Many times over these past several weeks, I have caught myself
repeating the same words and phrases over and over. “Conscious
choice”, “grateful generosity”, “full participation” all spring to mind as my
mantra of late. Indeed I have used them in speaking of our financial
blessings and needs in the parish, but also in the realm of the spiritual
as well. I truly believe that the Lord has placed on my heart this lent the
need to move beyond the ordinariness of life, the “normal” so to speak,
and come to fully appreciate life itself. Part of this meandering is
perhaps mid-life stuff, asking as innumerable others have in the past,
“What’s it all about? Am I just going through the motions?” And as one
who is close to my heart often will ask, “Is it worth it?”
This weekend and throughout the week ahead, every one us must
do all we can to move away from the side lines and enter fully into the
events that will open up before us. This is Holy Week, the most
important time for anyone who claims to be Christian. The events we
celebrate this week are part of a cohesive whole, too often separated
and therefore poorly understood in their significance and in their power
to save us, literally. To claim to be following Christ, and not be willing to
walk with Him through his suffering and death, makes a mockery of our
empty words, and places us squarely in the world of the hypocrite.
Strong words? Certainly. But words I know I need to hear, and believe
many who read them might need to hear as well.
I know that I will be busy about many things this week in preparing
for the liturgies and celebrations which take place but just once a year.
Bricks and pedestals, containers and banners will be the stuff of my
thoughts, but none of it is worth a thing if the reason for the preparation
is not kept in the forefront of my mind. I know that I need to not just
read the words of Jesus this weekend, but be there with Him as He is
condemned, denied and crucified. I know that as I go though the
motions on Holy Thursday and wash feet or celebrate the eucharist, it
needs to be as though it was the first time ever. I am well aware of the
fact that as I lay on the floor on Good Friday, in an act of sheer humility
before the Lord who has died for me, that I do so not just in empty
action, but in the full release of the spirit. And as I go through the
convolutions and complexities of the Easter Vigil, trying to remember
when the candles get lit, the water blessed, those who are being
confirmed should be invited forward and the invitation to express their
faith in Christ and the Church spoken, I pray I do not get so caught up in
the minutiae of the script that I forget the real purpose of it all. After all, I
need not just preside and lead all who will be in attendance, but to be
part of it all, fully and consciously.
So where will you be this week? Will you be on the side of the road
watching as Christ passes by, observing the events as one disengaged,
although curious? Or will you be fully participating in every event
possible -- Walking the cobblestones, waving palm branches, unafraid
to claim Christ as your King, and suffering the consequences of such a
bold statement? Will you stay at home this week, justifiably tired from
the ordinary tasks of your life, and miss the truly extraordinary work of
Christ’s saving actions? Or will you make every effort you can to
acknowledge your own salvation by entering Christ’s suffering and death
in order to drink the refreshing power of his resurrection? To do
something different from normal, from the ordinary, the same as
always?
“Is it worth it?” For me, this year more than ever. For you? You
make the call. I intend to be there with Christ like I should have been in
the past: Conscious, active and fully participating in His suffering and
death so that I might appreciate more than ever what it means to be part
of His resurrection. It is the least I can do in gratitude for what He has
done for me.
