April 4-5, 2009
Palm/Passion Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:5-11 As presented by Music Ministry
Wake-up calls are invariably jarring and disturbing. Not just the buzzing alarm clocks that awaken us to another day but especially the broader ‘societal’ wake-up calls like the ones our culture and economy are now experiencing; these are unpleasant reminders that we may have constructed our lives upon sand. With the stark choices of expending money for this or that necessity in life, the presumed and ‘acquired tastes’ of our consumer society must now be weighed carefully. Our smug satisfactions with investment portfolios and retirement plans are rudely interrupted, our dreams must be tempered with a reality no longer limitless. In the midst of our discomfort and uncertainty, as we endeavor to keep the financial darkness at arm’s length….we arrive at the door of Holy Week: Palm/Passion Sunday. While we already know the story, perhaps this year the retelling of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, followed by the rapid spiral to the emotion-filled actions and meal of Holy Thursday followed by the abandonment and crucifixion of Friday will hold fresh meaning? Perhaps we have deceived ourselves into thinking that life is nothing but a series of Resurrections, of Easter moments? Have we forgotten that an essential part of Easter is the dying and writhing that necessarily precede it? The scriptures we proclaim throughout the year attest to this: ‘Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and DIES…..’ or ‘Those who save their lives will lose them….while those who lose their lives for my sake, will save them.’ or ‘Pick up your cross and follow me…’ As seen through the lens of Holy Week our present fiscal and societal adjustments are part of an eternal rhythm to which the individual stories of this week speak. The crowds exulting at Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem could easily be our remembered euphoria over high dividends and economic expansion. The somber Passover of Holy Thursday could be our dawning awareness that we have bought into a ‘house of cards’ that is now tumbling. The betrayals and dying of Friday might well be our own dismal assessment of what we can and can no longer do. The emptiness of Holy Saturday, the sitting and waiting….is an apt metaphor for our entire culture as we wonder when the sun will rise and our fortunes be restored. While the story of the Passion entails one week, the metaphor of the Passion is not so easily constrained. Surely Easter will eventually dawn….but not necessarily next Sunday, or next month or perhaps not even next year. The wake-up call of what Scripture has been saying is upon us….it is time to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, to find him in the events of our time, to discover his face in the emptiness of uncertainty, to become aware of his presence in all the things we would ordinarily abhor and avoid. Yes, Easter will surely and eventually dawn…but not without the fullness of this week, a week we do not call ‘Happy’, but rather…’Holy.’
Thank you for coming and sharing these opening moments of Holy Week with our Corpus Christi Community. Please accept a Bulletin on your way home, it contains the full Holy Week schedule. Please note that our EASTER SUNDAY Mass schedule is identical to our normal schedule, 8, 10 and 12 Noon….and all of the Masses are celebrated within our Grand Hall, not outdoors as we have done in the past. Your are invited and HIGHLY encouraged to participate in the fullness of Holy Week by coming to the entire Triduum experience of Holy Thursday and Good Friday (both starting at 7:00 p.m.) Easter makes so much more sense and is ‘complete’ when it flows as a natural part of what has occurred prior. Please remember that next week we will have lots and lots of visitors who will be joining us for our Easter celebrations, our Grand Hall will be packed to overflowing…so be prepared for the crowds, bring your patience and smiles, bring your willingness to help direct our visitors to the bathrooms and explain our home to them. Don’t forget that you may park on the street, but please try to only cross at the light. Finally, as Holy Week unfolds, remember, you are loved. FKB
