EUCHARIST:

SIMPLE  LOGIC

The title of my thoughts for this Holy Thursday morning is, “Eucharist: Simple Logic.”

No bread; no wine; no Eucharist.

Simple logic.

No Christ; no disciples; no Eucharist.

Simple logic.

No slavery; no sin; no Exodus; no Escape from Egypt to the Promised Land; no Passover; no reason for celebration: no Eucharist.

Simple logic.

Christianity without Judaism before it and essential to it; no Eucharist.

Simple logic.

No priests; no parish; no people; no faith; no hope; no charity; no Eucharist.

Simple logic.

It takes time to work the fields and work the vines to get wheat and to get grapes.  It takes work and time - sweat and muscle - to make and bake bread - to crush and create and come up with a great wine - from grapes.

Eucharist: Simple Logic.

It takes time and work to organize a great meal - to do the shopping - to do the chopping - to set the tables - to prepare the lamb - to prepare an inviting table and stage a delicious meal.

Eucharist: Simple Logic.

The reading we heard in this Holy Thursday Morning Prayer from Hebrews 2: 9b-10 - just now - told us that “because he suffered death”, Jesus was crowned with glory and honor.  The reading we just heard from Hebrews told us that Jesus tasted death - so that we could taste salvation. That night - when he tasted the Passover Bread and Wine - looking ahead to the next day - Good Friday - Jesus tasted death in that upper room; when we taste the bread and the wine, we are tasting our life - birth till death - and hopefully our salvation through the death of Jesus.

Eucharist: Simple Logic.

No pain, no gain. No cross, no crown. No suffering, no resurrection. No Good Friday, no Easter Sunday.

Eucharist: Simple Logic.

This Passover Night, this Holy Thursday night, tonight - is different from all other nights

This Holy Thursday night we are going to celebrate a Meal that is different from all other meals and all other nights.

People gather in memory of others. People do things in memory of others. Jesus gathered one last time - for one Last Supper - with his disciples. We all remember people’s last words - last behaviors - last moments.

We all repeat, re-enact, remember - what others did for us. We Christians do this - this week.

Why is this week different from all other weeks? This week - this day - Holy Thursday -  we remember to celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper - which becomes the Eternal Banquet. This week - tomorrow - Good Friday - we celebrate Jesus’ Death on the Cross for our Redemption. This week - this Sunday - Easter Sunday - we experience Christ’s resurrection from the Dead. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia - but not yet! 

Eucharist: Simple Logic. 

O  O  O  O  O  O  O

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2013

BREAD 

WITHOUT VEXATION 

Quote for Today - March 28,  2013

"Better is poverty in the hand of a god,
Than wealth in a storehouse;
Better is bread with a happy heart
Than wealth with vexation."

Amenomope [c. 11th Century B.C.]  The Instruction of Amenemope, Chapter 6, translated by Miriam Lichtheim

THE HEART

Quote for Today  March 27, 2013

        " - O remember
In your narrowing dark hours
That more things move
Than blood in the heart."

Louise Bogan [1897-1970], Night, Stanza 4

IT WAS NIGHT 

“It was night!”

If you hear those three words be scared -

be scared of that echo in your soul.

“It was night!”

That night - that Last Supper night -

Jesus said to Judas,
“What you are going to do, do quickly.”

“It was night!”

What was Judas going to do?

He was going to betray Jesus.

He did it for money - for 30 pieces of silver.

He did it because the reason he joined Jesus

had become unglued - unhinged - unconnected.

So that night Judas ran out into the night 

to get his silver coins

“It was night!”

Judas had heard and had seen

in the light of the lamps in the Upper Room -

Jesus washing his disciples feet - 
telling us this was an example - 
that we should wash each other’s feet.

He saw Jesus feeding his disciples 
with bread and wine

- with the last ounce of his body and his blood -

trying to be in communion with them 
in his whole being.

He might have missed Jesus last announcements

to love one another as he had loved them.

“It was night!

And after that meal 
Jesus stepped out into the night,

into the darkness - into a dark garden

where he made a last ditch plea to his Father,

“If it is possible, let this cup of suffering

slip away from me - but not my will, 
but your will be done.”

“It was night!”

And his disciples could not even spend 
one hour in prayer with him.

Then Judas came in the night 
with a band of soldiers and guards 
from the chief priests and Pharisees.

He brought them to the garden 
telling them the signal was a kiss -

- the kiss that he used to betray Jesus.

“It was night!”

And Judas fell down into a spiral 
of even deeper darkness.

He had become a petty thief 
silently stealing money -

money that was for the poor. 
His eyes slowly closed

out Jesus - the Light of the World. 
Instead he became night.

