Holy Thursday (Service: Faith in loving action)

Eileen Eagan, the author of ‘Vision of the Street: Mother Theresa’ talks about her meeting with Mother Theresa. During the conversion she asked Mother Theresa: “What makes Christianity a different religion?” “Service, service, service”, she answered. Service is the mark of Christian identity. Jesus himself said: “I have come, not to be served but to serve and give my life as ransom to many” (Mark 10:45). Even though Jesus had done a lot of things during his ministry, only one time did he say that he is giving a model to imitate (John 13:15). This was after washing the feet of his disciples.

Why did Jesus place service on the top of his priority list?

First of all, the principle of service underlines the basic truth about human existence. We are a relational being. We belong to one another. No person can grow in isolation. He needs a community. It is not enough to keep one’s blessings for oneself but we need to use it for the well being of the community. A Community does not possess talents. The gifts and talents of the community are distributed among its members. No single member possesses all the talents required to build up a community. If any one person refuses to cooperate, the community suffers (1Cor 12:12-26). In the act of serving we exercise this fundamental dimension of human existence.

Secondly, the goal of service is to prepare people to walk in the way of God and ultimately to build up the body of Christ (the Eucharistic Community)). Washing of the feet signifies that. The word ‘Walking’ was used as a metaphor in the Jewish religious culture. A good person walks the way of God. The washing of the feet was a symbolic gesture of straightening one’s path. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to prepare them for the last supper (the Eucharist). In this sense, all forms of service must lead to evangelization.

Serving others is not as easy as we think since we are living in a culture that emphasizes on self promotion and self glorification. Jesus not only served symbolically but also concretely. He served others to the extent of breaking and sharing his body. Service at its best is Eucharistic Service. In this we exercise our Christian identity. Christianity is not a self oriented religion but an other oriented religion. The important question, therefore, is not what did accomplish for yourself but rather what did you do for others? (Matthew 25:40).

The Eucharist, the climax of Jesus’ self giving service, not only serves as a constant inspiration to give of ourselves, but also nourishes us on our spiritual journey. It is the food that strengthens us to reach out to others even to the point of sacrificing our life.

Jesus also wanted this spiritual food made available in the church until the end of time; therefore He instituted the Priesthood by authorizing his apostles to continue to do it in His memory” (Luke 22:19). Christian service is not possible without Eucharist. The Eucharist will not be made available without out our priests.

As service marks the identity of Christian life, no one is excused from taking up responsibilities in the church. The call to service is the direct effect of Baptism. Like the early church, let us grow together as a family by taking care of the needs of each other. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind….There was no needy person among them…Everything was distributed according to need” (Acts 4: 32-35).

A journey towards Easter! (Palm Sunday)

Finally, we are in the holiest week of the year. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is called Holy Week. During these days we commemorate the foundational events in the history of salvation that transformed the world and human destiny. We witness the institution of Priesthood, Eucharist, Ministry, as well as the Passion, Death and the Resurrection of Jesus. Each of these needs to be reflected and meditated upon. In this brief presentation, however, I would like to invite your attention to the contrast between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

These two Sundays symbolize two kinds of glory- the man given glory and God given glory. On Palm Sunday, people crowned Jesus with Kingship. They sang hosanna to him. They spread their cloaks along the road (Lk19:28ff). This excitement and human praise, however, did not last long. Four days later the same throngs that hailed him failed him. They shouted: “Crucify him!”(Lk 23:210). The praise and glory of human hearts often emerges from a calculated mind and a selfish goal. Human behavior is unpredictable as it changes according to the mood of the mob. Anything founded on the shaky foundation of human emotions and conveniences cannot stand the test of truth. The human mind fluctuates and is most often influenced by selfish motives. Convenience dictates conscience. The glory that the world offers is like a house built on sand. The Palm Sunday reflects this reality. In the long run, this kind of glory becomes a meaningless victory.

On the other hand, Easter Sunday talks about a different kind of glory, God given glory. On Easter Sunday, God exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the Name that is above every name (Phil 2: 6-11). This eternal and everlasting glory resulted from Jesus’ unfailing commitment to the will of God. As Paul described, because Jesus sought the Kingdom of God even to the point of sacrificing his life, God greatly exalted him”.

Our life is a journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Being an embodied spirit, the human person constantly struggles between the life (spirit) principle and the death (body) principle (Freud). The tendency to seek the things of the earth often overpowers the human’s basic orientation to the things of above. As worldly glory is more attractive to the senses and less demanding, many people traveling along this road.. As Thomas Grey rightly put it, “The path of glory but leads to the grave”.

Jesus reached the mountain of resurrection by traveling up through the hill of Calvary (Good Friday). There is no bypass to resurrection. The rocks of Calvary must hit and break our ego before we reach the height of Resurrection. His life was a constant Yes to God and No to Satan. Resurrection is an ongoing process. It is the result of a series of dying process. It begins with our Baptism. The new orientation that we inherit through the sacrament of Baptism needs to grow through our vocation. There are fascinations and attractions on the way to distract us. Very often it is difficult to say no to them. The call to commit to our vocation is our Calvary as it demands sacrifice. Whether it is in our family, workplace, school or personal life, to experience Easter, we need to take up the cross with Jesus. Let us not stop on the way. Let us continue our journey towards Easter Sunday. Let us work for the treasures that last even after our passing from the world.