Monday, April 6, 2015

Monday of the Octave of Easter

(Acts 2:14.22-33; Matthew28:8-15)

Cardinal Walter Kasper used to head the Vatican’s Secretariat for Christian Unity.  Many times he dialogued with Orthodox and Protestant churches to increase the understanding between them and Catholicism.  He tried to begin these meetings by listing the many values and practices which the disparate churches hold in common.  He said that the differences would eventually surface but in the beginning all need to appreciate the many similarities.  Peter uses the same tact in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles.

The disciples have just been inundated with the Holy Spirit.  Neither fear nor confusion will now keep them from proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.  But how can they make the message credible to the people in Jerusalem?  Peter appeals to their knowledge of the Scriptures to show that Jesus’ rising from the dead can be traced in the Jewish tradition.  He cites a psalm attributed to King David that says God will not allow His holy one to suffer corruption in the grave. 

Like the women at Jesus’ empty tomb we also must tell others of Jesus’ resurrection.  But how can we make the message credible today?  There is no common knowledge of the Scriptures, but there is universal approval of works of charity. When we listen to the person who is hurting and share with those who lack necessities, people will eventually ask what makes us do it.  Pope Francis proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus never more eloquently that when he took the face of that horribly disfigured man in his hands and blessed it. 

Friday, April 3, 2015

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-42)

There is a fantasy about two kidnappers who take a child from a rich family and demand a huge ransom.  The child, however, is extremely mischievous and the parents make a counter-offer.  They say that they will take the child back if the kidnappers give a ransom.  The child proves to be so troublesome that the kidnappers concede to the parents' demand.  In the Passion of Jesus according to John a similar turning of a situation on its head is seen.

John's gospel is the most theological of the four.  It is also quite historical, but John describes events with more concern about their deeper significance than about literal accuracy.  The trial of Jesus before Pilate is a good example of this method.  Apparently Jesus is on trial.  The Jewish leaders have brought him to Pilate with the demand that he be executed.  It does not take Pilate long to discern that Jesus is innocent.  The real question then becomes whether Pilate will incriminate himself by ceding to the Jewish demand.  He is the one who is really on trial not Jesus. 

Pilate attempts to escape judgment.  He tries to release Jesus as a Passover gift to the Jews.  They, of course, refuse the offer.  Then he has Jesus beaten and presented to the Jews as one who has already suffered for any crime he might have committed.  But the Jews, saying that Jesus made himself to be the Son of God, won't budge from their demand.  Now Pilate becomes afraid which makes him susceptible to the Jewish threat that if he does not execute Jesus, he would not be a friend of Caesar.  Out of fear then Pilate orders Jesus’ execution.  He is guilty not just of the death of an innocent man but also of one whom he has come to know as having divine origins.

But Pilate is not the only one on trial in the Passion according to John.  Jesus said earlier in the gospel that judgment will come to the world when he is lifted up on the cross.  That moment has arrived.  Because he shows himself as the true Lord when he dies on the cross, each of us must ask whether we will follow his authority.  When we look at him raised up on the cross, do we pledge to love others as he loved?  Or, much like Pilate, will we give in to the fears and wants of our hearts?

Thursday, Aprilo 2, 2015

Holy Thursday

(Exodus 12:1-8.11-14; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15)

Few things capture more concern these days than food.  There has always been interest in how to prepare delicious meals but today’s preoccupation is with the raw contents of those dishes.  Experts tell us to buy organic whenever possible.  They say that foods of different colors make the most wholesome diet.  They strongly advise blueberries and walnuts for their anti-oxidants which ward off disease.  In today’s second reading St. Paul prescribes a traditional food that has infinitely greater consequences than the fare placed on the dining table.

Paul has just described to the Corinthians the necessity for church unity.  Now he emphasizes the source of that unity.  He tells them that the Eucharist which they share is really the body and blood of Christ.  Therefore, he concludes, when they look down upon one another, they abuse the real presence of the Lord.  The gospel passage from John, magnifies the truth.  In coming together for the Lord’s Supper, it advises, people should be prepared to help one another.  As Jesus says, “If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.”

This evening’s celebration prepares us in a simple way for the powerful events that we are to experience tomorrow and Saturday.  It dramatically shows how love is the motive of the paschal mystery.  For love Jesus died on the cross to save us from becoming casualties of our sins.  He rises from the dead to provide us with a share in his love that we might assist in the work of salvation.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wednesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25)

Humiliation seldom sinks lower than to have another spit in one’s face.  Spittle may transmit disease.  More than that, spitting is a universal sign of contempt.  One account of a particularly gruesome display of hatred tells of prison gang members spitting razor blades to cut up the opponent’s face even before a fight begins. 

In the first reading today the Suffering Servant speaks of giving his face to being spit upon.  Conscious of this reference, Mark’s passion narrative underscores how both Jews and Romans spit on Jesus.  Jesus is seen as the incarnation of the Suffering Servant whose identity is left obscure in Isaiah’s prophecy.

There are four “Suffering Servant Songs.”  Each gives the portrait of the righteous man who takes upon himself the sins of the world.  He not only speaks words of comfort to the oppressed; he also listens to their cries.  He establishes justice but not with a sword that will bring grief to a wife or parents.  Indeed, he heals others’ defects by bearing the penalties incurred by their sins.  Who but Jesus has fulfilled this character description completely?

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Tuesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33.36-38)

Today’s gospel juxtaposes Judas and Peter, especially their sins against the Lord.  Jesus predicts both offenses – Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial.  Does it distinguish the gravity of the two offenses?  Some say “no,” but the passage indicates that Judas’ transgression is the greater.  It says that “Satan entered him,” not as an excuse for Judas as we sometimes say that “Satan made me do it.”  Rather, by conjuring Satan, the Prince of Darkness, the evangelist signifies the depth of Judas’ evil.  He deliberately handed over the Savior, preferring darkness to light.

Peter, on the other hand, will sin out of fear.  There is almost risible irony in how he boasts in the reading that he will lay down his life for Jesus and how at the high priest’s house he will deny that he is Jesus’ disciple.  Under duress his courage fails him.  Again, this is not an excuse as he was quite aware of the seriousness of the occasion, yet he succumbs in the test.

We are tempted as both Judas and Peter.  Some people actively participate in abortions, the killing of the innocent for at least sometimes no reason other than convenience.  That, we may say, approaches Judas’ treachery.  Others out of intense desire or compromising fear do things they know to be wrong.  This is a sin more of the order of Peter’s.  We need to recognize that Jesus’ Paschal sacrifice can save us from both kinds of offenses.  Indeed, through his death and resurrection these sins may not only be forgiven, they may also be avoided.