Passover

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(Holy Thursday) Thursday, 28 March 2013 : Mass of the Lord’s Supper – Cena Domini, Holy Week (First Reading)

Exodus 12 : 1-8, 11-14

YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt and said, “This month is to be the beginning of all months, the first month of your year. Speak to the community of Israel and say to them :

“On the tenth day of this month let each family take a lamb, a lamb for each house. If the family is too small for a lamb, they must join with a neighbour, the nearest to the house, according to the number of persons and to what each one can eat.”

“You will select a perfect lamb without blemish, a male born during the present year, taken from the sheep or goats. Then you will keep it until the fourteenth day of the month. On that evening all the people will slaughter their lambs, and take some of the blood to put on the doorposts and on top of the doorframes of the houses where you eat.”

“That night you will eat the flesh roasted at the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. And this is how you will eat : with a belt round your waist, sandals on your feet and a staff in your hand. You shall eat hastily for it is a passover in honour of YHVH.”

“On that night I shall go through Egypt and strike every firstborn in Egypt, men and animals; and I will even bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt, I, YHVH! The blood on your houses will be the sign that you are there. I will see the blood and pass over you; and you will escape the mortal plague when I strike Egypt.”

“This is a day you are to remember and celebrate in honour of YHVH. It is to be kept as a festival day for all generations forever.”

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Wednesday, 27 March 2013 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 26 : 14-25

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver, and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover meal for You?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Master says : My hour is near, and I will celebrate the Passover with My disciples in your house.'”

The disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, Jesus sat at table with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you : one of you will betray Me.” They were deeply distressed, and they asked Him, one after the other, “You do not mean me, do You, Lord?”

He answered, “The one who dips his bread with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man is going as the Scriptures say He will. But alas for that one whom betrays the Son of Man : better for him not to have been born.”

Judas, who was betraying Him, also asked, “You do not mean me, Master, do you?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

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Sunday, 24 March 2013 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Holy Week (Scripture Reflection)

Christ, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom we know as our Saviour, through His death on the cross at Calvary, had His story of the Passion He went through for our sake told today, beginning from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and ending with the great Resurrection on Easter Sunday. It all began in what today’s commemoration called as the Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Holy Week, in which in this holiest of all weeks in history, the story of salvation of all mankind was unfold. It marked the culmination of Jesus’ mission on this world to save it and bring it back into unity with God the Father, who loves all.

Palm Sunday marked how Christ came into Jerusalem, welcomed as a ‘king’ and glorified with the palms and hymns, and all the people glorifying God and mentioned His descent from David, as a sign of His mission to make God’s promise fulfilled to David, that is to establish David’s throne forever through Him, and to mark the return of the true King to the people of Israel. He is indeed a king of glory who will lead His beloved people to glory and victory once again, and this victory is none other than that of the ultimate triumph over evil, Satan, and all his evil plots that had plagued all mankind since he brought Adam and Eve, our forefathers to evil and rebellion against God.

Yes, Christ had entered Jerusalem in order to bring about that triumph, that victory against Satan who had enchained mankind to slavery under sin since the beginning of creation. He came as the one to liberate mankind, as their king to lead them out of the darkness of evil. Yes, Christ is a king, king of all kings indeed. For in Him lies all authority and all power that is there on earth and in heaven. But yet, our Lord remains humble, a servant leader. For even He entered Jerusalem not on a mighty warhorse or elephants as kings and rulers of the earth would do or had done before, but on a humble donkey, widely considered as a dumb and weak animal.

Yes, and as Christ had mentioned in the Last Supper He had with His disciples, the greatest among all, the leader should be the servant of all, and show the leadership, not via strong arms, wealth, or power, but through example through service. That a leader truly is a leader only if he serves as an example of his leadership, for a leader is not made a leader to glorify that leader, but most importantly that he will do good for the sake of others, especially those upon whom he had been appointed as a leader for.

