As I got older and grasped the timeline of events, I still had a hard time with the reality of Holy Week as something to celebrate. It is a rather grim moment in time when we reach what we call Holy Thursday because we know the Last Supper is going to be indeed Christ’s last meal, and yet we are taught to find this also glorious because here Jesus teaches his Apostles the sacrament of the Eucharist, celebrating what is ostensibly the first Mass and thereby displacing the tradition of the Seder.
At some point during this meal and before the actual breaking of the bread, Jesus turns to Judas and tells him to do what he must do. Thus, Judas leaves the room and does not have the opportunity to consume the bread made flesh or drink the wine made blood. No matter what grade level I was in, this always seemed to be an obvious punishment in and of itself for Judas, for he failed to receive the sacrament and then went on to betray Jesus and ultimately hung himself once he realized his sin.
Once the object of the transformed Seder was complete, Jesus and his followers went to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer and reflection. While Peter and the rest were a bit drunk on the wine and fell off to sleep, Jesus had what I have always believed to be his most human moment (except for that time in the temple when he went ballistic on the vendors and money lenders). Here Jesus fell to his knees and begged for the cup to pass from his lips. His godhood was subsumed briefly by his humanity, and he wanted to keep his human life despite all its frailties and afflictions.
This brief time in the garden always frightened me the most, because whether or not it was Satan who was using this human frailty to advantage (the scene in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ takes us in this direction), this does show how afraid Jesus was about dying. I do understand now that this makes us aware of the duality of Christ’s nature and helps us understand better that he was given a soul with freedom of choice just like all of us. In the end Jesus acquiesced to his father’s will and prepared himself for the horror that awaited him the following day.
Article comments
1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Great article, wonderfully written.
2 - Victor Lana
Thank you so very much, Gordon. It's appreciated.
3 - chantal stone
Beautifully written Victor. I also reflect in awe the deep meaning of this week to so many people, including myself, as a Christian.
The commercialism of this holiday always bothers me. A friend--who is easily consumed by materialism and commercialism--asked me the other day if I "celebrate" Easter. The question confused me, really, because I thought how does one actually celebrate? And I asked her this....what she meant of course was about the dying of eggs, Easter baskets for the kids, etc.
I said yes we do those things, just for the fun of it, for the kids' sake, but I reminded her of the deeper meaning of Easter, and in order to truly "celebrate" all that is necessary is Reverence.
Have a wonderful weekend, Victor.
4 - Josh
Good article. "Good Friday" may have originally been "God's Friday", and just eroded to "good" over the centuries.
5 - Lisa McKay
Great piece, Victor.
There's something about this time of year that affects everyone, I think, even us non-religious types, who still manage to find spiritual nourishment in the physical re-birth of the world that takes place all around us every spring. The archetypal themes of redemption and rebirth that underpin this holiday resonate with most people, regardless of their religious convictions. I think it conveys both hope and possibility, and the need to believe in both of those things is pretty universal.
6 - Victor Lana
Josh, that sounds very reasonable (just like "holy day" became "holiday"), still it always bothered me as a kid. Even today I feel depressed as I always have on Good Friday, so I don't feel too well and so on.
All will seem much brighter come Easter at sunrise.
7 - Diane Ensey
Your daughter and her questions reminds me of my brother when he was 5. The Sunday School teacher asked him what Easter was. My brother very solemnly said "It is the day that rabbits burned Jesus on the cross for being a witch". My mother was embarrassed and horrified, but the poor kid just had Halloween and Easter all mixed up.
Lovely post!
8 - Josh
Diane, that is about the most hilarious thing I've heard in a long time!
9 - Victor Lana
That is a great story, Diane. Kids say such fantastic things and you can't make it up any better.
10 - Baronius
Wow. Victor, if blogging has any purpose, it's for sharing articles like this.
11 - Victor Lana
Thank you for your kind comment, Baronius. It's appreciated.
12 - jimbobybob
attack attack
13 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Another fine article I managed to find as a result of some fool launching a spam attack.
I don't agree with the sentiments expressed above, Victor, but I can understand them, and the sense of mystery and awe you feel.
In addition, this was a fine piece of writing.
14 - Victor Lana
As always, Ruvy, I appreciate it when fine writers like you read my work and give praise. Thank you.