Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
The passage above is taken from the second chapter, second verse of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Starting at verse five we enter the great Christological hymn:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited
Christology is a branch of theology relating to the person, nature, and work of Jesus Christ. It focuses on the hypostatic union—how Jesus is simultaneously fully divine and fully human. It considers the various aspects of His roles, for instance Jesus as prophet, priest, sacrifice, redeemer, and savior. These roles speak to us in a very particular way during Holy Week and Easter.
We hear the text of this Christological hymn as our Epistle on Palm Sunday. The reading of that Epistle prepares us for the hearing of the Passion narrative. We see Jesus’s great trial, suffering, and death. We pause to wonder why it had to be that way. As St. Paul says, it is because He humbled Himself.
The days of Holy Week walk us through Jesus’ experiences. Ever since I was a young man I continually committed myself to walking with Jesus through these days, from having His feet anointed in preparation for His death, to Judas’ betrayal, the Last Supper, His arrest, trial, scourging and crowing with thorns, mocking, journey to Calvary, crucifixion, death, and burial. I wanted and still desire to be there for Him. It is a really small sacrifice considering what He did for me.
I suppose I found particularly personal reasons for being there. Each of our reasons might be different. For me it was that Christological hymn. All powerful God came down among us, took on our humanity, humbled Himself and lived powerlessly for my sake.
I was powerless, I was poor, I was sick, and in all that I recognized God considering and even adopting my powerlessness so that in time I too could be made perfect. Of course, there is still work for me to do, but I can do it now with Easter joy.
Welcome to our April 2026 Newsletter. Of course this Newsletter is everything Holy Week and Easter. We welcome you to join us in our walk with Jesus through His passion, death, and burial so to arrive at His resurrection together.
Included in the Newsletter is our entire schedule of services and events for Holy Week and Easter including the fifty days of Easter. Read an excerpt from St. John Chrysostom’s Pascal Homily. We also have provided the schedule of the wonderful events upcoming throughout Spring and Summer. That includes our ever popular Basket Social coming up on April 26th at the South Schenectady Firehouse. Join us for a chance to win superb gift baskets and to share in great homemade Polish Food.
All that and more in our April 2026 Newsletter.
