Tag Archives: Easter Triduum

Obliterating our sin on Good Friday

Jesus died without sin. Even in the brutality of his passion he refused to sin. Even in the horrific provocation of those crucifying him, he refused to sin.

This is important because Jesus didn’t do this for himself, but for you and I. This means that you and I are going to die without sin if Jesus bestows his “dying without sin” on us. He overlays our lives with his life, so to speak, obliterating our sin. This is the gift that Jesus bestows on those who come to him – who repent.

This in turn is important because sin cannot enter Heaven. It must be purged first, or removed, or whatever word you want to use. If sin is allowed to enter Heaven intact (this is impossible but let us just imagine it is possible) Heaven and Hell are one. Sin cannot enter Heaven. Likewise the soul in sin cannot enter Heaven.

The only way sin can be removed is for it to be absorbed and overcome. Sin always involves hurt and absorbing hurt means pain. That’s what Jesus is doing today, absorbing human sinfulness, overcoming it, and still pouring out his love on humanity. All that Heaven requires in return is our love.

Thus, Heaven looks to earth today to find anybody who acknowledges this, appreciates this. Those who do not acknowledge it or appreciate it leave an impression of deep sadness in the heart of God (“what more can I do for them?” Jesus wonders) but our pausing today to remember Jesus mitigates so much of this suffering and consoles the heart of God.

Perfectly positioned to see the glory of God

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Jesus’ circle of friends – disciples, whatever you want to call them – are invested in Jesus. They love him.

Thus today, Holy Saturday – the time between his burial yesterday (Good Friday) and tomorrow (Easter Sunday) – must have been a dark, dark time for them. They’d pinned so much on him… hopes… dreams…

Now, what I want you to see is that because they’re invested in him, because they love him, the two Marys (“Mary of Magdala and the other Mary”) are up early – “towards dawn” – and heading to the tomb. Because they love him they’re staying close to him even in death.

When the Easter events are unfolding they’re not somewhere else, they’re not at work, or on a short break, or immersed in some recreational activity, they’re not off somewhere pampering themselves, they’re not “down the local!”

No, they love him so they’re present, or at least nearby, critically they’re caught up in it all. They’re undoubtedly crushed, devastated, questioning, recalling stuff he said, trying to make sense of it all, but they’re perfectly positioned to be gifted something extraordinary, to receive so much from God.

They will see the glory of God because they are present and they are present because they love Jesus.

This love or the absence of it explains everything.

There’s a whole world going on around the two Marys and the disciples that cares little about Jesus or what’s happened to him.

They will not see or experience Jesus’ resurrection because they are not there. They are elsewhere; fishing, farming, down the pub, otherwise occupied – his life and death just doesn’t matter enough to them, they didn’t get caught up in him.

And so it is today. There is no great mystery about it all. In terms of responding to Jesus Christ humanity is exactly as it was back then…

Good Friday; our words are approximations of eternity.

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Before we begin… a few pointers to help you get the most from our celebration of Good Friday.

Firstly, it’s not just the person of Jesus that’s rejected, it is God’s truth! He is Truth in human flesh. It’s also Truth – absolute Truth – that’s rejected.

Secondly, I’d like you to notice in the opening lines of the Gospel that when they go to arrest Jesus they don’t know who they’re looking for. He’s not a big name in society!

Thirdly, I’d like you to notice that the State and the religious leaders do their best to get rid of Jesus, but in their best efforts to get rid of him they’re actually fulfilling God’s will! The wisdom of man is foolishness to God!

But most of all I’d like you to notice that Jesus suffering is redemptive. If you redeem something you give something away to get something back. God gave his Son to get us back… “to ransom a slave you gave away your son!” (Easter Proclamation: Exsultet).

This is the Mercy of God. Mercy is the heart of God and it’s the heart of the Gospel. Mercy means that there is ultimate Justice! For only if Justice has been transgressed can anyone be merciful. To put it in legal terms; only if a ‘law’ has been broken can anyone be merciful. So if God is merciful then there is an absolute law, God’s law, by which we are all judged.

If we think of what it means to be merciful ourselves we know that to be merciful costs. It’s difficult. Perhaps some of us are so hurt that we cannot be merciful, and if we are to be merciful it will be like crucifixion. There you have it… there you have it in your own experience; the seeds of the eternal. Therefore if God is to be merciful, God must suffer. Only if we live in a meaningless universe can it be otherwise – only in a world where words are empty and meaningless, meaning only whatever we want them to mean at any given time. But unknown to ourselves our words are approximations of eternity.

