In the Garden

Today is Holy Thursday, the day that Lent comes to a close and the Easter Triduum begins. All of our prayer, fasting, and alms giving has led to this moment. In the fullness of time, our Lord came down to earth to do battle with evil; a battle that begins today. We enter into the Paschal Mystery by celebrating the longest and holiest mass of the year, beginning with the opening hymns of the Holy Thursday mass and culminating in the Resurrection of our Lord a the Easter Vigil.

Jesus and his disciples have just come from the Last Supper,  and are walking through the night to the Mount of Olives. They are on edge, and for good reason. Everything about this night has been a little off. Jesus has acted as a slave, bowing down to wash their feet (Jn 13:1-20). He has prayed aloud for the church (Jn 17). He has foretold his own betrayal by Judas, and told Peter that, before cock crows  he will have denied knowing Jesus three times. Most importantly, they have celebrated the Passover meal, but in a new way. Jesus gave them the bread said, but he said that it was his body, and he called the chalice his blood, the blood of the new covenant. Then, before the Passover meal was over, they leave the house. Nobody ever left the house during Passover.

Jesus leads them down through the Kidron Valley, calling to mind the words of Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the dark valley I shall fear no evil”. Jesus is going out to do battle. Exodus 12:22 says that that nobody should leave the house during Passover, lest they fall victim to the angel of death. Jesus is leaving on purpose to meet the ancient serpent, the angel of death, to win back our freedom. And, in an act of total defiance, he sings. We know from scripture that only the victorious sing. Only those who have one the great battle...

Jesus leads them into the Garden of Gethsemane, as was his custom. He tells them to sit and pray, while he takes Peter, James, and John a short distance away to pray and keep watch. He then falls prostrate on the ground and begins to pray fervently. The prayer is so intense that the blood vessels in his forehead burst, and his sweat becomes like drops of blood. This condition is called hematidrosis, and is only experienced by a person in times of extreme stress. Jesus then utters his most famous prayer, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will”.  He urges his apostles to stay awake so that they do not undergo the the test, but he gives them their rest anyway. In this way he cares for the Church, his future bride, as he fights for her heart. (Matt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46)

Jesus is fully God and fully man, and as such, he can fully understand what is happening to him this moment. He is taking on the full reality of sin. Every sin that has ever been committed or is going to be committed is being laid on Jesus in that instant. As God, he can see, feel, and know the weight and suffering of every single one of those innumerable sins. Imagine the guilt that you have felt after any one sin that you commit. Now, imagine if you can what it must be like to take on every single sin of ever single person throughout human history. Is it any wonder that Jesus, in his humanity, cries out to his Father in heaven to take the suffering away? Would we not beg and plead to make the suffering stop? But, unlike us, Jesus is also fully God. In that moment he is able to die to himself fully and completely, and say to God “not my will, but yours be done”(Lk 22:42). In this moment, the battle for mankind, Jesus’ Passion, has begun.

And so they come, Judas and the temple guards, to arrest Jesus. He knows that they are coming. From where he was on the Mount of Olives, it is possible to see a lit match from two mile away. Knowing what he does, he does not hide. Nor does he wait for them to find him. He goes out to meet them (Jn 18:4). When he sees them he asks them who they are looking for. This isn't out of curiosity. Jesus is challenging them to name the one they came for. Instead of simply saying, “You”, they say “Jesus of Nazareth” (Jn 18:5). Their hearts, darkened by sin cannot perceive Jesus. So Judas, the betrayer, kisses Jesus to signify who they should arrest. The Lover of All is betrayed by an intimate sign of affection.

Jesus, tells them, “I AM.”, and the guards fall to ground. This is the seventh and final I AM statement in the gospels. They move to arrest Jesus and he tells the guards to let his disciples go (Jn 18:8). As a result, his apostles flee. This is to fulfill what is said in Leviticus 16:17, that the one who is making atonement must be alone. He is also fulfilling what he said earlier, that none of those given to him would be lost (Jn 6:39, 10:28, 17:12).

Jesus demonstrates that he is in control of everything. He may be taken prisoner, he may be beaten, he may be insulted, spit upon, and led to his death, but he is pulling the strings the whole time. Indeed, he says 'Do you not think I can call upon my Father, and he will not provide me at this moment with six legions of angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say it must come to pass in this way" (Mt 26:53-54; Mk 14:53-65; ).

Jesus is taken to before a hastily assembled council. Here, in the middle of the night, dozens of false witnesses present themselves to testify against him. Their testimonies fall short and contradict each other. Through all of this, Jesus sits quietly. He is in control. It is not until he is ordered under oath to reveal himself that he chooses to speak up. He reveals that he is the Son of man who will be seated at the right hand of Power in Heaven. Jesus, in his true testimony, reveals himself and seals his own fate. He is taken away to a cell overnight. in the morning, he is to face Pilate, the one who has the power to condemn him to death.

