The service includes the chants of the Lamentations, reading of the Psalms and other Bible readings. Most conspicuous of the service is the slowly extinguishing of the candles and lights in the church until only one single candle remains, considered the symbol of Christ. As the service ends the candle is hidden signifying the evil that overcame the world. The church would be in darkness to highlight when Jesus Christ was inside the tomb. At the end of the service, a loud noise is made to symbolize the earthquake at the time of Resurrection (Matthew 28:2).
In the Roman Catholic, it were celebrated in three days of Holy Week, the patter is basically the same with chants and readings. Historians’ record that among the Protestant Churches the major features of the ancient Tenebrae is retained by the Anglicans, Lutherans, United Methodist, the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians as well as Liturgical Baptist.
My husband and I attended the Tenebrae at the Resurrection Cathedral with the slowly diminishing of the lights, the flashlights and cellphones were used to aid in reading the psalms and other Bible passages. And as the church was enveloped in darkness, the silence was observed in between readings. Going through the service was not a drama but rather drawing everyone in a deeper reflection of what happened during the first passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The service was very moving.
Today, we see the darkness where evil seems to overpower the goodness in our lives and in society. After Easter, the local election campaign joins the national making it a full blast in all levels. It is saddening to realize the government we hope will make life better for every Filipino fails to do so. Instead election makes the common man suspect the intentions of every candidate who seeks an elected position. A majority of voters will elect those who will give away cash, material and sundry during the campaign period. Track record, bad record and no record of performance is thrown out of the window and what matters is the 45 day campaign period. They will vote for those giving daily free lunch, those who went house to house, those who shook the hands of everyone, gave out t-shirts, bags and other items bearing the name and face of the candidate. Still as the campaign progresses we do not see the light, we are still in darkness.
The Tenebrae’s significance is to help people reflect on what we need to survive in these evil times. We pray for peace, we pray for wisdom and we pray for light in the darkness. As in the Tenebrae, the darkness came because Righteousness and good was diminished. Let our decisions be to allow the light overcome the darkness.