The Sacred Triduum – Holy Thursday

Triduum Sacrum: Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Exodus 12:1-8; 11-14; Psalm 116; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

How utterly strange this year that on the night, this night, in which Jesus took bread and wine and handed over to us the mysteries of his Body and Blood, we cannot gather and “Do this in memory…”

I have been finding myself calling to mind Psalm 137 which Israel sang while exiled in Babylon: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, remembering Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors taunted us to sing our songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” But how could we sing a song of the God of Israel in a foreign land?

Has it not at times seemed like we are in exile, in a foreign land?

Over the past half century we have watched helplessly as many of our institutions have been closed or merged.  The teaching authority and the moral voice of our bishops, and thus of the Church, has been muted.  The priesthood has become a source of shame and embarrassment. We watch as many people, including our children, grandchildren and friends, drift away from life within the Church leaving more and more pews empty.  And now, the sacramental life – especially the Eucharist, is being taken away from us.  Exile.

Thus is it not odd, or maybe surprisingly unanticipated, that on this night of all nights the church chooses the Gospel of John to make the mystery of the Lord’s Supper present?  There is an ominous gathering for supper, but no taking of bread or cup.  No words, my body…my blood. No eating and drinking. Does not the Gospel of John mirror to us our present situation? And if so, we are offered instead the example of Jesus washing feet; carrying out the mundane duty of slaves. And we are told, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done, you should also do.” Sounds like John’s way of saying, “Do this in memory of me,” doesn’t it?

And if this is true, we need to ask ourselves, when Jesus is speaking through the ministry of the priest, This is my body….  This is my blood… is Jesus speaking to bread and wine or to us?

In the Eucharist we believe that through the Holy Spirit bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. But does not eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ, as Saint Augustine taught, transform us into the Body and Blood of Christ for others?  “As I have done, you should also do.”

What John offers to us is not what Eucharist IS but what it means to BE Eucharist.  Eucharist is doing the duty of slaves for others.  It is getting on our knees before another person in humility and compassion.

• How many beds, in this pandemic, have become altars at which nurses and doctors preside over the Body of Christ in the form of patients?

  
  

• How many collection bins have become altars in which food is offered for the life of others?

  
  

• How many tables in our homes have become altars from which arise prayers of hope, patience, and gratitude?

  
  

Is not the living out of Eucharist, the washing of feet, seen…in the regular phone calls to inquire of a senior, a single person, an adolescent, who feel more isolated due to the pandemic; …in the time offered in taking a person to a physician’s appointment, dropping off food, picking up mail or simply knocking on a neighbor’s window with a smile offered to make sure they are OK; …in the time given over to family prayer; in parents passing on to their children the stories of Israel and Jesus. …in the sending of a humorous YouTube to offer a laugh for a person and lighten their day; …in the washing of the feet or the tying of shoes of our children or our elderly parents.

John opens the imagination for us to understand, not how Eucharist is offered, but how Eucharist can be lived out. For you see altars, priests, offerings, and prayer come in many forms. Yet they are all rooted in the altar/table around which we gather in church, where we share word and bless bread and wine.

And though we cannot gather this night, Holy Thursday evening, Eucharist – thanksgiving, sacrifice and praise – can still be offered. It will be found in the selfless giving, being the Body and Blood of Christ, for another person.

I believe we have as a Church been in exile for quite some time.  But let us remember that it was while in exile that Israel reclaimed what was most important in her relationship with God.

In this intense time of pandemic, are we being challenged to do the same within our exile?