Over the next few days, Jesus will walk the lonely road to Calvary to prove his love. He will contend with death and come out victorious.  Every step of the way looks like a defeat, but he is moving closer and closer to his victory.

Do we stay awake with Jesus? Do we do what we can to help him carry his burden, or do we run? Worse yet, are we the ones who betray him with a kiss? Over the next few days, pray for the strength that we do not fall in face of the test. Let us look upon the Paschal Mystery of Jesus with love and adoration, knowing that it is through his stripes we are healed.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us

A Spy Among Us

Holy Wednesday, or Spy Wednesday, is the day that Judas Iscariot went to the Pharisees and made the deal with them to hand Jesus over.

It says in scripture, that Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to chief priests and offered to turn Jesus in to them. In Matthew’s account, Judas asks them “what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” (Matt 26:15). They agree to give him 30 pieces of silver, and from that moment on it says that Judas was looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them. (Matt 26: 14-16; Mk 14: 10-11; Lk 22: 1-6)

Even though this is short passage, there is a lot to be gleaned. You will remember that it has been made clear on many different occasions that the chief priests and scribes were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus and put him to death. In many cases, the only thing that stopped them was their fear of the crowds for they regarded Jesus "as a prophet" (Mt 21:46). The disciples, including Judas, must have been aware of their schemes. Judas, however, did not hate Jesus. He had followed him for three years and became one of Jesus' closest friends.On the contrary, it goes on to say in Matthew’s gospel that Judas asks the Pharisees, “what are you willing to give me if I hand him [Jesus] over to you?”. Judas is not motivated by hatred, but rather by greed.

The elders agree to give Judas 30 pieces of silver. It is often overlooked that this is not an expensive price at all. 30 pieces of silver was the same price noted in Zechariah 11:12 as being the price paid to the rejected shepherd. In the next verse, 30 pieces of silver is referred to as “a cheap price”. It is also the same amount paid to one who’s slave has been gored by an ox (Ex 21:32). Jesus was being sold for the price of a slave. He, the true rejected shepherd, was being sold for the same amount paid to a shepherd with no flock.

This says a lot about Judas. He was motivated by avarice and insatiable greed, and not by any hatred for Jesus or his teaching. This was not something new. In John’s account of the anointing at Bethany, we hear that he used to steal from the money bag, and now we see that his sin of greed has completely overcome him. It brings him to the point where any amount of money is worth handing over his master. In Matt 6:24, Jesus says that a man cannot serve God and money. Judas illustrates this point painfully well.

Our Lord is not ignorant of any of this. In all four gospels, Jesus announces during the Passover meal that one seated among them is to betray him. He also lays out a warning, saying woe to that man, and it would better had he never been born. The apostles are shocked, and begin to ask Jesus one by one if they are the one that is going to do it. Judas is the last to ask, and Jesus tells him "You have said so" (Mt 26:25). Our Lord then chooses to reveal prophetically the identity of the betrayer. In Luke, Jesus says that the one whose hand is with his on the table is the betrayer. Matthew and Mark both say that it is the one who dipped his hand into the dish with Jesus. John says that it is the one to whom Jesus hands the morsel after he has dipped it (Jn 13:26). Regardless, Jesus emphasizes the idea that the betrayer is someone who he shares table fellowship with. The betrayer is someone who is close to him; a person who is like family to him.  He then looks Judas in the eye and tells him "what you are going to do, do quickly" (Jn 13:27). (Mt 26:20-25; Mk 14:17-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21-30)

So, Judas leaves, into the night, to alert the temple guards of their opportunity to arrest Jesus. He leads them to the Mount of Olives, a place Jesus has often gone to pray. He meets Jesus and greets him with a kiss, a sign of love and affection that has now become a sign of betrayal. The Passion of our Lord begins through a disordered and dishonest expression of love. Only at this point does Judas realize what he has done. he tries to return the money to the Pharisees in an attempt to but Jesus back. They reject his offer, and taking a rope, Judas hangs himself in his despair (Mt 27:3-10)

What masters do we serve instead of our Lord? Do we put money on too high of a pedestal? What does it take for us to sell out Jesus in our jokes and conversations? Do we despair in our sins and reject the forgiveness of Jesus. Let us pray for the true devotion to give Jesus our best instead of selling him short in our daily lives. Let us pray to put him first and refuse to let other things get in the way.

Joseph, model of manhood, Pray for us
God, Father in heaven, Bless us

One Step Closer...

All throughout this week, Jesus is in the Temple teaching the assembled crowds and healing their sick and disabled. He is challenged and questioned on many things by the scribes and Pharisees, but is found without fault in all that he says. This is an ongoing theme throughout the week as the lambs are being examined and scrutinized for the Passover. Just as it was demanded in Exodus that the lambs for the sacrifice be spotless (Exodus 12:5), so too does Jesus, the true and lasting sacrifice, show himself to be spotless and without fault before the scrutiny of the Jewish leadership.

