Meditations on Holy Week - Holy Wednesday

From Brother Giles

"Where do you want us to prepare the Passover for you?"

There were very strict laws regarding Jewish dining customs, especially at Passover. The Passover lamb, for example, could only be prepared in the Temple in Jerusalem, and only by the priests. I have been privileged to prepare kosher meals for Jewish men, and the restrictions are dizzying. A few: no metal utensils; anything that touches the food must have never ever been used to prepare anything other than kosher food; certain foods, which are otherwise kosher to eat, cannot be served with certain other foods.

If only we would prepare our hearts to receive Jesus in the Eucharist with a tenth of the care that the Passover meal was prepared.

Something else about Passover: in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is usually translated as "commemoration." But it means much more.

It not only means "to remember," it also means (in Hebrew) to be present to," and even "to participate in." Thus, when Jews celebrated Passover, they were actually present to, and participated in, God's saving His people from the Egyptians. This is the answer to Protestant objections, "Does Mass mean that Jesus is sacrificed, over and over again? Because Scripture says He was sacrificed once, for all."

The truth is that, like the Old Testament Passover, we are not only commemorating the Last Supper (and therefore Jesus' Sacrifice on Calvary), we are also present to, and participating in, the saving act He did for us two thousand years ago, on Calvary. Jesus died once, for all, but thanks to the Mass, we are present to, and participate in, the Sacrifice on Calvary.

This means we can join with Our Lady, John the Apostle, and all those who have participated, are, and will participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, from the beginning, until the end of time.

In today's Gospel, we see Jesus handing the morsel to Judas. Judas said "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Surely, that was an enormous lie, because Judas knew full well what he was going to do!

Jesus' response includes a figure of speech: "You have said so." It does not suggest that Judas said it, because he didn't. "You have said so" was used when the subject was so serious that it was inappropriate to actually say it out loud. So when Jesus said "You have said so," He was actually saying "Yes," in a Jewish manner of speaking.

Again, we see the tenderness of Jesus, offering His hand in friendship, pleading one last time, "Don't do this!" He even warns Judas in no uncertain terms: "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." Matthew 26:24. Surely a terrifying thought that should have given a sane man pause.

Finally, a thought for us: "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?"—Judas' words revolt us. He was willing to betray Jesus for a few bucks?

Yet that is exactly what we do when we sin.

We see the weakness of the disciples this week. We see the treachery of Judas. We see the hatred of the scribes and Pharisees. We see the fickleness of the crowds. We see Pilate afraid to take a stand for justice.

But we have no moral high ground to stand on compared to any of these people. We, too, are weak. We, too, are afraid to take a stand for justice. We, too, hate sometimes. We, too, boast of our loyalty to our Lord, and then run away in fear when the test comes. We, too, say "Crucify Him!" when we sin. We, too, look to sell Him our for our own pleasures, which are our thirty pieces of silver.

This is why we go to Mass. This is why we stand at the foot of the Cross. This is why we beat our breasts and say, "Lord, have mercy." And this is why we bring others with us to the foot of the Cross in our hearts. Especially those in most need of God's mercy. Because we need it just as badly.

Additional commentary from Veronica, Sister in Christ Jesus

"And again we see the tenderness of Jesus"

This quality of Jesus (tenderness) (and of God the Father) is almost forgotten nowadays. So very few mentions of it... And it is so hard (maybe even impossible) to be in an intimate relationship with someone without tenderness.

"This is why we go to Mass. This is why we stand at the foot of the Cross. This is why we beat our breasts and say, "Lord, have mercy." And this is why we bring others with us to the foot of the Cross in our hearts. Especially those in most need of god's mercy. Because we need it just as badly."

What I would add here, is that we are also desperately in need of God's love. And yes, his mercy and his love are deeply intertwined. And the sadness of it all, is that so many people are not aware they are in need of His love and mercy. A most vital need!

One last thought for us to ponder for today's mediation. The Gospel says “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” Matthew 26:21-22 (this is the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. I chose this version as is it is this specific translation that caught my attention. Other translations say “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?")

The question “Is it I, Lord?” stuck with me. And I ask—if we were there with Jesus, would we have asked “Is it I, Lord?”, seeing in ourselves our wretchedness and our capacity for such a betrayal? Or would we have been clueless and instead, would have stated "For sure, it is not I, Lord!"?