DEUTERONOMY 4:32-34, 39-40 ROMANS 8:14-17 MATTHEW 28:16-20

The three readings follow each other in an interesting sequence this week as we celebrate Trinity Sunday. In the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy, Moses, in his final address to the people, reminds them of their special relationship with God by pointing out the tremendous ways God manifested himself to them. God, almighty and all-powerful, was their protector. He showed his might by sending ten plagues upon the Egyptians and then guiding them out of Egypt. He recalls the theophany at Mount Sinai when God descended on the mountain in fire and thunder and lightning, gave them the Law and sealed the covenant that claimed them as his chosen people.

In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Romans, Paul moves away from the image of God as the almighty and all-powerful. He stresses that through Christ each of us has been adopted by God, and so we’re elevated as children of God. The Spirit, present in us, continually gives witness to this adoption.

As God’s children we now have confidence to address God as Abba, father – daddy – papa. In the gospel passage the resurrected Jesus commissions the apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and Holy Spirit.” Now, everyone is special, and everyone is chosen to enter this intimate relationship with God.

God revealed himself most clearly and definitively in the person of Jesus who, in his life and preaching, brought to light the very essence of God – love. That love is extended to us through the Spirit who’s always with us and in us, drawing us into a profound and intimate relationship with God.

Through Christ, the Word of God made flesh, we’re drawn into the life of the Trinity – the life of love. This is what we celebrate today.

We have arrived at Pentecost – the exclamation point that ends our seven -week celebration of Easter. During those weeks, many scripture passages were given to us for our prayerful contemplation.

We listened to the account of the two disciples who came to recognize Jesus when he broke bread with them. We witnessed Thomas abandon his disbelief to acknowledge Jesus as his personal Lord and God. We heard Jesus promise us that he would be our shepherd never failing to care for us. He revealed his profound connection with us when he told us that he was the vine and we were the branches. He went on to call us his friends and special confidants. He consecrated us and commissioned us to continue the work he began. Finally, he promised to send us the Spirit of truth.

In preparation for the Spirit’s anointing today I invite you to, first and foremost, open your hearts and minds to the peace Jesus offers us. He greets us with the same greeting he extended to the apostles, Shalom. It’s the peace that rests in the heart of God – the peace that banishes fear – the peace that gives power to our witness. It’s the peace that opens our ears to the meaning of the scriptures.

fire that would purify the world. This is the lamp put on the lamp stand to bring light to all in the house.

“And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” Recreated, purified, their hearts opened to the word of God, the Spirit destroyed the barriers preventing them from witnessing to the resurrected Lord.

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PRAYER

Loving Father, gathered in your name we implore you drive all our fears from us.

Pour your holy peace into our hearts. Purify us and speak your name to us from the eternal fire of your love.

Loosen our tongues that we might speak only your word that we might witness to, and be one with, your Word made flesh that our word may heal as his healed that our word may speak your truth as his did.

May we bring your fire to the earth.

May we be salt for the earth and light for the world.

ACTS 1:15-17, 20A-26. 1 JOHN 4:11-16 JOHN 17:11A-19

We’ve come to the last Sunday of Easter, concluding the great Week of Weeks. The gospel message couldn’t be more appropriate or more powerful as we anticipate the feast of Pentecost. The passage is taken from the prayer Jesus lifted up for his disciples at the Last Supper. They’re the last words he spoke to them before his arrest. This is what he prayed: “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.”

In a few hours Jesus would give witness to Pilate. He boldly declared, “I came into the world to testify to the truth.” Jesus not only testified to the truth, he was the truth, the very Word of God made flesh. He stood in confrontation to the world that hates the truth the religious leadership that condemned him and the politicians that executed him. From the judgment seat of the cross he would judge them. And from the altar of the cross he would sacrifice himself to redeemed them.

Jesus continued his prayer. “As you sent me into the world, so I send them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” Jesus’ prayer reached far beyond the supper table. He was praying for you and me. He was consecrating us in the truth, just as he consecrated those first disciples.

Consecrated by that sacred anointing, he sent us out. We’re to carry Christ, the way, the truth, and the life into the world that has lost its way, that doesn’t know truth, that’s barely alive. We’re the mustard seed Jesus planted. We’re the yeast he folded into a bowl of flour. The mustard seed will become a tree where the birds will find a place to roost. The yeast will coax the flour to become the bread of life. Dying to ourselves we’ll show the way; we’ll reveal the truth; we’ll celebrate a new life.

