Holy Week - A reflection for Good Friday and Holy Saturday (from PrayTell)

“I thirst,” in Greek, simply dipso. I have noticed that when I am with a monk who is dying, despite being given water and sponged repeatedly, his mouth and tongue rapidly become dry, even parched. Even though he often cannot communicate in any way, in fact, sometimes I’m not sure he is conscious, still I cannot help but try to moisten his mouth, to refresh it at least a little bit.

As Jesus was dying, his thirst must have made his tongue feel like leather, one more element of suffering. Anyone who was crucified lost a great deal of fluid and suffered dehydration. At its most fundamental, this simple phrase, “I thirst,” testifies to Jesus’ humanity and the physical experience of his death.

“I thirst.” When Jesus went to Samaria he asked the woman at the well for a drink. In the conversation that follows Jesus promises her, “Whoever drinks of the water I give will never thirst. The water I give will become a spring, gushing up to eternal life.” Jesus’ promise to her and to us is that we will no longer be spiritually thirsty, wandering in the desert, “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places,” spiritually lost; the words of Jesus will satisfy us, will quench that thirst.

“I thirst.” The coming of this hour on the cross completes the work of Jesus, but it becomes the hour for the disciples, for his new family, for us, to continue the work of the Reign of God. When Jesus dies, his side is pierced, and blood and water flow out. Jesus gives the very life of his body to Mary his mother, who symbolizes the Church; to the Beloved Disciple, who represents all disciples; and the Risen Jesus will breathe the Holy Spirit into the whole Church – water, blood, Spirit. These gifts are the foundation for a new life as followers of Jesus. These are the gifts that come to us from the ministry of Jesus and his saving work on the cross.

This is no slam dunk, of course, no open-look 3-pointer from the top of the key! This quenching of our spiritual thirst only occurs when we who thirst find in the living waters of Jesus, in the blood from his side, the gift of the Spirit that empowers us to continue to live and proclaim the Reign of God.

But this will never happen unless we thirst for the reign of God, for a true alternative to our workaday world.
We thirst for economic fairness, a new economics in our nation and between nations; for civility, integrity and honesty in relationships; for freedom from hype for the latest new pill or gadget that is supposed to make it all easier.

We thirst for clearer vision, to know the good, to see through the evil and harm that is ever present.
We thirst for people whom we love who are trapped by compulsion, grief, fear, or resentment, to be free children of God, to receive their lives as gift.

We thirst for a world in which there is a greater understanding of the limits of technology – technology will
never die on the cross for us or suddenly make the work of Jesus unnecessary.

These thirsts can only be quenched by living in the gifts that come to us from the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“After this, aware that all was now finished, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ When Jesus took the wine, he exclaimed, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.”

Abbot John Klassen, OSB
Saint John’s Abbey
April 22, 2011

PrayTell

Holy Week - Mary sat at home (from PrayTell)

On Lazarus Sunday the abridged version of St John’s account of the Resurrection of Lazarus was read in my parish. Martha and Lazarus were prominent, but Mary’s part was whittled down to a terse “Mary sat at home.”

In many ways, this is where Mary is today. We used to read all four accounts of the anointing of Jesus in the ten days before Easter; now we read only St John’s. We used to sing antiphons about the women who anointed the feet of Jesus during Holy Thursday’s washing of the feet; now we sing only about St Peter. This near silence exists even though the gospels of St Mark and St Matthew tell us “wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Is this silence is a good thing? The second day of the Triduum is a day of silence. The women watched as Jesus was laid in his tomb, and went home for the Sabbath. As God rested on the seventh day, as Jesus rested in the tomb, the women sat at home waiting for the next day. When they went the next day to the tomb to complete the burial rites, they were the first to discover the Resurrection.

Perhaps that is why Mary sat at home while Lazarus lay in the tomb. She fulfills the custom of sitting in mourning, not expecting the joy of seeing her brother raised from the dead. She does not expect to encounter the Lord. But when Jesus comes, she discovers new life in her brother and she lavishes her expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus with joy. From the silent sitting, she rises to glorify the Lord.

Holy Week - Lamentation of the prophet Jeremiah - Tenebrae - Holy Saturday

Each day during Tenebrae, the first reading is taken from the book of Lamentations, and it is sung in English to a traditional Dominican chant tune. Above is a video from the Lamentation sung on Holy Saturday morning by Fr Robert Gay, OP at Blackfriars, Oxford.