YEAR A: HOMILY FOR HOLY THURSDAY (3)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR HOLY THURSDAY

HOMILY THEME: INSTITUTION OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE EUCHARIST

BY: Fr. Mike Olumba

HOMILY: First reading: Exodus, 12: 1-8, 11-14.
Psalm 115
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
Gospel: John 13: 1-15

Today, the Church and most other Christian Churches celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood that take care of this, which Jesus accomplished before going to suffer his passion. It was also by instituting the Eucharist (Thanksgiving in Greek) before giving his life that he had instituted at the same time the priesthood of the New Testament to perpetuate his sacrifice (of the cross) in the form of a sacrament. Thus, today the Church celebrates the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist, her sacramental sacrifice.

In the gospel, knowing that the time for his passage was close, Jesus like a good Jew, assembled his close friends to celebrate the Jewish Passover feast as every other Jewish family would be celebrating in the context of the Passover weekend. Like the head of this little group, He decided to celebrate with them only that he will add elements that were not there when celebrated normally by the Jews. He was doing this knowing quite well that this last supper is connected to his sacrifice on the cross/he will connect this last supper to his sacrifice on the cross.

In the Old Testament and in the pagan world, the worshipers often ate the rest/remaining of the animal victim used in a sacrifice. The idea is that God or the god/gods to whom the sacrifice is made had eaten it spiritually when the blood of the sacrificial animal is offered to him. By eating what is left over, it is taken that the worshippers share thus a communion with the God or gods to whom the sacrifice was made (depending on the specific type of the sacrifice). The worshippers thus partake in a meal, a communion from which God or the god had already eaten. Thus, Christ took bread and blessed it/consecrated it to God, and then gave it to his apostles saying; “Take, eat, this is my body” (the same body that will be broken tomorrow Friday, on the cross just as the sacrificial paschal lamb will be killed in the temple later. In the same way he said later; “Take, drink, this is my blood”, “the same blood which will be poured away tomorrow on the cross just as the blood of the lamb will be poured away later in the temple in memory of the one used to mark your door lintels in Egypt as a sign of protection. I myself, I am now the True Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Thus, Christ gave them/us in a sacramental form the fruits of the sacrifice he was to accomplish later on the cross. Remember, he was not sacrificed by the Jews or by the Roman soldiers. No.

The Jewish religious leaders gave him up to be killed out of jealousy. The Roman soldiers did what they did because the governor asked them to fulfil the democratic wish of the Jewish people and their leaders (which the Romans believed will perhaps establish civil peace and avoid general revolt). But in all this, Christ accepted the suffering and death meted out to him and offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father for our sins. He became the Priest and the Victim of his sacrifice which took place on the altar, which is the Cross. This complete the presence of the three things needed in a ritual liturgical sacrifice in the Old Testament: Priest, Victim and Place/Altar.

In the Eucharistic Sacrifice, he gave us a means of perpetuating sacramentally and in time this once and for all Sacrifice of the Cross, in memory of him. (There is no religion without visible rituals. In the Catholic Church, these rituals are called the Sacraments. The most important of all these is that which perpetuates sacramentally the Sacrifice of the Cross, which Christ asked his disciples to do until he comes again). In addition to the Priesthood of the Faithful, in which all believers share in (1 Peter 2: 9), the Church calls the ministers who officiate at this Eucharistic Sacramental Sacrifice “priests”. That is why we celebrate this Eucharistic Sacramental Sacrifice today and the priesthood that officiates at it.

Paul tells us that he wasnot around when this took place, but that he received it as handed down by tradition, that such was done by the Master and that he asked us to that in memory of him, proclaiming his death until he comes again. (Luke 22: 19-20; Mark14: 22-24; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26).

The Church’s tradition rooted in the bible, insists that what happened once in history cannot be repeated. But the sacramental perpetuation of this in the assembly’s liturgical sacramental celebration follows the instruction of the Master: “Do this in memory of me”. Thus, we celebrate mystically, with visible signs the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice, which he himself performed while at meal with his disciples before going to fulfil this historically on the Cross in line with the Father’s will.

In his farewell speech to his disciples, Our Lord Jesus Christ expresses his last wishes. He bequeaths to his family and friends his Testament, which he entrusts to their faithfulness: “I give you a new commandment: That you love one another as I have loved you”. Since then, the exercise of charity among Christians has become the supreme moral law, like the normal occupation of the baptised waiting for the Lord’s definitive return.

At first sight, this precept of loving one another as brothers and sisters is not new, since Leviticus had already ordered the Jews to love one’s neighbour as oneself; but it was then only a secondary commandment, ignored by the Decalogue itself. The novelty here is to give it an unparalleled place in the Christian institution, on the same level almost as the precept of loving God himself.

(In Matthew 22:37-40: 37-Jesus said to someone, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (cf. Deuteronomy 6: 5); 38-‘This is the first and great commandment. 39-And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40-On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”) (cf. Leviticus 18: 19).

Here, for the first time, Jesus brought together these two elements of the Law never presented together like this before in the Old Testament. Now he tells us that we can no longer easily keep apart these two laws. And that they are like two sides of the same coin, one the first side, and the other, the second side. We can no longer claim to love God and despise his children, who are our brothers and sisters. In Christ’s mouth, it is not their goodness or sound morality that will be the condition of this love for them or love shown to them. No.

Moreover and above all, it is henceforth a question of loving one’s neighbour as Christ himself loved us; which implies a love of a new nature: charity, and an original mode: not only affective and helpful, but all of the dedication and self-sacrifice in favour of others, the beloved, are implied since the Saviour loved his own by giving his life for them. It was also necessary that after telling us to do to others what we would like done to us in the Golden Rule, the Master completes the circle here by telling us to look up to him as a model to be used in this matter of loving others. (Perhaps, he knew also that some human beings may hate themselves. There are some that.may like drinking water mixed with pepper every morning as their way of loving themselves. If you visit them, they might as well give you pepper and water every morning as a beverage, not minding if you like it or not. They are loving you as they love themselves. Luckily, Christ tells us to look up to him as our model of love).

This evening we are celebrating Christian brotherhood: Therefore, a Christian community, whose members love one another with Christian charity, will always recall the presence, the action and the spirit of Christ himself. These will be their daily guides.

-Let us pray in this Mass that we may develop trust for each other just as Christ has trusted us with the Christian Message and his commandment!
-May he give us the spirit of humility, of sharing, of patience with ourselves and with weak humanity!
-May our hope be in God and in his Christ!
-May we learn that authority ought always to be used for service and for the protection of the weak and not for self glory and aggrandisement!
-Despite our weakness, may He help us to hold on to doing good even when we find a thousand reasons for doing otherwise!
-May he save us from present dangers and other angels of death in varied forms!
-May he encourage us to share our lives and our resources with others and for others just as he has done for us all!–AMEN

Fr. Mike Olumba