Ending the prayer, he said: “I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” With him in us, God’s love will conquer the world slowly transforming it into the kingdom of heaven.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the vine, and we are your branches. Consecrate us in the truth that the world might drink of the new wine of your kingdom. Amen

There’s a very special message in the Gospel reading today. At the Last Supper Jesus told the disciples who were at table with him, “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from the Father.”

It sounds very strange to us to hear Jesus referring to his disciples as slaves. But those who heard him would have asked themselves why isn’t he calling us slaves any longer?

The word for slave is doulos. Moses, Joshua and David were given the title, doulos of God. In his letter to Titus, St. Paul refers to himself as the doulos of God. This was a title of great honor. Mary, in the gospel of Luke, tells the angel Gabriel that she’s the doula of the Lord. She’s no common handmaid, as the word doula is usually translated – she’s the slave of God, just as Moses was the slave of God God’s own possession, devoted exclusively to him.

Jesus goes on to say that he now calls his disciples friends. This word, too, has a historical background. Abraham was called the friend of God, a term that came from the royal court of eastern kings. The friends of the emperor had access to the king at any time. They were his most trusted confidants even before his generals and statesmen.

Jesus is telling his disciples that they’ve been called to serve God with the intensity and devotion of Moses and Mary but not at the status of a slave who simply takes orders. Jesus is making them his partners – his personal confidants -his friends. They’re privileged members of God’s inner circle.

He then sends them all on a mission. I “have appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” And what’s the fruit that they’re to bear? He tells them very clearly, “This I command you: love one another.”

John, the author of this gospel teaches, in his first letter, that “God is love.” Jesus is taking his disciples – all his disciples, not just those at the Last Supper – into the intimacy of God’s friendship. To do so, he asks us to follow his commandment with the commitment and devotion of a slave, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

What a tremendous revelation! What a tremendous invitation! As slaves, we joyfully bear the burden of love. As friends, we draw the power of love by touching the very heart of God.

A Brief Reflection for the Feast of the Ascension

I want to call your attention to a sentence in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. We’re told that Jesus’ last message to his disciples was that they would soon receive the power of the Holy Spirit so that they could give witness to him “to the ends of the earth.” He was then lifted up and returned to the Father. They were still watching him ascend when “two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.” They then spoke these words:

“MEN OF GALILEE, WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE LOOKING AT THE SKY?”

What’s the message of these two men dressed in white garments? It’s simple. Get your heads out of the clouds! Come back down to earth! You’ve just been given a commission to witness to Jesus to the ends of the earth. There’s serious work to do! Get going!

The Gospel passage reinforces their words with the words of Jesus. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature!”

What do you hear today? What are you going to do about it? Where do you go from here?

REFLECTION

ACTS 9:26-31 1 JOHN 3:18-24 JOHN 15:1-8

As a preacher and teacher Jesus was quite down to earth. He took simple, common, everyday occurrences and used them to make a point that could be easily understood and retained. Today we’re reflecting on an image he used to illustrate our connection with him and the Father. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch from me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”

In Jesus’ day vines were everywhere. They were grown on trellises on the side of homes. They were on balconies and rooftops. They were cultivated in vineyards. The people were very knowledgeable about the care and maintenance of the vine.

As Jesus spoke about the vine and the branches the people would also have been thinking of the many scriptures that referred to Israel as the vine. Psalm 80, praising God for taking care of Israel, says, “You brought a vine out of Egypt.” Isaiah said, “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.” But the psalms and the prophets also used the image of the vine to describe the corruption of Israel. Jeremiah and Isaiah condemned Israel for becoming a “wild vine,” unpruned, and bearing little fruit.

In this teaching Jesus presents himself as the TRUE vine. He’s not like Israel, the vine gone wild; he submits to the Father who continually prunes and nurtures the vine. He’s reminding his listeners that they’re the branches; they bear the fruit. He’s reassuring them that as long as they stay connected to him, the vine, the Father will care for them like a gardener. With his care, they’ll bear abundant fruit. But he cautions that “anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither.”

This a spiritual life-cycle that Jesus is describing in this image of the vine and the branches. John the Baptist articulated this same spiritual truth when he proclaimed, “He must increase – I must decrease.” Jesus is intimately connected with the Father, the source of all life. In the same way, when we’re connected to Jesus, the Father will nurture and strengthen us. The divine life will flow through us and we’ll bear fruit of the kingdom.