Here’s a way to get inside God’s Mercy. He died without sin for you. He died without sin on your behalf. Therefore you will die without sin if you allow Jesus Christ to ‘wash’ you. If he died without sin for you, that means you’ve done it! Put it this way: If you owe a debt and can’t pay, what happens? Now supposing someone else pays the debt on your behalf, what happens? You’re free! Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? How does he take them away? By taking them on himself.

Here’s an exercise for those who struggle with guilt and at the same time a lesson for those who think that there’s no sin at all – two extremes to be avoided, everything is a sin (broadly equates with the past) and nothing is a sin (broadly equates with the present): Focus on the figure of Christ crucified on the Cross… Now imagine him calling your name… “Paddy, Paul – whatever your name – I did not die on the Cross for you to bear the burden of your sin.”

When that comes as grace, you’ll cry!

Easter Sunday: Without this day death has the last word.

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“Why should the privileges of the true Christian be disclosed to mankind at large?” John Henry Newman.

It’s “the first day of the week (Sunday) and still dark” and Mary of Magdala is up early to visit Jesus tomb. Why? Because she loved him. If she didn’t love him she wouldn’t be there.

Finding the tomb empty she runs to find Peter and the other disciple.

Just a few months earlier Mary of Magdala had a very different set of friends.

“They have taken the Lord” she says, using a title that she doesn’t fully understand. How can he be Lord if he ends in death? Death is Lord then! The only man worth calling ‘Lord’ is the man who overcame death – not some guy who can kick a football or host a TV show!

Jesus has brought them together – but for this man Jesus, Mary of Magdala wouldn’t be running to find Peter and the others. Their love of Jesus has bound them together, given her and given them a new set of friends, a new family – the Church.

Peter, if married, has allowed a new person into his life, a person now as important to him as his wife. Every marriage should have him! Every life!

They run, they’re full of emotion, it’s a matter of love and BANG they’re allowed to see because they love him.

They see, not everyone sees, only those close to him. The majority are doing their own thing, elsewhere. So it is to this day. “Why should the privileges of the true Christian be disclosed to mankind at large?” John Henry Newman.

Nonetheless –

Without this day we have no future. Just the denial of an inevitable and approaching doom!
Without this day cancer will often have the last word!
Without this day injustice will often have the last word!
Without this day violence will often have the last word!
Without this day evil has the last word! Without this day death, always and without exception has the last word!

Small numbers on Holy Thursday: A return to our beginnings?

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Here in St. Senan’s Parish (Enniscorthy) numbers attending the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday were small.

Generally, blame for this decline is attributed to a discredited Church. But that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Here’s why: The events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil (and Easter Sunday) are not primarily about the Church but about Jesus Christ and more particularly about Christ’s desire to enter into relationship with humankind. Dare I say it; to save humankind! In summary; it’s about people’s relationship with Christ and the work of salvation.

Therefore, if people’s absence on Holy Thursday night was truly about a discredited Church as opposed to their relationship with Christ then you would expect that large numbers of people found other ways to mark the Last Supper on Holy Thursday night.

But can you imagine large numbers of people in Enniscorthy (or wherever) doing that on Holy Thursday night? Isn’t it much more likely that for the vast majority of people Holy Thursday night was no different to any other night?

The truth of the matter is that significant moments in Christ’s life (in which he attempts to influence human affairs) have no relevance for growing numbers of Irish people.

Behind the blaming of the Church the real questions are about Christ and his meaning for peoples lives.

In the failure of many to celebrate Holy Thursday all that’s happening is that Christ is being stripped again, humiliated and rejected. Isn’t it true to say that really it’s not about the Church at all but about taking everything from Christ?

The growing unbelieving world is taking his birthday away from him, making it into something else; likewise his Last Supper, his passion, death and resurrection and if many are not actively taking from him, many are doing it through indifference.

Is this a reason to be discouraged? No. Not at all.

Mother Theresa said; “if you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers.” This is God’s work.

We’re merely returning to our beginnings when the vast majority rejected Christ.

But the stone rejected by the builders became the corner stone. He rose again; and he’ll rise again, just at that point when we think all is lost, at that point when it looks like all is lost, as it did in those desolate hours before the resurrection. The future is Paschal.

It does mean however that the Church must radically change how we do things. In the towns and cities we need to move out from the security of our Church buildings. Pope Francis suggests we need to rent a garage or a shed in the densely populated areas and put a priest or a catechist there, celebrate Mass there.

Pope Francis calls this putting things in a missionary key.

Finally, there’s another name for how Christ accepts, embraces and transforms all this rejection of himself – it’s called mercy.

We need to trust it … we’re certainly not going to defeat it!