In
this Holy Week, the mystery that occupies our thoughts and prayers is
that of Jesus’ suffering and death. In the liturgy, the events of the
last days of Jesus’ life are celebrated and they become present again. We
are taken to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed for the cup of
suffering to pass him by and where his final prayer was one of submission to
the will of his Father. We hear the noise of the crowd as Jesus is
arrested and we see Judas betray Jesus with a kiss. We see Jesus scourged
and mocked and standing before Pilate who tells the onlookers, “Ecce, homo”,
behold the man. We hear the shouts of the crowd seeking his
crucifixion. We watch him as he is nailed to the cross and hangs there in
agony for several hours before he dies. We see his lifeless body lowered
from the cross and taken away for burial. It is not only the events in
Jesus’ own life that are brought to mind in Holy Week; for we also recall the
experiences of his apostles, the soldiers who punished and mocked him, Pilate,
the chief priests, the holy women who attended him, St. Peter who denied him
three times, and his mother and St. John as they stood beneath the cross while
he was dying. These events are timeless because they go beyond any fixed
time and they are holy and redeeming for all times. They bespeak the
drama of sin and holiness, life and death, the human struggle with evil and
God’s determination to save the human family from all that keeps men and women
from knowing the glory of the children of God.
There
is more to Holy Week than memory. In this week we find echoes of Jesus’
suffering and death and we come to see again that God continues to rescue God’s
people from the depths and to seat them on the heights where Jesus reigns in
glory and the fullness of life. Our thoughts go to all the nursing homes
and care centers where the elderly wait for death, some consciously and many in
a world of half shadows and murmuring voices. Some are ready and open to
their passage to the next life and back to their loved ones who have gone
before. Some are fearful and held back by family members who are afraid
to let them go. Some have the comfort of the sacraments; many do
not. Some are accompanied in their journey by family and friends; others
are alone: there is only God and them.
We
also think of those who are dealing with terminal illness. Some are
literally between life and death, not knowing where they will be a month or a
year from now, not knowing whether they can place any trust in the medical
treatments they are receiving, not knowing whether it is time to let go or time
to keep on fighting. Some have help from their families and friends;
others are quite alone. Some of them feel as if they are hanging on the
cross with Jesus, and they are not sure whether that is true or not. Some
have the assistance of the prayers of their communities; others do not know
what prayer is or how it could ever help them. Some of these suffering
ones do not know what to do, they have just received their diagnosis and it is
early in their illness. Their suffering is more mental and emotional, and
very much in their spirit. Some call out to Jesus and know the meaning of
his cry, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Others feel that cry but do
not know the One to whom it is spoken or whether it is heard or just spoken
into a vast emptiness.
We
can consider, too, in this Holy Week, the suffering of children in our world,
those who have lost their families in war and violence, those who are
struggling with family to go somewhere that is safe, somewhere that is not in
the eyesight of weapons and bombs, somewhere they are not victims of greed and
power. Some of these children have suffered terrible physical
injuries. They are missing limbs, eyesight and hearing. Many of
them are missing comfort and companionship. They have suffered trauma and
some of them will never recover even over their lifetime, whether that life be
brief or long. They know the suffering of Jesus and Jesus knows their
suffering.
Our
thoughts during Holy Week go also to the multitudes of those who suffer mental
illness and addiction in its various forms. They are prisoners of their
confused feelings and perceptions, living in another world, coming and going
and trying to make some kind of sense out of what they experience. Some
do not even have a home where they can feel some kind of safety. Many are
on the streets, subject to the danger of weather and others who would do them
harm. Many do not know where their next meal will come from, or whether
the ones who are supposed to be caring for them will do that. Some of
them long for an end to their suffering and they do not even see death as a
misfortune or cause for sorrow. Jesus knows their suffering too.
The
suffering of families caught up in division, breakdown, alienation and
abandonment also come to mind in Holy Week. There are parents who do not
where to turn, what to do, how to help their children or where to seek
help. There are children who feel like pawns in the destructive
relationships of their parents. Many of these people feel very much
alone, and they hope to find someone who will offer them a reason for hope.
Jesus also suffers with them.
We
think too of our disabled veterans who are trying to piece together their
lives, sometimes with one person or a few others to help, and sometimes by
themselves. We think of our military in harm’s way, wondering whether
they will come back to their family safe or injured or dead. Some are
doing their job without any visible support, and many wonder whether their
sacrifice is appreciated or valued by those who have the luxury of safety,
protection and peace. They hope that the trust they put in their comrades
will come to their aid when the going gets rough. Jesus serves with these
men and women and suffers with them as well.
Holy
Week might also be a time to consider those who are in power and whose
decisions affect thousands and even millions of people. Their suffering
may be that of not knowing what to do, being afraid of doing the best thing,
being pressured to do what they know is not right, being in a position where
doing the least harm is not even a viable option anymore. Their suffering
may not be visible to many people, but they feel it in their gut, in their
heart, and they long for someone to give them wisdom and courage. Jesus
also suffers with them.
In
Holy Week, we do not indulge in mere memory of Jesus’ last days. We find
his encounter with suffering and death being lived out even today in these
people and in their situations. And we pray that God will find a way to
reach out to all these, God’s suffering children, to let them know they are not
alone, that God cares for them just as God cared for Jesus in his agony and his
death.
