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Greetings, Everyone!
As we enter Holy Week, we become conscious of the "never ending story," the cosmic drama that will repeat itself until the end of Time. True, Christ died and rose once and for all, but the pattern of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection manifests in our lives, over and over again. With each loss, each disappointment, each injustice, each betrayal, we are pierced 1,000 times and die 1,000 deaths. We strut across the stage of life, sometimes in defiance, sometimes with bravado, until, weary and broken, we submit to Divine Love, abandoning ourselves to God's longing to be in relationship with us. In our nothingness, we're finally ready to let go of all our grandiosity and imagined inadequacies, of all our attempts to control our destinies, to prove ourselves, have more, get to the top, and receive the kudos to which we feel entitled.
As we die to self, we discover that our true identity is not our carefully constructed persona, but the Christ-Self. With each dying and rising, we evolve as a new creation, not just becoming Christ-like, but, over time, allowing His presence to replace our false self. Eventually, like St. Paul, we can proclaim, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal 2:19-20).
Holy Week, then, is not just a time for remembering the story of Jesus of Nazareth; rather, it is the season of renewal to which our Lenten journey has brought us. We enter the Paschal Mystery not as mere spectators but as participants whose task is not to roll back the stone to Jesus' tomb, but, rather, to emerge from all that entombs us here and now. Between the Hosannas of Palm Sunday and the Easter Alleluia, may we welcome the new consciousness that awaits us!
Holy Week Blessings,
Elizabeth
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ACT ONE: PALM SUNDAY
They proclaimed:
"Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest."
Lk 19:38
On Palm Sunday, the stage is set for the greatest drama of all time. Jesus enters Jerusalem not as a King with a magnificent entourage, nor as a conquering war lord, but as a humble rabbi riding on a donkey, followed by a ragged band of followers. We wave palms and sing Hosannas, not to re-enact the scriptural accounts, but to acknowledge that we are more like the fickle crowd than we care to admit. We are ready to acclaim Jesus as "King," but then can turn away from him out of fear, or because of peer pressure, or simply to protect our own interests. At one moment, the crowd can sing the same song that angels sung when announcing the birth of the Holy Child to the shepherds (Lk 2:14); at the next, songs of praise are drowned out by shouts of "Crucify him!" (Lk 23:18-25).
"Today I am their darling
but tomorrow the wind will change
and I shall be lost in the fickle storm,
given over to the wicked
to be bloodied, torn,
cruelly crucified without knowing
how I have offended
or why not one will plead my cause.
O my people..."
Frost & Fire, EAS 1985
ACT TWO: HOLY THURSDAY
Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
"This is my body, which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me."
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which will be shed for you.
Lk 22:19-20
On Holy Thursday, the drama moves from the city gates to the Last Supper. In John's account, the focus is not on the institution of the Eucharist, but on related themes of love, unity and service. Again, Jesus demonstrates his humility by washing his disciples' feet -- an action that creates shock waves around the table. Peter's resistance echoes what the others must be feeling, but Jesus uses the occasion as a final "teachable moment": his disciples are to do likewise. Symbolically speaking, we who profess to be Christians must serve one another, and, by extension, all humanity. Interestingly enough, the text implies that Jesus washes Judas' feet while knowing full well that he is about to betray him. Love, then, is all-inclusive.
"How I have dreamed
of breaking this bread with you--
the stuff of our lives,
fragmented yet whole.
Eat. There is unity
in the crumbs."
Woman Dreamer, EAS 1989
ACT THREE: GOOD FRIDAY
Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Is 53:11
And now we head to the Via Dolorosa, by way of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' arrest and all the abuses he suffers at the hands of the civil and religious authorities. Who are we on this journey? Do we, like Peter, deny any connection with Jesus? Do we follow at a distance, "playing safe" lest we become "guilty by association"? Or do we join in hurling insults at him, thereby ingratiating ourselves to "the powers that be"? Perhaps we weep with the women of Jerusalem; perhaps we stop to help in some way, just as tradition tells us that Veronica does when she wipes the sweat and blood from Jesus' face. Perhaps we see ourselves standing at the foot of the Cross, along with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary of Magdala, and other women (Jn 19:25). Wherever we see ourselves in the drama, we can choose whether to stand with Jesus or against him, whether to embrace a new consciousness or whether to safeguard our old, limiting mind-sets.
"Outstretched,
bleeding freely,
open to both grace and pain,
your hands are still.
Marveling,
I estimate surrender's cost
and my clenched fists
tremble."
Woman Dreamer, EAS 1989
ACT FOUR: HOLY SATURDAY
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
Rom 6:3-4
And, finally, the Fourth Act, the denouement in which the Deus ex Machina (or last minute rescuer) is none other than God. Because of what happened in Jesus and through Jesus, the world's stage is set for healing, with enough grace to mend the broken circle and heal fragmented society. Just as Jesus overcomes death, so, now, can we overcome all that is death-dealing, embracing fullness of life to God's greater glory: "And the agents of this transformation of consciousness are the same followers of Jesus who abandoned him, denied him, lost hope and hid. By extension, we in all our frailty and poverty, follow in their footsteps." In this there is cause for amazement, rejoicing and laughter. Jesus the Holy Fool, EAS 1999
Easter Prayer
Lord, in the glory of your rising, you bring all things to newness. In this season of great joy, wash away all suffering, all cruelty, all sadness. Roll away the stones and boulders that block our paths, trapping us with their weight. Untie all the shrouds and winding cloths that limit, bind, and strangle hope. Call us from our tombs that we may find the music of possibility, the dance of grace, and the rich, rich wine of your Presence. Amen. Pilgrims at Heart, EAS 1993
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