His soul became shut. 
He no longer was hearing

the story of the Prodigal Son
and the Lost Sheep

and the call to Lazarus 
to come forth alive from the grave.

He went back and threw the money 
that had clung to his hands 
for a few moments. 
They spilled - they crashed -

they rolled along on the stone floors - 
back at the Pharisees

and then Judas went out and hung himself.

“It was night!”

And Jesus felt that tragedy - 
that scream of Judas in the night.

Is that why Jesus vented those horrible words 
he once said, “It would have been better
if he had never been born.”

“It was night!”

It is night when we think that way,

when  we feel that way,

when we experience that kind of giving up -

that giving up of all hope

And hopefully when we feel that way -

that night we’ll drop that suicide rope

at the trunk of the Judas tree

and crawl our way to the Jesus Tree,

to Calvary and hold on for dear life

to feet of Jesus on the Tree of Life.

He is Light.

O O O O O O O

© Andy Costello Reflections 2013

This Reflection comes out of the gospel for today - Tuesday in Holy Week. It is the simple Greek text, "EN DE NUX " - "And it was night" John 13:30 b.

THE SUN WILL ALSO SET

Quote for Today - March 26,  2013

"No matter how fair the sun shines,
Still it must set."

Ferdinand Raimund [1790-1836] Das Madchen aus der Feenwelt [The Maiden from Fairyland (1826)]

SNIFF, SNIFF, 

SCENT, SCENT, 

HINT, HINT 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Monday in Holy Week is, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.”

Could you all right now go, Sniff, Sniff?  _____ Thank you.

NOSE

God has blessed us with a nose - a gift - for our protection and our safety.

As we age, we’re aware of the loss of some of our hearing -  but usually in those around us - more than ourselves.

As we age, we’re aware of the loss of some of our seeing ability - usually more in ourselves than those around us.

I was wondering as I began working on this homily this morning: “What about our sense of smell?”

I sense we’re more aware of size and shape of noses more than the sense of smell - but I really am not too sure about all of this - because I never thought about this before - well maybe about gradual hearing loss in those around me.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings use the image of scent. It can get us thinking about air, breathing, the Spirit.

Today’s Gospel has the story of Mary - the sister of Martha and Lazarus - using a liter of costly perfume oil - made from genuine aromatic nard. She anoints the feet of Jesus and dries his feet with her hair.

You can almost smell the next line from the Gospel of John, “the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” [12:3]

TRANSITION

The title of my homily is, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.”

QUESTIONAIRE

If I were a perfume or an after shave lotion, what name would I give myself?

If I were a perfume or an after shave lotion, what name would I give myself?

               

• Lilac,
• Joy,
• A  Breath of Fresh Air,
• Sweetness,
• Spring?

If we were a scent, how would those who are in the rooms we enter each day label us?

Would their labels for us be positive or negative?

If positive would they be one of those I already mentioned - like “Joy” or “A Breath of Fresh Air?”

If negative would the scent I give off be called,

• Anger,
• Grumpy,
• Complaints,
• Negativity,
• Crush,
• Downer,
• Pessimist,
• Hurting,
• Draining?

FIRST READING

Today’s first reading - Isaiah 42: 1-7 -  talks about God’s Servant?

It talks about having the Spirit of God.

It talks about bringing justice to the nations.

It talks about not crying, not shouting, not making noise.

It talks about opening eyes

It talks about bringing comfort to those who are imprisoned.

It talks about bringing light to those in darkness.

Now those are great strategies, methods, ways to become a breath of fresh air, joy, to our world, how to become a welcoming sight in all the rooms we enter.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel - John 12: 1-11 - we have Mary, the sister of Martha, bringing a sweet aroma to the whole house and we have Judas bringing a negative scent and spin to the scene.

Judas says that the perfume is being wasted on Jesus and it could have been sold and used for the poor.  But John tells us that’s a lie. Judas is being dishonest. He was stealing from the group's money bag. I’ve often wondered what it was like to travel with Judas. Was he Mister Negative? Was he a drain or a pain?  Was he stale air?  Was he a morose dark cloud that hung over the whole group or was all that within and he never told anyone what he was really feeling?

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.” We can think about others, but the best thing to do would be to take some time to be with ourselves, and take a big sniff of who we are? Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.

I remember reading a quote from a writer named, “Ben Amin” who talked about being, “The person whose perfume is Jesus”.

Wouldn’t that be a great scent to have? Amen.

BRIDGES

Quote for Today - March 25, 2013

"Let everyone praise the bridge they go over."

English Proverb