Homily Tuesday of Holy Week (Jn. 13:21-33, 36-38) “The Hurtful Kiss”
Homily Tuesday of Holy Week (Jn. 13:21-33, 36-38) “The Hurtful Kiss”
Mel Gibson directed a movie a few years ago called The Passion of the Christ. The movie could only have been made by someone who had acted in a lot of action movies. There was blood and gore aplenty. My Dad who did not often go to movies said at the time, “I don’t see how anyone could have lived beyond the first few minutes.” He thought the scourging would have killed any normal man.
We tend to concentrate on the physical torture of the crucifixion, but the Gospels don’t seem to. The Gospel of Mark, for example, says simply, that they took Jesus out and crucified him. The writers did not have to describe the torture in detail. The people that they were writing for had probably witnessed such executions.
What the Gospel writers seemed to be more concerned about was the spiritual and mental anguish of Jesus. Jesus not only went through the pain of crucifixion, but he was betrayed by his friends. Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed him. Judas had witnessed all the good that Jesus had done from his miracles to his acts of charity. He had lived with Jesus on a day-to-day basis, seeing his goodness, yet when the opportunity came, he sold him to his enemies. How this must have hurt Jesus.
Psalm 55 seems to reflect the hurt Jesus felt:
“If an enemy had reviled me,
I could have borne it;
If he who hates me had vaunted himself against me,
I might have hidden from him.
But you, my other self,
my companion and my bosom friend!”
As Good Friday approaches we are left to ponder how loyal we have been to Jesus. If we are honest, none of us are as firm in our commitment as we would like to be.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I asked the Lord for forgiveness for my shortcomings this Lent? Is it too late to do so?
- Has someone betrayed me in my life? How did I react?
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Dear Parishioners,
The Easter Triduum is fast approaching. I would remind everyone that there is an opportunity for Reconciliation from 6-7 p.m. tonight and there are confessions tomorrow both before and after the Stations of the Cross. If you have not celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there is an opportunity to do so the next two days.
Remember that if you have not reserved a spot for any of the Easter Masses, we are putting names on a waiting list. Just call our office. The 9 a.m. Mass Sunday will be livestreamed and there will be communion in the parking lot after Mass. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday services will also be live streamed. Holy Thursday and Good Friday we will have communion in the parking lot after Mass.
Let us pray that everyone will be safe from the COVID 19 virus in the next few days. It would be terrible if the numbers would go up because of gatherings at Easter.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over us today.
Fr. Mark