Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

Yesterday, we began the celebration of the great Paschal Triduum - the celebration of the most central mysteries of our Christian faith. The Passion, death and resurrection of Christ. We follow with Jesus from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane. We journey the road to Calvary and wait at the sealed tomb. We greet the new morning of Resurrection and ponder the empty grave.

 
Today is a difficult day.  We witness the hurried and unjust trial of Jesus.  It's almost unbearable to hear Simon Peter deny Jesus.  We cry out, "Crucify him!  Crucify him!"   Jesus is mocked and beaten and forced to carry his cross.  Jesus dies.  He is placed in a tomb...cold...silent...dark.  This, too, is probably how we feel - a chill goes through us, we are left in silence, darkness fills our heart.  It is almost unbearable and doesn't seem that it can get any worse, but...

...then we remember Jesus saying, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."  In the Gospel of Luke, it seems that Jesus directs this comment towards the soldiers that are hammering in the nails and jeering at him.  But, I wonder if it isn't directed towards us.  After all, Jesus died for our sins.  By his sacrifice we are healed.  Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do.  But even in our ignorance, even if we don't grasp the full importance of what is happening, we hear the words "Forgive them."  In that hour of most need, in that hour of pain and anguish, of chill and darkness, Jesus thinks of us and says "I forgive you."

While the crucifixion is horrible in itself, I am often haunted by the image of Jesus being stripped of his clothing.  It is an act of extreme humiliation.  (Just think of having that weird dream when you show up on the first day of school in only your 'birthday suit.')  It is an act that puts Jesus at his most vulnerable, his whole life literally bared naked before all to see.  He really empties himself because all - his clothing, his dignity in the eyes of the world, and ultimately his very life - is taken away. 

But it is exactly that emptiness, that humiliation, that vulnerability to which Jesus invites us by his simple utterance "Forgive them."  St. Basil writes, "Jesus dies on the cross so that we could be saved by imitation of him, and recover our original status as children of God by adoption.  To attain holiness, then, we must not only pattern our lives on Christ's by being gentle, humble and patient, we must also imitate him in his death."  Just as Jesus did while hanging on the cross, we too must say "I forgive you" to those who have hurt us, crucified us, stripped us, buried us.  If we want to follow Jesus, we need to follow him to the very end, emptying ourselves of pride and ego, and being willing to say "Father, forgive them."

Of course, this is never easy.  In fact, in my own life, I am having great difficulty saying "I forgive you" to someone.  Even in prayer, with only God and myself, it is extremely difficult to utter those three, short words.  But we are reminded that it is the path of discipleship, it is the path of Jesus, the path that we are called to walk.  Jesus never said it would be easy, but he did promise us that he would be with us all the way.  Yes, he is with us even on the cross.  He is looking down on us and giving us the greatest gift - that of freedom by forgiveness of our sins.

(This is a painting by Marianist Bro. Charles Wanda, SM.  I love the perspective - of Jesus looking down upon his Mother and the Beloved Disciple.  Can we see ourselves in the scene as Jesus saw us?)

Today we are confronted with a most difficult scene in the Paschal Mystery of Christ.  Maybe the most difficult part is to hear the words "I forgive you" knowing that we must also utter those words in our own lives.  Let us pray that we might follow the example of Jesus who has forgiven us.  That we too might cry out, "Father, forgive them," letting the beautiful and forgiving words of Jesus become our own.

Blessed Triduum, my friends.

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper

Tonight we begin the celebration of the great Paschal Triduum - the celebration of the most central mysteries of our Christian faith. The Passion, death and resurrection of Christ. We follow with Jesus from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane. We journey the road to Calvary and wait at the sealed tomb. We greet the new morning of Resurrection and ponder the empty grave.

And so we begin tonight in the upper room with Jesus and his gathered friends as they share a final meal together, a meal that is also our meal. But a weird thing happens in our liturgy. As the Gospel is proclaimed, we don't hear the words "This is my body. This is my blood." Rather, we hear in the Gospel reading that Jesus took a basin and pitcher of water and, stooping down, began to wash his disciples' feet.  Not what we might expect, but.....

...then an even weirder thing happens. Jesus washes all their feet. All. Pause for a moment and think about what this means. Yes, he even washes the feet of Judas, the one who will betray him, his traitor. And yet he still washes his feet.

We can ask ourselves, "how is this possible?" Maybe Jesus just didn't want to make a scene. Well, given his anger with the Temple moneychangers and his debates with the Pharisees, this seems improbable.  Maybe Jesus thought that it would change Judas' mind. But, Judas had already made the deal, and 30 silver pieces is a nice chunk of change for one small kiss.  Maybe Jesus didn't know the plans Judas had made. But, we are told very clearly later on that he did in fact know. Maybe....maybe....maybe. As we try to rationalize this from our own points of view, all our suggestions seem to fall short.

But if we look at this from Jesus' point of view, is there something more? We often see in this act of foot-washing a call to humble service. And we are right in seeing this. But maybe it is also a call to forgiveness. A great act of forgiveness that Jesus offers to his traitor. A great example of forgiveness that Jesus offers to us. A reminder that one part of humble service is forgiveness, to forgive those that have hurt us, betrayed us, killed us in some way. It is not easy - I know that from firsthand experience and am not always good at it - but it is what Jesus asks of us as we journey with him and take up the call of discipleship.

I have volunteered several times at the Marianist Family Retreat Center in Cape May Point, NJ. In the summers, families come on retreat together, and one moment that is always very moving is the evening Reconciliation service. During it, family members wash each others' feet as a sign of forgiveness and love. Without any excuses, without any words and without any fanfare, this simple gesture washes away much hurt and sorrow. It says, "I am sorry. I forgive you. I love you no matter what."

This is a reflection of what Jesus did as he washed the feet of Judas. It is a reflection of what we are all called to do as a Eucharistic people. I am reminded that earlier in his ministry Jesus taught that "If you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother or sister first, and then come back and present your offering" (Mt 5:23). How appropriate as we remember tonight that last meal that Jesus shared with his friends, the meal that we celebrate on our own altars in remembrance of him.

Tonight as we enter most intimately into the Paschal Mystery of Christ, we are reminded of Jesus' call to forgiveness, remembering that we have been forgiven by Jesus first. In his homily for the Chrism Mass, Pope Francis spoke of the washing of the feet as "the cleansing of discipleship...The Lord washes us and cleanses us of all the dirt our feet have accumulated in following him.  This is something holy....Like battle wounds, the Lord kisses them and washes away the grime of our labors." 

Let us pray that we might follow the example of Jesus who has forgiven us and forgiven Judas.  That we too might take a basin and pitcher of water, stoop down, and wash each others' feet with the healing and cleansing waters of forgiveness.

Blessed Triduum, my friends.

(Special thanks to Fr. Michael, SM who offered this theme during a recent retreat.)