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"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee"
Philippians 2: 6 - 11
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied
himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name,
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that,
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Friends, we live in unprecedented times. Seemingly out of nowhere this enemy, the
virus, had invaded our lives and caused an entire shut down of the world. To
imagine Holy Week and Easter in an empty Church is truly disturbing. In many cases, our brothers and sisters in
other non-Christian Churches may not feel as disconnected from their Sunday
service as we do. Their attendance at Sunday service is not obligatory and
their theology not as community emphasized as that in our ancient
tradition. The emphasis is on “Jesus as
your personal Savior” and while that is true from our understanding as well, we
are a sacramental Church, a Church of the Eucharist, a community in which the
tangible and tactile is essential. The
physical presence of the people of God is an indispensable part of our faith
experience as we gather in one family of Christ.
We come to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ each
Sunday and then to be fed by the power of his Word and in particular by taste
and fulfilled spiritual hunger to receive someone – our Lord Jesus Christ whose
Body and Blood are given to us. Without the
presence of the physical community the reception of the Eucharist is not
possible. We are not a “virtual Church” but at least for now we have become
such. Viewing Mass on line is the best it can be for now but it is far from the
intention of Jesus who gathered with his Apostles on that night of the Last
Supper.
This week ahead of us is made holy by the generous love of a
God who cares enough about his creation to love it into life and in particular
humanity is a tenet of our faith that is at the very foundation of who we
are. In this time of particular
challenge may we identify with the emotions of our Lord whose trusted friends
abandoned him at the most critical time of his earthly life. We may feel somewhat alone and we may say
that we join that experience to the isolation Jesus felt as he was arrested in
the Garden and faced the trial ahead. Yet, that seeming despair was overcome by
the Resurrection that we know even now lies ahead for us. And so this week
begins, made holy by the outpouring of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
The beautiful reading above is taken from the second reading on
this "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion." It begins in triumph and
praise but quickly turns to darkness, betrayal, arrest, blatant injustice,
humiliation, suffering and death. Our
reading from the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord's Passion, (Mt 26: 14 - 27: 66) is
a long and dramatic narrative filled with conflict and emotion.
I often let these powerful services speak for themselves. There is little I can add and through their
ritual, they inspire and move us to gratitude, repentance and conversion. Holy Thursday calls for some reflection for
sure as the gift of the Holy Eucharist, the command to give ourselves to humble
service is portrayed through the washing of feet, although absent this year,
and the Priesthood is established by our Lord as he extends his authority to
his Apostles: "Do this in remembrance of me."
Jesus not only gave his Apostles the authority to pass on this
meal as a memorial of his sacrifice but gave the Church as a whole a profound
and mysterious gift - his very body and blood offered for us. The Eucharist is
not a thing but a person, God himself who took on our sinful nature, whose life
was sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin and our eternal salvation.
But I feel this weekend and Good Friday stand on their own with
little need for further commentary. The
ancient ritual indeed speaks to us.
Then of course the resurrection of our Lord and the birth of
new Christians through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist is
cause for great joy and reflection. Sadly, we cannot gather with our elect and
our catechumens this year for the vigil. This truly brings sadness to me and
even more to them but we are in touch and will surely bring them to the Church
and to Christ sacramentally soon as possible, even if done privately one by
one.
The challenge is, of course, to approach these high holy days
in the right spirit. The opening prayer of the Mass for this Sunday can be a
beautiful personal prayer that can be recited.
May the Holy Spirit be our inspiration and open our hearts to the mystery
and joy of this week ahead.
As you have to watch and participate through our “virtual
Church” be assured that we all know that this is not ideal, nor is the prayer
for spiritual communion a substitute for the actual reception of the Eucharist
but in God’s time all will come to good, as he always brings hope and life out
of what may appear uncontrolled darkness.
Peace and prayers as we join together in this holiest of weeks.
Almighty ever-living God,
who as an example of humility for the
human race to follow caused our Savior
to take flesh and submit to the Cross,
graciously grant that we may heed his lesson
of patient suffering and so merit
a share in his Resurrection.
(Collect of Passion Sunday Mass)
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