Monday of Holy Week
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St D.'s, NOLA
This
is a week of “self-emptying” for Christ. Yesterday, he entered
Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord!” By Saturday, he will have been betrayed
by a friend; arrested, denied, tortured, and nailed to a cross. He
will be dead and buried. Yesterday, we heard Paul tell us, that
“though he was in the form of God, [Christ] did not regard equality
with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself
(ἐκένωσεν). . .” He emptied himself of what? Not his
divinity. Not his humanity. We need both for our salvation! Christ
emptied himself of all attachments, all sentiments, all worldly
weights and anchors. As Mary pours the expensive funereal oil on his
feet and as Judas the Betrayer objects to the terrible waste, Jesus
begins to die. He lets go of friends, family, disciples, anyone and
anything that might allow “this cup to pass” from him. Jesus
doesn't cease loving his family and friends in order to let them go.
He begins to love them sacrificially. He pours them out so that the
Father's will might more perfectly take their place. This is the
challenge of Holy Week: detach, pour out, empty yourself so that
there is nothing left in you but your desire to be crucified with
Christ on Good Friday.
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