Holy Thursday

Today's Readings

"Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16)... "How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD." (Psalm 116: 12-13)

This night is more special than any other night, for on this night, the angel of death has passed over us, as we unite as one people of God, fed by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, to become disciples who feed, and care for all the world!

Tonight, the Truth of our past is played out in the Exodus story of God's people, combined with the miracle of the present, here at the Eucharistic Feast of the Lord, so as to set up the promise for the future, which is life everlasting!  

This is the beginning of the Easter Triduum, 

and this is Holy Thursday.

It is the night that we gather in communion with the Passover Meal celebrated by Christ in the Last Supper.  This "blessing cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16), and it is also a communion with our Hebrew brothers and sisters, God's chosen people, who led the way for all of us through the desert and into the promised land!  Tonight we unite with untold thousands of generations who have praised the Lord for His good deeds, and sought His cup of salvation!  Tonight, we share not only a meal, but a task calling on us to serve in the example of Jesus' Washing of the Feet, for he says, "As I have done for you, so you must do." (John 13: 15)  

So let us begin as one!  

One people of God... 

One Body in Christ!

Oh, I can't resist...

"One love, one heart... Give thanks and praise to the Lord, 

and [we] will feel alright!" (Mr. Bob Marley)

I Am and I Am Not Your Equal!

Today's Readings

"Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased." Isaiah 42:1

It's Holy Week, and this is when my life gets busy, so the GregBlog comes and goes with short bursts of thought and reflection, hopefully inspired by the Spirit to simply highlight a more important set of comings and goings on The Way to Calvary and the empty tomb that frees us all...

Palm Sunday was the triumphant and simple entry that it usual is for me, but a very important phrase jumped into my heart last night at the last of our five Masses at the parish.  Paul's letter to the Philippians (the second reading of the Palm Sunday Mass) is the text from what is said to be one of the earliest Christian creeds.  Christ was crucified, died and resurrected in the year 30.  Paul most like wrote this letter to the people of Philippi in the late 50's or early 60's.  This particular section seems to be quoting a hymn that was regularly sung at the time, and was probably decades old, as an established practice of sharing the essence of the Christian faith.  Here it is:

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2: 6-11)

The part that caught my heart was the first descriptor of Christ... "[He] did not regard equality with God [as] something to be grasped.  Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave."  In a sense, even Christ recognizes that he is FROM the Father, and not equal with the Father... He said that time and time again!  For us, that translates to the popular phrase that "He is God, and we are not." But as this was read, my thought quickly raced to my own reality.  As a person who will never "be like the other kids", I have grown to accept that my own disability is MINE.  I too do not regard "equality" as something to be grasped.  I'll never be "equal" to others when compared on levels of physical performance, or matters of height.   

Oh sure, I AM EQUAL WITH YOU AS A CHILD OF GOD, 
but I am also unique as my own self in so many other ways.  

So my Holy Week has begun with a sense of validation., and a significant challenge.  I do not deem equality as a stumbling block.  I am Greg, and I am good with that!  But like my Lord, I MUST continue to empty myself (filling up with Him), living my life as a Servant, always putting YOU first!  With the exception of our part in God's eye, and in the eyes of the Law, we are NOT equal, and hence will always BE in NEED of one another's help.  Pope Francis said it best, when he prayed, "Oh, how I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor!” (Address of the Holy Father To Representatives of the Communications Media - Saturday, 16 March 2013)

Post Script:  As I look back over this GrebBlog post, I want to stress just how freeing it is for me to know that I'll never be equal with you, the supermodels, the superstars, and of course God.  I am the best at being me, and no one else is better at being me than moi!  It's not an ego trip... It's what is good about the Good News.  And now back to the walk... Have a blessed Holy Week!