At the Table of the Word

The readings of the Triduum, our holiest days of the year, are packed with narratives and images. On Holy Thursday we enter a sacred time when we pray one extended liturgical prayer, commencing with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, continuing with the celebration of the Lord's Passion, and culminating in the Easter Vigil. In these liturgies we look back on the events of salvation to sanctify our present as we anticipate the day when Christ will come in glory. 

Starting with the story of Exodus, we recall how God redeemed his people through the blood of the Paschal Lamb, saving them from death and bringing them to freedom. St. Paul, writing the oldest narrative of eucharistic institution, tells us that Jesus offered his blood of "the new covenant" (1 Cor 11:25). It is his blood that ransoms us from sin and death. 

In John's Gospel on Holy Thursday we hear how Jesus gave himself in service of others by washing their feet. This action was not the expected behavior of a rabbi, or of any other free person, but was normally the work of a slave. It is in remembering that we have been redeemed and in sharing at the table of the Eucharist that we receive the grace to be servants to each other. 

On Good Friday, the reading from Isaiah speaks of God's Suffering Servant, whose suffering "shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses" (Isa 53:12). It is Jesus, seen as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah and the "great high priest" of Hebrews (Heb 4:14), whose life and death enable us to "confidently approach the throne of grace" (Heb 4:16) as we come to know him as the "source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Heb 5:9). 

The Passion according to John presents us with a Jesus who is already glorified. In responding "I AM" (18:5) to the soldiers and guards who came to arrest him, Jesus presents himself as sharing in the life of the God of Israel who made himself known to Moses as "I AM" (Ex 3:14). An irony in this story is that Jesus loses his life for answering truthfully whereas Peter, who lies about being a disciple of Jesus, saves his life. Jesus' trial before Pilate presents an innocent man being condemned to death by a weak leader, who nevertheless sentences him to death as "The King of the Jews" (Jn 19:19). 

Having entrusted his mother to the care of the beloved disciple and vice versa, Jesus "handed over the spirit," declaring, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30). The blood and water that flow from his side are interpreted as signs of the life-giving sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. In the death of the Messiah is the birth of the church. John highlights Jesus' identification with the paschal lamb by telling us that Jesus died at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple of Jerusalem. The fact that none of his bones were broken is also rooted in the imagery of the paschal lamb. 

The burial of Jesus is royal burial; "about one hundred pounds" (Jn 19:39) of spices were used. He truly is "King of the Jews." But the story does not end here; it will lead to an empty tomb. 

At the Easter Vigil we celebrate the resurrection by reflecting on the history of salvation. Beginning with the story of creation, we hear how God's blessings come to be extended to all humanity through the covenant with Abraham. It is through Abraham's descendants that God promises blessings to "all the nations of the earth" (Gen 22:18). 

Exodus tells us how God rescued Israel from death at the Sea of Reeds. The four prophetic readings speak of a God who remains committed to his people, despite their sins. 

St. Paul tells us that as Christians our baptism unites us with Christ in both his death and his resurrection. Christ's new life calls us to new lives of grace. Finally, the Easter Gospel provides ancient witness to the fact that "he has been raised" (Mt 28:7, Mk 16:6, Lk 24:6). This is the cause of our Easter Alleluia. ML

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