Memorial, Sacrifice, and Banquet: An Easter Homily

Last night at our Easter Vigil we initiated seven persons into the Catholic Church: two through Baptism and Holy Eucharist, five through a Profession of Faith, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist. While Baptism is always the first Sacrament a person receives, Eucharist is the highest. In this Sacrament, Jesus Himself abides with us as our pledge of heaven. In the Holy Mass He comes to us as memorial, sacrifice, and banquet. These themes fit into the Easter Triduum:

Memorial: When you “remember” someone, biblically speaking, you act on his behalf. God “remembered” childless wives like Hannah and Elizabeth with children who would do great things for Him. The Psalmist boasted of how God, in His mercy, “remembered” Israel in her distress, countlessly saving her from distresses both self-inflicted (sin) and enemy-inflicted (oppression). 

On Holy Thursday, the night before His death, Jesus "remembered" His apostles: He washed their feet. He gave them His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. He entrusted them with the power to make that Body and Blood present on our altars; in other moments He entrusted the power to forgive sins, to anoint the sick, and to bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Sacrifice: Sacrifice is the heart of religion. The Jews, in particular, sacrificed their best animals and produce in order to demonstrate to God and to themselves that God deserved the best of their love. To purely materialist minds, it seems like the biggest waste; in a sense they’d be right. By spending our time and attention on divine things, somehow our perspective on earthly things changes. They become at once more important and less important: more, because now we want to use those things well, and less, because we know they're not all there is to this life. 

On Good Friday, Jesus followed through on the promise of Holy Thursday by offering His fully divine and fully human life. Everything He endured, from the lies that people levied against Him to the physical and mental torture to the crucifixion itself, He endured for our salvation. At every step, love was His motivation; no other reason would do.

Banquet: People need to eat. The act of eating often provides as much emotional satisfaction as physical. Food finds its way into most gestures of hospitality, welcoming, congratulating, and mourning—in a word, every human interaction. With good intentions we flash it around whenever we want to impress people. Among all cultures the Italians come to mind with that word, abbondanza, which to my mind includes food, but encompasses all wealth and every expression of value. 

On Holy Saturday, death’s scarcity becomes life’s abbondanza when Jesus treats the souls of the blessed to His eternal wedding feast, when He forever unites Himself to His Church in a total bond of fidelity, permanence, and fruitfulness.

The quiet Upper Room meal, the Silence of the Lamb that was slain, the darkness of the grave: these three days together form one great, mysterious day of joy and hope. We know too well how our sorrows and sins can get the better of us, but the Lord Jesus declares to us once and for all--and as often as necessary--that sin, suffering, and death do not have the final say on our lives, as long as we steep ourselves in the meaning and power of this most sacred day.

Christ our Life is risen from the dead, glorious and immortal. By our faithful participation in His Word, His Bread, and His Charity, it shall be so!

The Liturgy: Heaven On Earth

The Easter season is a fifty-day reminder of how good the Church has it.  At this and every Mass we participate in the liturgy of heaven.  Hear how the Book of Revelation describes that liturgy.  The Father is seated upon His throne.  The Lamb is present: the crucified and risen Christ, the Priest who offers and the Victim who is offered.  The Holy Spirit is the life-giving stream that flows from the throne, often depicted in seven rivulets that are the Sacraments.  Standing around the Trinitarian throne are all the heavenly powers, the four living beings who embody all creation, the twenty-four elders who symbolize the Old and New Covenants, and the 144,000 who epitomize the New People of God.  Notable among the sacred throng are the martyrs, Mary, the Bride of the Lamb, and those whom John described as the “great multitude, which no one could count,” clad in white robes and holding palm branches.  Having survived “the time of great distress” (otherwise known as “life”), the multitude unceasingly worships God and enjoys His protection, consolation, and nourishment.

That is the Church’s situation here and now, if we but awaken ourselves to it and strive to live in it—both in the current context of the sacred liturgy and in the mission field that we know as the home, the workplace, the school, or any other wayside shrine that God enlivens when we bring Him there.  But we can’t become the light to the Gentiles and the instrument of salvation unless we bring ourselves here, to “charge and sync” ourselves with the Source of our power: God’s Word, God’s Bread, and God’s Company.  Here is where we receive and affirm our deepest identity in Christ.  Here is where all creation finds its origin and purpose.  Here is heaven on earth!

Now, I’d have my head in the sand if I figured that all of you are totally on board with this idea.  Maybe in theory the world of time is shot through with eternity, but the events of the past week, in Boston and elsewhere, look like scathing evidence to the contrary.  And you could share with me some reasons why your lives don’t resemble the heavenly liturgy.  Me too.

It is important to remember that the Act of Faith, like every other human choice, is an act of the will that relies upon the information presented to it by the intellect.  Our aversion to suffering is natural, but it  cannot deter us from confessing the goodness of God in salvation history and in our own lives.  While there is no pat answer to the mystery of moral and physical evil, the Catechism reminds us that “God in His almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by His creatures,” for Christ’s glorification and man’s redemption came about precisely by His Passion and Death (312).

All praise and thanksgiving to God for the sacred Liturgy, in which we raise up all joys and sufferings in union with our Redeemer, who in return, gives us His very Self to sustain us along life’s journey, awaiting His full coming in glory and our life in His tender embrace!

Pass the Buck

Readings of Easter Day

A stone out of place, an empty tomb, rolled-up burial cloths: these items convince the Apostles that Jesus has risen from the dead.  Dimly they begin to recognize Him as the Beloved Son, God’s Anointed, and Savior of the world.  Soon they become authoritative witnesses to His Resurrection.  The Eastern Churches call Mary of Magdala “Equal to the Apostles” because she is among the first to receive and to share the Good News.  She shares it with the Apostles, whose testimony eventually becomes the Church’s first evangelization.  The first apostolic homilies, such as Peter conveyed to the crowds, present the content of the True Faith as well as their relationship with the Lord.  The very same content and relationship are meant for the Apostles’ audience—which includes the Church in our own day.

Return to the two apostles at the empty tomb.  Perhaps because of his youth, the Beloved Disciple is the first to arrive.  He symbolizes Apostolic Love.  Peter, the "Keeper of the Keys" (cf. Mt 16:18),  represents Apostolic Office.  Love comes first, but defers to Office.  The Church abides no competition between them.  The same Holy Spirit fosters both gifts for God’s glory and for our good.

Recall that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had declared a Year of Faith that concludes in November.  How does this relate to our current celebration of Easter?  The Apostolic witness gives the Church a program for evangelization, a plan to inbue the world with Christ’s joyful, responsible love.  Think of it as “Passing the BUCK,” where BUCK stands for Belief, Understanding, Conviction, and Kindness.  

We are here today because of the trust that ignited the Apostles' preaching and healing.  The Holy Spirit has guided the Apostles and their successors to provide an articulation of doctrine and morality.  We do well to devote some daily effort, however small, to learn something about our Catholic faith so that we have something useful and beautiful to share.  Our conviction can inspire people to pay attention.  They may not always, or ever, agree; but they will take notice.  As our new Holy Father Pope Francis has quietly demonstrated, compassion also raises eyebrows.  We reach out to people, we grant and seek forgiveness, we change our behavior, just because it’s the right thing to do; but we know the power of a good example.  It speaks so loudly that you cannot hear a word we say.

Clearing out what St. Paul calls the stale, old leaven—whatever in our lives ought to be cast aside for the sake of God, neighbor, and self—we become more receptive to the divine life and become effective evangelists.  Belief, Understanding, Conviction, and Kindness: get these things, pass them on, and watch what happens!