REFLECTION

ACTS 4:8-12 1 JOHN 3:1-2 JOHN 10:11-18

For three weeks the Sunday gospels have been focusing on accounts of the resurrection. This week and next week they direct our thinking to the Church’s relationship with the risen Lord. This week we’re given the image of Jesus as our shepherd. He tells us, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” What’s he telling us?

Let’s start with the first word of the title. Jesus tells us that he’s THE good shepherd. He’s presenting himself as a model for all shepherds. He then gives an example of a bad shepherd. “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away.” The shepherd must be bold and brave in the face of danger. As Jesus goes on to explain; the good shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep.

Jesus calls himself “GOOD.” The Greek word he uses for “good” carries with it the quality of humble nobility. Here’s an example of a “good” doctor who was more than proficient in his craft. I grew up in a small, railroad apartment where physical quarantine was almost impossible. When my sister came down with measles, our family doctor asked my parents if I could join him and his family at their home in the Rockaways to keep me isolated until she was over her illness. He was a “good” doctor. He cared for my sister, me and my parents all at the same time. He gladly went the extra mile. Jesus is saying he’s the GOOD shepherd – he’s willing to go the extra mile for each and every one of his sheep.

We’re unfamiliar with shepherds. So, we have to ask what shepherds do? The first thing shepherds do is to guide the sheep, day after day, to places where they can graze. They must also keep watch over them, being careful to never let a sheep go astray from the flock.

The flock was in most danger during the night. In Jesus’ day, scattered throughout the pastures, there were walled-in communal pens. At night, shepherds gathered their flocks in the safety of these pens. This also afforded an opportunity for the shepherds, whose lives were isolated and lonely, an opportunity to have some social contact with their fellow shepherds. But the interesting thing about these communal pens was that they didn’t have doors. They just had an opening. The shepherd himself was the door. He would sleep in the open doorway. If a wolf or another wild animal tried to attack the sheep, it would have to walk over the shepherd. That’s why Jesus adds, “I will lay down my life for the sheep.”

Jesus is holding himself up as THE model for anyone in a leadership position. Priests and ministers are called shepherds. Do they go the extra mile? Do they feed their sheep? Are they willing to lay down their lives for the sheep? Mothers and fathers are shepherds. Teachers are shepherds. Political leaders are shepherds. How do we fare when we compare ourselves to THE GOOD SHEPHERD? To what extent do our lives give good example to young people in the process of becoming shepherds themselves?

Every one of us has something deeply serious to think about today.

REFLECTION

ACTS 3:13-15,17-18 1 JOHN 2:1-5A LUKE 24:35-48

On Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene reported to the disciples, who were “mourning and weeping,” that she had seen the risen Lord. But they didn’t believe her. Later that night, two disciples excitedly reported to the group that they had met Jesus along the road as they were fleeing the city. They said that he instructed them and ate with them. The group didn’t believe them either. But while they were still relating the event, Jesus “stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”

He immediately asked the group two questions. “Why are you troubled?” and “Why do questions arise in your hearts?”

It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t wait for the disciples to answer his questions. Instead, he calls their attention to the wounds in his hands and side. He invites them to touch him – to feel his warm flesh. By doing this he brings them into his reality. Yes, he suffered a horrible death, and his body still retains the marks of the nails. And no, he’s not a ghost. He’s flesh and blood. He even asks them for something to eat.

scriptures that related to him. He then gave them a commission: “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.”

For our reflection today let’s put ourselves into this story. Let’s listen to Jesus asking us those same questions of us. What about Jesus troubles my heart? What questions do I have about him? After a prayerful reflection, ask a final question of yourself. How will I witness to him?

PRAYER

Precious Lord,

open my mind

to the meaning

of the scriptures

that I may know you.

Open my heart

that I might love you,

my friend, my teacher,

my risen Lord.

REFLECTION

ACTS 4:32-35 1 JOHN 5:1-6 JOHN 20:19-31

Easter Sunday’s account of the resurrection related that, very early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene discovered that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Running back to the place where the disciples were in hiding, she told them of her discovery. Immediately, Peter and John left the group and returned with her to the garden tomb. We were told that Peter didn’t know what to make of it, but that John had looked into the tomb “and believed.” The two men returned to their place of hiding leaving Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb.

