Holy Week Reflection

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.