On the Tuesday of Holy Week, however, two major things happen that are worth mentioning.

First, as Jesus and his disciples are coming back from staying the night in Bethany, Jesus passes by a fig tree. When he reaches in to grab some fruit, he finds that, while the tree is green and full of leaves, there is not a single fig to be found. In reaction, Jesus curses the tree loudly so that his disciples can hear. In Matthew, the tree withers immediately down to it’s roots, and in Mark, the tree is withered when they pass it a second time. Jesus then preaches on the power of faith, telling his disciples that if they have faith, they could command the mountain to cast itself into the sea and it would obey. (Matt 21:18-22; Mk 11: 12-14, 20-25)

This seems like an arbitrary and oddly aggressive expression of power by our Lord. It seems at first glance that Jesus kills this poor tree simply because he cannot find breakfast. But, as in all things that he does during this week, there is a deeper meaning to be found in his words and actions.

In this passage, Jesus acts to illustrate his teaching by using vivid and striking miracles. We see this same type of prophetic behavior used in the Old Testament by Ezekiel. He digs a hole in the city wall and leaves as an exile in order to illustrate his prophesy that the rest of the citizens of the city would be exiled in the same way to Babylon (Ez 12:1-20). So, the question remains, what is Jesus trying by his actions?

Jesus is using his power to illustrate the fate of Israel. The fig tree, while having the appearance of fruitfulness and health, does not bear any fruit and is therefore useless. Israel in the same way, that lacks the fruit of faith and good works despite all of its apparent piety. So Jesus curses the tree to wither as a physical representation of the judgment that will come upon all peoples who do not bear fruit despite their apparent adherence to religious doctrine and to the law. We can also see this action as a development on the parable of the fruitless tree found in Luke 13:6-9

Jesus further connects his actions to faith, saying that “if you have faith and do not waiver, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to the mountain , ‘be lifted up and thrown into the sea‘, it will be done". Jesus uses the miracle of the withered tree as an illustration of what can be done when a prayer is made in faith. He shows us that nothing is impossible to those who have faith in God. One will be only be able to bear fruit through good deeds, and one will only be able to achieve great things through unwavering faith in God. Faith makes good works possible, and the fruit of those good works helps to bolster our faith. This cyclical motion is how we live out our faith and truly do the Lord's will.

Do you feel as if you have unwavering faith? What can you do to support that faith and do Gods work?

After this dramatic episode, Jesus enters back into the temple from which he drove the money changers the day before. He is approached by the chief priests and elders and asked by what authority he is doing "these things", and who gave him authority. Jesus responds by asking them a question, a common tool of rabbinical debate. "Was John’s baptism of heavenly or human origin?", he asks. Jesus says that he will answer their question if they answer his. The elders and priests do not want to call it a heavenly origin, or else Jesus would ask why they killed him, and they dare not say human origin, because the crowds revere John as a prophet. They claim ignorance, and Jesus refuses to answer their question. Jesus then launches into the parable of the tenants, illustrating the lack of authentic authority held by the chief priests and scribes. (Mt 21: 23-27, 33-46; Mk 11:27- 12:12; Lk 20: 1-26)

We assume that the chief priests and elders, when asking about “these things” they are referring to Jesus’ entry into the city on Palm Sunday, his driving out of the moneychangers, and his healings. These were all extravagant displays of power that drew attention to Jesus and what he had to say. So Jesus is asked for the source of his authority. This is meant to be a trap. If Jesus is doing these things on someone else’s authority, it means that that person is claiming religious authority over Israel, a position reserved only for God and the priests. If Jesus is saying that he does not claim the authority from anyone, or that he claims it from God, he will be considered a heretic and executed.

So Jesus flips the script. “ I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or human origin?” (Matt 21: 24-25). They are shocked, and as it says in the following verses, they do not want to say either one due to the consequences of each response. So they claim ignorance, and show themselves incapable of speaking with authority. Their own pride gets in the way, and Jesus refuses to answer their question.

Jesus then addresses to them the Parable of the Tenants. The story speaks of brutal tenant farmers who beat and kill the messengers of their master when they come to collect at vintage time. The master, distraught over the way his servants were treated, sends his son, thinking that they will respect him. The tenants then kill the son and throw his body out of the vineyard. Jesus then asks, "what will the owner of the vineyard do when he comes?", to which the Pharisees answer, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death. Through their own words, they have condemned themselves. Jesus says "the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Mt 21:43). The Pharisees come to the realization that Jesus is speaking about them, and try to arrest him. However, because of the crowds, they cannot get an opportunity.

So, for us, the question becomes the same that Jesus asks Peter on the way to Jerusalem. Who do we say that Jesus is? Where do we say he recieves his power from? Do we simply act like we believe in him, or does our faith bear fruit? Today let us meditate on the events of Jesus' last Tuesday, and truly seek to find the answers to our questions, prepared to have them answered in ways we do not expect.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us