This Sunday’s gospel takes us to the disciples’ place of hiding. It’s evening. The doors are locked. The disciples are very fearful. Will the Sanhedrin dispatch temple guards to arrest them as they did Jesus? Two of them have already abandoned the group and fled the city. We’ll read their story next Sunday. The others are still contemplating their next move.

Jesus suddenly appears to them. He greets them with the familiar “shalom,” and immediately shows them his hands and his side. The marks of his crucifixion are still there even though he seems robust and healthy. Again, he reinforces his

wish of peace for them extending the greeting of “shalom” for a second time. They can’t be fearful if they’re going to be able to grasp what he’s about to ask them to do. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

His greeting of “shalom” is meant to heal them of their fear. Normally “shalom” would be accompanied with a kiss on both cheeks, but today Jesus comes up to each one and breathes on them. He’s repeating what was done long ago. “And the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” They’re to be new people, brave, free from fear, filled with the breath of the Spirit.

He commissioned them to liberate men and women from their slavery to the world and its sin – to clothe themselves with Christ – to be Christ in the world. Their mission is our mission. Easter isn’t just a commemoration of Christ’s resurrection. It’s the day of renewal for every one of us who have been baptized into Christ, who carry the joyful burden of love and healing of Christ. Easter is the day each of us hears him say, “As the Father has sent me, so I send You.”

REFLECTION

ACTS 10:34A, 37-43 COLOSSIANS 3:1-4 JOHN 20:1-9

The Easter gospel invites us, as a community, to travel back in time to a garden that’s just a short distance outside the walls of Jerusalem. We’re standing in the predawn darkness, but we can see that there’s a tomb there. It’s cool and very quiet. Jerusalem is just beginning to wake up. It’s Sunday and the work week will soon begin.

In the distance we see a woman making her way down the hill to the garden. She goes directly to the tomb and sees that it’s open. The quiet is broken by her sudden cry. As she looks into the tomb her cry becomes a heartwrenching wail. She turns, runs back up the hill and disappears through the city gates. We listen as her cries gradually fade. We turn our gaze back to the empty tomb just as the pink rays of dawn appear along the horizon.

We can see a bit more now. There are some burial clothes neatly folded and resting on the shelf where a body would have been placed. The cloth used to wrap the face was rolled up and not with the others.

Again, there’s movement at the city gate. The same woman is returning. She has two men with her. They’re running, the woman is first followed by a young man. The other man lags behind them.

The young man and the woman arrive first. The woman is still crying. The young man stands beside her. They stand outside the tomb watching the other man, who’s elderly, hurry toward them. He goes directly to the tomb and looks in. For a long moment he studies the shadowy tomb. The moment he moves away the young man looks in. He looks for only a moment. He turns around. His face caches the morning light. He’s smiling yet there are tears running down his cheeks. No one says a word.

The two men leave the tomb in silence. The woman, still weeping, remains. The scene ends here.

There’s so much more to this account, but the Church only gives us this one scene to think about today. Who are these people? What are we to make of this scene?

This is the beginning of the story of the resurrection of Jesus in John’s gospel. The woman is Mary Magdalene. Jesus cleansed her of seven demons. She became his fervent disciple and even supported him during his mission. Loyal to the end, she stood at the foot of the cross keeping vigil as he died. The young man is the apostle John. It’s his account of the event that we’re reading today. Simon Peter is the older man who was given the title “rock” by Jesus.

Mary loved Jesus deeply. She came to the tomb blinded by her tears and overwhelmed by her sorrow. The young man, John, looked into the tomb and believed that Jesus had transcended; Jesus was the Christ. The elderly Peter, was puzzled by the empty tomb. He returned to Jerusalem wondering what had happened there.

Through this short gospel passage the Church is focusing the attention of her children on the empty tomb. These three people represent us – all of us looking into the tomb. We respond in different ways.

Mary looked into the tomb and saw only darkness. She was blinded by her personal loss. Mary was stuck in time. She knew Jesus and she loved him but now he was gone and she was in deepest mourning. Unlike John who “saw and believed” Mary was blinded by her sorrow. She wasn’t yet ready to see the transcendent Jesus, the Christ.

John, the mystic, looked into the tomb and realized that Jesus wasn’t dead. The burial clothes were neatly folded. The stone was casually rolled away. It was obvious that death had no power over him. Jesus had stepped out of the constriction of time

and space. He had conquered the cruelty of the world. He was the universal Christ. He would be present until the end of time.

