Happy Easter

In Christ we have new life.  We, the baptized, become one in Christ.  There is a new life for each person and the isolation of each person disappears as each person becomes new in the body of Christ.  “The Resurrection is not a thing of the past, the Resurrection has reached us and seized us. We grasp hold of it, we grasp hold of the risen Lord, and we know that he holds us firmly even when our hands grow weak. We grasp hold of his hand, and thus we also hold on to one another's hands, and we become one single subject, not just one thing. I, but no longer I: This is the formula of Christian life rooted in baptism, the formula of the Resurrection within time. I, but no longer I: If we live in this way, we transform the world. It is a formula contrary to all ideologies of violence, it is a program opposed to corruption and to the desire for power and possession.”

"I live and you will live also," says Jesus in St. John's Gospel (14:19) to his disciples, that is, to us. We will live through our existential communion with him, through being taken up into him who is life itself. Eternal life, blessed immortality, we have not by ourselves or in ourselves, but through a relation -- through existential communion with him who is truth and love and is therefore eternal: God himself. Simple indestructibility of the soul by itself could not give meaning to eternal life, it could not make it a true life. Life comes to us from being loved by him who is life; it comes to us from living-with and loving-with him. I, but no longer I: This is the way of the cross, the way that "crosses over" a life simply closed in on the I, thereby opening up the road towards true and lasting joy.  Pope Benedict XVI

We will have a Tenebrae Service at 8pm on Good Friday.  This is a centuries old tradition, probably dating from the 5th Century, that was originally a combination of Matins and Lauds during the triduum.  They are the "hours of darkness," as matins were prayed after midnight.  As Christ was three days in the tomb, so too the candles are gradually extinguished each day.  On Good Friday, midnight going into Holy Saturday, all the candles had been gradually extinguished, save for one, which was kept as the only candle burning on Holy Saturday next to the pulpit.  We will have our Tenebrae service on Good Friday with an assortment of Scripture, Psalms, and readings from the tradition of the Church that speak of the death of Christ Jesus.  We will have seven candles, though varying traditions have 15, 24, and even 72 candles.  After each reading/scripture a candle is extinguished.   The last Candle symbolizes Christ, which seems to disappear from sight during the ceremony, accompanied by the torments of storms and earthquakes.  The light of Christ returns dispelling the chaos and ushering in peace.

Suffering Servant Songs

All of these passages come from Isaiah, and are the primary readings of the Old Testament for Holy Week, except for Holy Thursday.  These passages bring clarity to who the Messiah is and how he will save Israel and all the world.  It is difficult to say that they are not fulfilled in Christ.  They are as follows:

Monday 42: 1-4 This passage speaks primarily of gentle and meek Christ whose salvation is for the whole world.  Verse three emphasizes the mercy of Christ. Verse one is also reminiscent of the Words of God the Father proclaimed at the baptism of Jesus and at the Transfiguration.

Tuesday 49: 1-7 The Messiah is prepared for by the Father from all time.  His purpose is clear and is likened to a warrior who has weapons ready for battle.  The “light to the nations” is used again to show that the redeemed and unified Israel, or land of Jacob, will be a beacon of salvation to the world.

Wednesday 50: 4-11The Messiah is understood to have an eloquent, faithful and obedient tongue.  The Messiah will put all trust in God’s help though the persecution will be real.  “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield to buffets or spitting.”

Good Friday 52: 13—53: 12 In this final passage can be seen the culmination of the Messiah’s work.  In doing the will of the Father he brings forgiveness of sins.  The Messiah is considered a source of shame as he is “avoided” and “spurned” by everyone.  St. Paul quotes Dt 21: 23, which says “cursed is he who hangs on a tree,” in Galatians 13 where he says that Christ became a curse for us to save us from the curse of sin.  The very wounds of Christ Jesus are in this passage; “He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins…by his stripes we are healed.”  “Though he was harshly treated he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent…”