And remember, Jesus Christ Himself had said that His kingdom is not of this world, but is a kingdom of love and truth, and not of power, strength, and glory. For Christ had come into this world, to be that servant leader, that as its leader, being God, who created it and all mankind and creations on earth, He had come to show example through His teachings and His actions, and also showed example to other leaders on how they should be responsible on their duties entrusted to them, as well as showing them how to lead as He had done.

He came to Jerusalem to face His death, as we all know, that He was to die on that week, which we commemorate every year on Good Friday. From that jubilation and glorification that we see and commemorate today of His entry, within a short time, all that turned to lamentation, and worse, condemnation, when they shouted “Crucify Him!” at Christ when He was being condemned to death before Pilate. He shows that power and glory indeed are just temporary, and indeed things may just change as quickly as it would, as it was with Christ, who was hailed as King and then condemned to die like a criminal within the same week.

Jesus wanted to enter Jerusalem because He must do so in order to accomplish the mission that had been given to Him by the Father, and also because He is of the Father, He also loves us that He wants to save us, despite all the difficulties and the sufferings that He had to go through. Being human as Jesus is, He Himself too feel the suffering that all of us suffer from, and even He asked God the Father, to let that cup of suffering that He had to drink to pass from Him. Such is the extent of suffering that He had to suffer from that even Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, was also pushed to the point of wavering in the face of such unprecedented and unimaginable weight that He had to bear.

Indeed, inside that cup of suffering, is all our sins, our faults, and our rebellions against God. That is all the weight of sin that Christ had to bear through His suffering until His death, in order to purchase us from Satan, our jailor, our slaver. He redeemed us from our slavery to sin by His own being, His own Precious Body and Precious Blood, which He freely gave to all of us, that we may have eternal life in Him.

It is up to us entirely whether to follow Christ, in taking up our crosses as Christ had asked of us and His disciples, and therefore in doing so, sharing in the cross of Christ and therefore in His glory upon His resurrection, or we can be like His accusers and like those who shouted for His death, or by continuing to live in our state of sin, and therefore adding more and more to that cup which Christ had to bear, and also therefore took part passively in scourging Christ and creating His wounds.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we begin this Holy Week and all the celebrations and Masses that we are going to have, let us keep our focus on Christ, on Christ crucified on the cross, for through that cross all of us were saved from sin and eternal damnation, and also on Christ Resurrected, which on Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, and indeed through the entire Easter season we are going to celebrate. That despite the death of Jesus on the Cross, all is not lost, since on the third day, He was risen to life again, and was resurrected in glory, to show the final victory of God and light over Satan and his agents of darkness.

Holy Week is not just like any other week, but it is indeed a very important week, and should be the most important week in our calendar year, when there are so many events surrounding the salvation of the world are being commemorated. We should do our best and our utmost in order to make this Holy Week a truly holy and blessed week. Let us reflect on the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as we begin this Holy Week, with today, reflecting over the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, how Jesus, the king of all kings, and Son of God the Most High, entered Jerusalem, His Holy City on a donkey, a lowly animal, and readily welcoming the death that would take Him that same week in Jerusalem.

May God Almighty bless all of us and make this Holy Week a truly holy and blessed week for all of us. Happy Holy Week! Amen.

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Saturday, 23 March 2013 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

John 11 : 45-56

Many of the Jews who had come with Mary, believed in Jesus when they saw what He did; but some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Council.

They said, “What are we to do? For this man keeps on giving miraculous signs. If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him and, as a result of this, the Romans will come and destroy our Holy Place and our nation.”

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all, nor do you clearly see what you need. It is better to have one man die for the people, than to let the whole nation be destroyed.”

In saying this, Caiaphas did not speak for himself, but being High Priest that year, he foretold like a prophet that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also would die to gather into one, the scattered children of God. So, from that day on, they were determined to kill Him.