Peter left the tomb wondering “what rising from the dead meant.” He knew Jesus was no longer in the tomb. No one stole his body; the condition of the tomb gave no evidence of that. If he had risen from the dead where was he now?

Mary, John and Peter represent all of us. Some of us, like Mary, are good, dedicated people. We love deeply. We aspire to follow Jesus and his teachings but, somehow, we can’t see beyond the cruelty of the world and we can’t overcome our fear of death.

Some of us, like Peter, are slow to understand. Believing is a long and difficult process. It involves not only our minds but our hearts.

John represents the Church, those believers who, from the day they looked into the empty tomb, have proclaimed Jesus Lord, resurrected and with us, feeding us with his very life at the Eucharistic table. John represents the Church who throughout the centuries “sees and believes.”

This account of the resurrection will continue. In the next scene Jesus will speak Mary’s name. She’ll see him, recognize him and fall at his feet to worship him. She’ll come to be remembered as the first witness to the resurrection. In another scene, Jesus will ask Peter three times if he loves him. Each yes will heal his heart. Healed, he’ll join the resurrected Christ in shepherding the Christian community until the day he himself will be crucified.

The empty tomb is a challenge to our faith. It forces us to ask what “rising from the dead means.” Each of us is Mary. Each of us is Peter. We listen to hear him call our names. We assure him that we love him. We unite with the Church at the empty tomb. In chorus we whisper, “My Lord and my God.”

REFLECTION

ISAIAH 50:4-7 PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11 MARK 14:1—15:47

Many years ago, while I was in graduate school, I read the writings of Egeria, a 4th century Spanish nun. She kept a diary during a long pilgrimage she made to the Holy Land that she intended to share with her sisters when she returned home. Her description of the events that took place in Jerusalem during Holy Week are fascinating.

She speaks of various Church rituals celebrated throughout the city, but more importantly, she describes the movement of the congregation from one “station” to another throughout the week.

Egeria’s diary is my inspiration for the Holy Week stations that follow. I’m going to stop to reflect at seven stations, one every day of Holy Week. I invite you to read the scripture texts for the day as the basis of your personal meditation. Put yourself into the scene. Allow yourself to feel whatever the scene evokes in you; let the feeling lead you to a personal prayer.

THE FIRST STATION: Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusa- It was such a powerful event that we can still hear Jelem as the crowd cheers and lays palm branches along sus shouting out, “Lazarus! Come out!” There’s a large the road. (Matthew 21:1-11) (Additional scriptures for crowd gathered around the house. They’re here to see Palm Sunday Mass: Isaiah 50:6, Philippians 2:6-11, Jesus, but they also want to see Lazarus.

THE FIRST STATION: Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem as the crowd cheers and lays palm branches along the road. (Matthew 21:1-11) (Additional scriptures for Palm Sunday Mass: Isaiah 50:6, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:14-27:66)

We’ve gathered at Bethpage, a small town on the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem where Jesus has been waiting. It’s a time of great caution. The religious leaders are looking for an opportunity to arrest him. He had made an arrangement with a secret disciple in the town to purchase a donkey for him. He waits here while two of his disciples bring the donkey to him. He mounts it and begins his slow ride into Jerusalem. “This happened so that what had been spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled.” “Say to daughter Zion, ‘Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Zechariah 9:9)

As we follow him, note that the crowd along the road is growing. Passover is near so the city is jammed with pilgrims. Spontaneously they’re throwing palm branches onto the roadway – a kind of VIP carpet.

They begin shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” They’re welcoming him with a Messianic acclamation. They’re treating him like a military hero, but he’s anything but that. He’s riding a donkey, not a decorated chariot. This Messiah isn’t a political figure nor a military figure. This Messiah is Isaiah’s suffering servant. By his wounds we will all be healed. He doesn’t silence the crowd knowing full well the consequences of his decision.

