HOLY THURSDAY 2020
YEAR OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
 
The Gospel of John begins:
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.vHe was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
 
Brothers and sisters, it has been divinely revealed to us that darkness entered into creation through the sin of Adam and Eve.
 
They were given a single command - just as we are given a single command. They were not to eat of the fruit of a tree in Eden.
 
Tonight we are confirmed in the new commandment of the Lord: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
 
In Jesus Christ there is the fulfillment of this command,
 
One singular act of OBEDIENCE, obedience unto death.
 
Obedience even to death upon a cross.
 
Beyond obedience, this death is the perfect revelation of the Love that the Father has for each one of us.
 
This death is the light that shines in the darkness.
 
This love is the life that darkness cannot overcome.
 
How often do we sing:
 
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this:
That caused the Lord of Bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul;
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
 
Love
 
The Lord of Love said to Moses and to Aaron that every one of their families was to procure for itself a lamb without blemish. During the evening twilight it was to be slaugthered and its blood applied to the two doorposts and the lintel of every Jewish home.
 
On that Passover of the Lord, the Lord went through Egypt striking down every firstborn of the land, executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt.
 
Soon, very soon, did the people of Israel forget.
 
This evening we gather in Solemn Memorial to make present a different sacrifice that can never be forgotten.
 
“that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
 
This is our memorial of the institution of the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders.
This is our opportunity to recall those seven moments in our lives when the Lord offers to us an outward sign, instituted by Christ to give grace.
 
Perhaps it is possible to call this moment in human history, sacramental.  This moment of the Coronavirus.
 
What if these moments of staying at home;
 
What if these moments of going out - were only for  necessities - including the necessity of caring for our neighbors;
 
What if we heeded the pleas of healthcare givers to protect them and others by staying at home;
 
What if we used this time to ask God for the grace to listen and to obey;
 
What if we prayed that at the cessation of this pandemic the Angel Gabriel would say to us as he said to Mary, “Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you”
 
I asked 40 days ago, that we not waste the Season of Lent, Now I ask God to form is us the blessed assurance that we not waste this Pandemic and the opportunity it provides to enter into the Passion of Jesus.
 
The Gospel records that “the devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand Jesus over.”
 
Even now, the devil induces!

During that supper, Jesus remained fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
 
That supper extends to this supper.
 
During this supper, Jesus remains fully aware that the Father has put everything into his power and that he has come from God and has returned to God.
 
At that supper, He rose and left us yet another model.
 
He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waste.
 
Then, Simon Peter!
 
Simon Peter, Who is Simon Peter today?
 
Who is self- determined, and self possessed today?
 
Who cannot figure out that the Word of God is not opposed to any word that protects and promotes life?
 
God’s Word and Human activity are not created to be mutually exclusive, quite the opposite, they are to be inclusive and unifying.
 
Who, then,  has to arrange and re-arrange every word of Pope Francis, every word of the bishops, every word of government leaders, every word of healthcare providers, every word of recovering victims of this virus?… until, I feel free to gather anyplace I want to gather, anytime I want to gather, with anyone and everyone that I want to gather with?
We know the rationale, it is not new.
 
Genesis 3:1-7
 
The question remains before us just as it did before Adam and Eve,
 
What wondrous love is this?
That caused the Lord of Bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?
For my soul?