Because of this, Jesus no longer moved about freely among the Jews. He withdrew instead to the country near the wilderness, and stayed with His disciples in a town called Ephraim. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and people from everywhere were coming to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. They looked for Jesus and, as they stood in the Temple, they talked with one another, “What do you think? Will He come to the festival?”

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Tuesday, 19 March 2013 : 5th Week of Lent, Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Today also marks the Papal Inauguration of the 266th and current Pope, Pope Francis

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has concieved by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

 

Alternative reading

 

Luke 2 : 41-51a

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old; He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them.

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflection) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the story of salvation. First that of the people of Israel, and then all of us, who are saved, both by God, through His agents. The people of Israel suffered under great slavery in Egypt under the Pharaoh, who forced them to work day and night, to build the buildings and monuments for the Egyptians. God sent Moses, as His messenger to the Pharaoh to liberate His people from the chains of Egyptian slavery.

When Pharaoh refused, God sent the ten plagues to punish the Egyptians, who eventually let them go, but before they had even reached the Red Sea, the Pharaoh had yet changed his mind again and intent on re-enslaving the Israelites again. God split the Red Sea and brought His people across that sea and crushed the Egyptians under the waves as a sign of His faith and love to His people. And that He is not hesitant to punish those who had been ignorant and whose heart had been hardened against His love.

But yet, the Israelites rebelled, and had put the Lord to the test. They doubted His power and majesty, and even doubted His love. They complained against Him because of their thirst and hunger, despite God having constantly showing His kindness through the manna, the birds, and many other provisions along the way. They even mentioned going back to Egypt where they claimed that life under slavery would have been much better than to suffer and die in the desert. It is better to them they thought to live in slavery and hard work, but at least well fed by their slavemasters, than to be free and walking in the desert of death.

Then, it is the same, as the Lord Himself sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to be our Messiah, our Saviour, that all of us can be saved from certain death, under the slavery of sin and Satan, who is like Pharaoh, who is our slavemaster. We were servants of sin and were the thralls of Satan prior to our liberation through the waters of baptism, for through that living water of baptism, our thirst, the real thirst that we have, is quenched by the living water of Christ. Christ dwelled in us and became the living spring of water of eternal life.

For this living water of Christ quenches our real thirst and our real hunger and longing, that is not the physical thirst of water or hunger for food, but truly our thirst for the redeeming Word of God, and most importantly, the infinite love that God has for us. For separated from God, under the slavery of sin and evil, we are cut off from the love of God, and therefore, we suffer because of such separation.

We also constantly rebel against the Lord through our sins and our sinful ways, but the Lord is ever ready to forgive us, but only if we had not hardened our hearts against Him, and instead humbly asking Him for forgiveness. Let us not be like the Israelites who always complained that they did not have enough even though the Lord had provided them greatly, for who else in the world had ever received heavenly bread of manna as food every morning? And flocks of bird for them to eat? and crystal-clear water that satisfies thirst?

Let us therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, strive to be faithful to God, and most importantly, to know how to feel enough, and sufficient, and not to succumb to temptations and our greed, to have more, when we already have some that we need, and what is enough for us. This is what had driven the Israelites to rebel in the desert, because they felt that they did not have enough. Let us also open our hearts to God and His love, and let us be filled and satisfied by His love, through His dwelling in all of us and our hearts.

Pray brothers and sisters, that we will not fall back into the slavery of sin and evil. For evil will continue to try to put us back into slavery under him and sin, as all of us who are faithful in Christ and had been baptised, had been liberated by the living water of Christ, who died for us on the cross that our chains are broken, and we are freed, just like the lamb sacrificed on the Passover, the blood that marked the doors of the people of Israel that God would pass from them, so did Christ gave us His Precious Blood to mark us, that God knows that we belong to Him, and will not pass judgment of death upon us, but stay in Him and have eternal life.