THE SECOND STATION: Monday. Six days before the Feast of Passover Jesus is anointed in Bethany, the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus whom he raised from the dead. (Isaiah 42:1-7, Psalm 27, John 12:1-1)

We’re in Bethany, a short distance from Jerusalem, at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They’re Jesus’ family away from home. A short while ago Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. We can see the tomb where he had been buried from the dining room. It was such a powerful event that we can still hear Jesus shouting out, “Lazarus! Come out!” There’s a large crowd gathered around the house. They’re here to see Jesus, but they also want to see Lazarus. Many people are here for dinner, friends of the family and Jesus’ apostles. They’re reclining around a large central table. Everything looks quite festive but it’s tense inside the house. The chief priests are looking for an excuse to arrest Lazarus, also, because many people have come to believe in Jesus because he raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus is reclining at table. Martha is serving the meal. Mary has just entered the room. She’s carrying “a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard.” She pours the oil over the feet of Jesus and wipes it with her hair. A beautiful verse from the Song of Songs gives her action a deeply spiritual meaning. “While the King was at his table my perfume spread its fragrance. My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.” Mary is anointing Jesus as kings and High Priests are anointed. The fragrance of his anointing clings to her hair. But Martha and Lazarus are part of

this scene, too.

There’s a mystical understanding of the Church in this scene we’re watching. Martha is the Church, the ministering servant. Lazarus is the Church reborn sitting at the heavenly table. Mary is the Church sanctifying the world with the fragrance of the King of love.

Suddenly, Judas protests claiming that the money spent on this expensive oil should have been given to the poor. Jesus turns toward him looking straight into his eyes. “Let her keep this for the day of my burial.”

THE THIRD STATION: Tuesday. Jesus reveals his betrayer. (Isaiah 49;1-6, John: 13:21-33, 36-38)

We’re in Jerusalem in an upper room that has been rented for Jesus and his closest disciples to celebrate the Passover. We stop and focus on a jarring moment. As the meal progresses Jesus is becoming deeply troubled. He suddenly stops the conversation at the table with a shocking proclamation. “Amen, Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Everyone turns in their place to look at him but Jesus doesn’t say anything else. The conversation picks up again but in hushed tones. Peter motions across the table to John who was lying next to Jesus. He leans back. “Master, who is it?” He receives a whispered response: “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” He dips a piece of unleavened bread and hands it to Judas.

“As Judas took the morsel Satan entered him. So, Judas took the morsel, and left at once. And it was night.”

As soon as Judas walks out into the night, the anxiety that was permeating the room seems to leave with him. Jesus takes a deep breath and slowly looks at each individual around the table. “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” Peter, James and John glance at each other. Will Jesus manifest his glory again as he recently did on the mountaintop? No. Something’s different here. Then, whispering his last words to them, Jesus continues: “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me…but where I go you cannot come.” For a few moments silence overtakes the room.

Peter’s voice suddenly pierces the stillness. “Master, why can I not follow you? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus’ response clutches every heart in the room. “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Peter, you will follow me. You will lay down your life for me. But you’re not ready yet. The King himself must show you the way.

THE FOURTH STATION: Wednesday. Judas betrays Jesus. (Isaiah 50:4-9a, Matthew 26:14-25) We’ve walked across the city to the residence of Caiaphas the High Priest. He’s meeting with the Sanhedrin, the council of chief priests and prominent Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. They’re worried. The crowds have been rallying around Jesus. There’s

bound to be a revolt and this liberal upstart from Galilee will surely be leading it. The Roman military will come in again to squelch it. Many will die, and the little autonomy the nation enjoys will be lost. A servant enters the room and whispers a message to the High Priest. Caiaphas stands and turns toward the door. Everyone looks around. Judas enters.

He takes note of the people in the room, then looks at Caiaphas. “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”

Will we ever know what was going through Judas’ mind? What led him to this? Did he feel that Jesus was a failure because he chose a spiritual path rather than a political one? Was it jealousy because Jesus seemed to be grooming Peter, James and John as his leaders? Was he expecting a place of honor in the new kingdom? We can only conjecture.

“They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.”

This moment was prefigured long ago in the story of Joseph, the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons. (Genesis 37:1-36) His brothers, jealous of him, sold him to Ishmaelite traders for twenty pieces of silver. The traders took him to Egypt where they sold him to a representative of the Egyptian court. There Joseph, through his cunning and wisdom, rose in power and influence. When a great drought struck the Middle East Jacob, his sons, and their families migrated to Egypt in search of food.

Despite what they did to him, Joseph never stopped loving his brothers. He forgave them and welcomed them. Jacob and his entire family settled in Egypt. They grew in number and became prosperous.

Judas handed Jesus over to the religious authorities knowing it would seal his death. Little did he know that Jesus’ death would model a new way of living, a way that would change the world.

