SIXTH SUNDAY IN LENT: A. Mar 16, 2008

Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm: 22 Phil 2: 6-11 Matthew 26:17-27:55

After that long Gospel our reflection needless to say, will be short.

1. Our first reading comes from the 50th chapter of Isaiah. In the earlier chapters, we have a God who is fuming and fretting (to use human language) because the people are not responding to the invitation: “You will be my people and I will be your God.” They are sinning, they are breaking the commandments. God is angry and wants to destroy the People of Israel. By chapter 50, God seems to be mellow. God makes excuses for the People of Israel. “Your ways are not my ways.” God understands and gives a reason for our sinning and straying. God is going to send a Saviour, a Suffering Servant. He will tell of God’s love, but people will reject him. People will torture him and put him to a shameful death. The Suffering Servant can call on a Legion of Heavenly Angels. But he will not. He will suffer silently. He will not crush the bruised reed. This is the fringe outcome of his being a Messenger of the Good News.

2. The suffering servant, Paul tells us is equal to God, but will empty himself and take the form like any one of us. He will know our sufferings, he will walk our walk. Now at the table, knowing that his hour had come to depart, he will make an intimate gesture. He will take the bread and break it and give it to his apostles.

Just a few days before on Palm Sunday, the people had hailed Jesus as King. But he knows this is only one tide of emotion. As soon as it rises, it will fall. Sure enough, the same ones who called him “Son of David” and hailed him with Hosannas, will tomorrow shout, “Crucify him.”

3. But for the moment, Jesus is happy to be with his Apostles. He breaks bread, remembering all the brokenness in our world, in our families, in ourselves. Jesus is also thinking of his own brokenness: torture, passion and death. But he puts that on hold. But it keeps on rearing its ugly head. John would tell us, “Jesus knowing that his hour had come to depart from this world .” In this last hurrah Jesus will come out with a flood of metaphors to tell us that he loves us:

I am the Vine and you are the branches. Abide in me.

I do not call you servants, I call you friends.

I am going to prepare a place for you.

I will not leave you orphans.

4. But the Apostles are caught up in their own petty self interests, and they fail to catch the urgency and tension in Jesus. They have closed minds and closed hearts. Like Pilate who wrote “Quod scripsi, scripsi” what I have written, I have written. They are still bothered on who will be the greatest... and so continues the Passion and Death. But it is not over. We have only just begun.