May God keep us in His love, and keep us in His loving embrace, and protect us from the assaults of the evil one. That the chains that had been broken will not come back to chain us once again. For we are free and we now obey and love God and Him alone. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 February 2013 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Scripture Reflection)

We remember today the day when our Lord Jesus, the firstborn son of Mary and Joseph, was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded to the people through the Law. Christ is our High Priest, who offered Himself up to God, as a worthy offering for our sins, which is done once and for all at the cross, for our complete redemption and freedom from sin and death. However, earlier in His life, just days after His birth, Jesus was offered as the firstborn son, just like all other firstborn sons of the Israelites. Why is this so?

This is because, at the time when the people of Israel was still enslaved in Egypt under the rule of the Pharaoh, God sent Moses as His messenger to the Pharaoh to free His people and let them go to the Promised Land. The Pharaoh hardened his heart and punished the people of Israel because of what Moses told him of the Lord’s will. What happened next? The Lord sent ten plagues to punish Egypt for their treatment of His beloved and chosen people. The last of all plagues saw the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons, while the firstborn sons of the people of Israel were saved. The mark of the blood of the lamb eaten at Passover, which was applied to the door, became the symbol of salvation of the people of Israel.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, the High Priest, offered Himself as the Lamb of sacrifice, similar to the time of the Passover. His blood became the mark of salvation for all of us who believe in Him. Death and evil will have no more power over us, if we are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God. As the lamb for the Passover ought to be a young lamb, unblemished and perfect in appearance, so does when Jesus was presented at the Temple, Jesus was chosen to be that Lamb, the Lamb of God. For who else is worthy other than the Son of God Himself, who willed to come down and became human just as we are, that through His offering of Himself as the Lamb, He freed us from the chain of death. Just as Pharaoh refused to release the people of Israel from slavery and hard work, neither did Satan want to release us from the slavery of sin, which had subjected all humankind since the disobedience of Adam and his wife, Eve. But the Lord, in sending His Son to us, is sending Satan a plague and disaster far greater than that of the ten plagues of Egypt.

For through the offering of Himself, Jesus presented Himself as the worthy sacrifice, that released now not just the people of Israel, but also all mankind, and now not just to go to the Promised Land on earth, but now we are indeed free to embark on our way towards the Promised Land on heaven itself, with God as our Lord, while the old sacrifice did not free us from death, and the Promised Land of Israel as the Bible shows, is full of conflicts and destruction, especially when Israel disobeyed the Lord and turned their back on Him, preferring the pagan gods for worship instead of the Lord who had delivered them from the Egyptians; but now we have the Sacrifice, which we celebrate regularly through the Mass, when the Lord gave us His Precious Body and His Precious Blood, that we are in Him, and He in us, that all of us, are worthy of eternal life, and worthy of the Kingdom of God, where there is no more violence, no more death, and no more suffering.

Today, on this feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we especially pray for our priests, for all the bishops, and the cardinals, and our Pope, Benedict XVI. For today is the day most appropriate for prayer for all those who has given themselves to God, who has been consecrated to God, just like the firstborns of Israel, and just like Jesus Himself. For they have given themselves fully to God, embracing in full the depth of the love of God, and embracing His Church as their bride. For priests and all consecrated to God have dedicated themselves truly to God, just as Christ was, and they represent Christ Himself, or in persona Christi. It is through them, and through the divine authority given to them from the Lord, through the Apostles, and all the bishops of all ages, that in the Holy Mass, we have the very Sacrifice that the Lord made on the cross in Calvary.

For through our priests, the Lord gives us His Precious Body and Blood, turned from the bread and wine, for us to receive Him, that we also take part in our Lord’s Sacrifice, that freed us from all the chains of sin. No more will evil and Satan has any power over us. Therefore, today, let us fervently pray for all those consecrated to God, that they will stay faithful, and they will keep themselves holy and pure, to be worthy to God just as Christ, the perfect sacrifice and the Lamb of God once was. May God bless all our priests, and bless His Holy Church, with all of us His children. Amen.