Have you noticed how we struggle with ‘Easter’ language? What do you call the day before Easter Sunday (it’s Holy Saturday. Easter Saturday is the next Saturday and the end of Easter week)? Do you wish people a ‘Happy Easter’ (yes, you can)?
Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Halleluya meaning ‘Praise Yah (‘The Lord’). In the First Testament it is found in the Psalms, and in the Second Testament only in the Book of Revelation. For Christians, alleluia, has become an exclamation of joy in the Lord, an acclamation of our faith in the Risen One.
Alleluias are distinctly absent from the liturgy during Lent. They return magnificently at the Easter Vigil. The darkness is washed away by the light of Christ expressed so beautifully in the Paschal candle as it passes into the darkened church, while the flame is passed from person to person. The Gospel acclamation is sung with evident joy and enthusiasm. Signs and symbols imbedded in our culture and life burst forth in alleluias, making sense of who we are and what we are called to be. We have arrived at the intersection between our human lives and the divine.
Easter is not over, of course. The season of Easter lasts for 6 weeks. During these weeks the lectionary reiterates the central thesis of the Gospel accounts: the Lord has risen. His presence is felt and understood by the disciples. They are convinced by word and by action. They see him, touch him and hear him.
This week’s Gospel follows on immediately after the story of the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:35 – 48). The disciples return to Jerusalem and having begun to explain what had occurred, Jesus again appears. He shows himself to all the disciples and invites them to touch him. Jesus asks them for food and they give him grilled fish. The disciples are told that they too are witnesses to the resurrection.
Luke wants to it be abundantly clear that this Risen Jesus, is also the same person as the Jesus they knew, he wants us to know with absolute certainty that what he writes is what is witnessed by the disciples. He is truly risen. But Luke also ensures that we too can become witnesses, if we model our lives on those of the disciples. We must constantly listen to the scriptures, we must participate in the breaking of bread (Eucharist), we must see him alive and present in one another (service).
May your Easter continue be joyful! Alleluia!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Pietà
Once inside St Peter’s Basilica, just to the right in a very small chapel shielded with a Perspex-like window, is Michelangelo’s Pietà. It is so much smaller than what I had imagined. It was in 1972 that it was attacked with a hammer, and despite my tender age then, I remember as if it were yesterday.
Michelangelo’s depiction of Mary with her crucified son shows a youthful mother cradling the body of her son. Mary is not distressed and broken-hearted. She appears serene and other-worldly. If words could fall from these stone lips, they would utter, ‘This is my son; my beloved’ echoing the words of the Father at Jesus’ baptism.
As much as our tradition invites us into the suffering and death of Jesus, we are equally invited into the mystery of that suffering and death. It is not pointless. It is not an end in itself. In the mystery is the revelation of God’s supreme love poured out through his son’s selfless and gracious act. Then from this death the potential of every human being is realised. Jesus becomes but the first of us all to remade anew.
Little wonder, then, that Michelango’s image provides us with a vision of hope, of anticipation and expectation. His mother gathers a broken body and she offers him, her beloved, to all. This mother, this Mary knows what awaits.
May your Easter be holy. Accept this gift.
Journey into Jerusalem
My life changed yesterday afternoon – definitely for the better. I will get to bed earlier and sleep longer. I will regain some ‘me’ time. And, yes. My daughter has finally got her P plates. Time to celebrate!
Such a change – though welcome, does, of course, bring other difficulties – some foreseen, some unforeseen.
The solemnity of Passion Sunday signals the beginning of Holy Week – from the joyous welcome into Jerusalem, from his acceptance and acclamation as king. Holy Week ends with the death and burial of Jesus.
This is a journey that we know intimately. Retelling it has not altered its meaning or impact. We wonder what was in these people’s minds as they waved their branches and laid out their cloaks along the road. It is not only a question of who they were welcoming. It is equally a question about who they were and what they were expecting. This entrance of Jesus is Messianic. This event has been prophesied by Zechariah, the throwing of the cloaks alludes his royal status, while the strewn and waving branches recall the procession of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the Davidic king whom they have awaited. They cry, ‘Hosanna!’ – using this term of praise to God, taken from the Jewish liturgy, and attributing it to this man who arrives seated on a colt.
Did they see more than a man? What drove them to gather in crowds to see him? What had they heard about him? What did they want from him? Did they know who he was? Is this the same crowd that days later would call for his death? For a crime in which they complicit?
Undoubtedly their patience with God was running thin. They had been promised salvation, and now, following the Greeks, the Romans now controlled the country. Hundred of years of subservience to foreigners. How strong was their desire to offload their oppressors? What kind of Messiah did they long for? A general? A politician? A high priest? A great prince? A carpenter’s son from Nazareth?
We know how this story ends. We’re heard it before. It’s not good. And yet it is also a beginning, and in the continuing story, it is all revealed.
I don’t know what lies ahead as my daughter takes to the road. Yes, I’m free. Others on the road will expect her to follow the rules, to drive safely. In turn she will expect the same from other road users. She will have to use her commonsense, her growing skill. There are consequences if you get it wrong. It’s about choices.
Who are you waiting for? And, why are you waiting? Start your journey today.
Such a change – though welcome, does, of course, bring other difficulties – some foreseen, some unforeseen.
The solemnity of Passion Sunday signals the beginning of Holy Week – from the joyous welcome into Jerusalem, from his acceptance and acclamation as king. Holy Week ends with the death and burial of Jesus.
This is a journey that we know intimately. Retelling it has not altered its meaning or impact. We wonder what was in these people’s minds as they waved their branches and laid out their cloaks along the road. It is not only a question of who they were welcoming. It is equally a question about who they were and what they were expecting. This entrance of Jesus is Messianic. This event has been prophesied by Zechariah, the throwing of the cloaks alludes his royal status, while the strewn and waving branches recall the procession of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the Davidic king whom they have awaited. They cry, ‘Hosanna!’ – using this term of praise to God, taken from the Jewish liturgy, and attributing it to this man who arrives seated on a colt.
Did they see more than a man? What drove them to gather in crowds to see him? What had they heard about him? What did they want from him? Did they know who he was? Is this the same crowd that days later would call for his death? For a crime in which they complicit?
Undoubtedly their patience with God was running thin. They had been promised salvation, and now, following the Greeks, the Romans now controlled the country. Hundred of years of subservience to foreigners. How strong was their desire to offload their oppressors? What kind of Messiah did they long for? A general? A politician? A high priest? A great prince? A carpenter’s son from Nazareth?
We know how this story ends. We’re heard it before. It’s not good. And yet it is also a beginning, and in the continuing story, it is all revealed.
I don’t know what lies ahead as my daughter takes to the road. Yes, I’m free. Others on the road will expect her to follow the rules, to drive safely. In turn she will expect the same from other road users. She will have to use her commonsense, her growing skill. There are consequences if you get it wrong. It’s about choices.
Who are you waiting for? And, why are you waiting? Start your journey today.
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