What is Going On?
We are just days away, now, from the start of what the Church since very early on simply called, “The Great Week.”
If we’re honest, most of us will probably admit that the magnificent, the unfathomable, the utterly extraordinary and remarkable, has become rather mundane and commonplace for us. The Creator of a universe that is 90+ billion light years across is on a cross! Dies! Is buried! And then walks out of the tomb, resurrected! And everything - everything! - is different.
But do we really believe that? Does it change the way we practically live? If we’re ordained do we preach it this way? If we’re raising children do we ingrain this into the minds and imaginations of our children? Do we really understand what was happening during those days into which we are about to enter?
Jeremy Driscoll, Abbot of Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon, puts it this way, “The most important event of human history, indeed, the most important event that has ever happened anywhere in the created universe, is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and his being raised from the dead by the one whom he called God and Father” (Awesome Glory: Resurrection in Scripture, Liturgy and Theology).
Driscoll goes on to say, “One of the main focuses of the new evangelization is to bring alive again the vigor of the faith in the already baptized who may not be practicing anymore or whose practice has grown lukewarm and mediocre. Once grasped and believed in, the actual content of what Christian faith proclaims is something absolutely stunning. I think one of the main tasks of the new evangelization for the whole church is a recovered sense of clarity about what the central core of the proclamation is. That might sound obvious, but I believe we are lacking this clarity in the general day to day of our life together as the church and in many of our pastoral undertakings.”
And, finally, one last word from the good Abbot: “The world is meant to be changed radically from the way Christians live within it their participation in the resurrection.”
I’ve been re-reading this amazing book by Driscoll of late and as we enter into Holy Week it’s led me to reflect on some simple but impactful questions:
Do we truly believe the events of the week upcoming are the most important events in the history of the universe?
If we are a bishop, priest or deacon, how is the Lord asking us to preach so that the power of these events can burst forth anew?
Do we really understand what exactly is going on in the passion of Jesus?
And, finally, how can we, as disciples of Jesus, sent out in order to continue the work He began on Easter Sunday, change the - our - world here and now?
Peter and John said to the religious leaders who were trying to bully them into silence, “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Is it for us?
Paul wrote to the Romans that the gospel is “the power [dunamis, TNT) of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16). How can we let that power explode out of us who will preach in the days to come?
Shortly before the events of Holy Week begin, Jesus emphatically tells His disciples, “No one takes [My life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord;” (Jn 10:18) and “The ruler of this world is coming; He has no power over Me” (Jn 14:30). In other words, in all of the events about to be recalled and mysteriously made present for us in the liturgies we are about to celebrate, Jesus is the one in charge; He is not passive; this is not happening to Him. What does He want to reveal afresh to us about who God is and who we are to God?
It was said about the early Christians who were boldly, joyfully, attractively, and courageously telling people about Jesus’ death and resurrection and how everything is now changed (and not merely that we can “get to heaven”), it was said about them, “These men are turning the world upside down!” (Acts 17:6).
Is anyone saying this about us today?
“The world is meant to be changed radically from the way Christians live within it their participation in the resurrection.”
May the Holy Spirit open our minds to comprehend anew the events of this, the most important event of human history, and give us the wisdom and courage to turn the world upside down for the glory of God, the good of our neighbor, and the care of this creation that God so loves!