THE FIFTH STATION: Thursday, Jesus celebrates his last supper with his closest disciples. (Exodus 12:18, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-15)

“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

We’re in the upper room, a rented space where Jesus is sharing what will be his last meal. Judas Iscariot has just left the gathering. Jesus is reclining with his closest and dearest friends, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew the tax collector, Thomas, James, Simon the member of the Zealot party, and Judas the son of James.

Look at his face as he gazes around the table. In spite of knowing each one’s short-comings, his love for each of them is clearly visible. He knows that in a few hours every one of them is going to abandon him, but that can’t destroy the love he has for each of them.

He gets up from the table and leaves the room for a

moment. Returning with a towel wrapped around his waist and carrying a bowl and pitcher he begins, one by one, to wash their feet.

Look at their faces. They’re shocked. He’s acting like a house slave! Peter objects loudly. Jesus puts down the pitcher and bowl. Everyone is looking at him. There’s tremendous kindness in his voice as he begins to speak to them.

“What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later…unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me…Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, your master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example to follow, so that what I have done for you, you should also do.” They’re silent. He moves from one to the next washing their feet and drying them with the towel.

Returning to his place he teaches them at length. He becomes solemn as he declares a new commandment. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Look at them. They’re listening but they don’t understand the depth of his teaching. His words touch their ears but can’t penetrate their hearts right now. They must first suffer his passion with him. Let’s leave the room now to ponder his last teaching. Tomorrow we gather at Golgotha.

THE SIXTH STATION: Friday, the sacrifice of the Lamb. (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9, John 18:1-19:42)

We’re standing within the walls of Jerusalem near the temple precincts. It’s the preparation day for the Passover; it begins at sundown. Jerusalem is crowed and noisy. Venders are selling lambs to the pilgrims for the obligatory sacrifice in the temple. Tens of thousands will be slaughtered today. One by one their blood will be collected and poured on the altar.

While the temple ritual continues throughout the day Jesus is held under arrest. He had been taken from the High Priest’s chambers, where the Sanhedrin condemned him, to the residence of Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judaea. Buckling under pressure from the religious leaders, and fearing that a riot might break out, Pilate condemned Jesus to be crucified.

We walk north about 300 meters outside the walls where we come to an open space surrounded by a rocky formation. The people have named the place Golgotha, the Aramaic word for cranium or skull because of the shape of the field. The main trade road runs by this spot. That’s why it’s chosen for public executions. The crucified were meant to be a deterrent against possible rebellion.

Jesus hangs from the cross here. His arms are wide and spread open – but not because of the nails that se

cure them. His arms are open to welcome everyone and anyone. Look at him. Remember what he said to his disciples. “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened. I will give your rest.” Listen to what he just said from the cross! “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.”

Let’s look at the cross and pray Saint Paul’s prayer. “For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence, and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, manifested to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

THE SEVENTH STATION: Saturday, we hope. We wait for the sunrise. (Acts 10:34a, 37-43, Colossians 3:1-4, John 20:1-9)

We’ve at a garden a short distance from Golgotha. Yesterday, soon after Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple, came out of hiding to petition Pilate for the body of Jesus so that he could give him a proper burial. Another secret disciple, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus, brought myrrh and aloes for the burial. He and Joseph carry the body to the garden.

In the garden there’s a new tomb. It looks like any other countryside tomb, a small chamber carved in the rock. They place his body on a low shelf inside. Then they push a stone over the opening to seal it.

It’s so quiet here. The night breeze is cool. Listen to the insects speaking in the darkness. The full moon is setting but we can still see the tomb. Let’s conclude our vigil at the tomb by reading the description of Jesus burial from the Gospel of John.

“They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day, for the tomb was close by.”

No one has ever been buried in this tomb. This is a NEW tomb. Saint Paul, the great teacher, looked at this tomb and understood its meaning. He looked at the tomb and then wrote this: “Death is swallowed up in victory. Death where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”

As we await the sunrise of a new day let’s look at his tomb – a NEW tomb – our tomb.

A NEW STATION – A NEW WEEK – A NEW WORLD: Sunday, the sun is rising over the garden tomb. (Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24 1-12, John 20;1-18) Wherever you are. Whatever you may be experiencing. Look into the empty tomb. DO NOT BE AFRAID! He is with us, the resurrected Christ.