Church of the Nativity

We just heard the Passion narrative which helps to prepare us to enter into the holiest week of the year.  One thing that struck me this year was the people who were yelling at Jesus on the cross. 

They said, “save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!” And “He saved others; he cannot save himself.”  And then it said, “The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.” 

Jesus could have saved himself, there is no question.  I have heard it said that the nails didn’t hold Jesus to the cross, Jesus’ love for us held Him to the cross.  Jesus’ love for me held Him to the cross. 

The timing of the crucifixion was interesting to say the least. It was at the beginning of the Passover Feast, preparation day.  In the Temple in Jerusalem, at this same time, thousands of lambs were being slaughtered for the Paschal Feast that the Jews would celebrate beginning that evening at sunset. 

The feast was celebrated annually to commemorate the Passover, when the Angel of Death passed over all of the Jews who had put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses.   

In this sense, the blood of the spotless, innocent lamb saved all of the first born of Israel, while all of the first born of Egypt died, and they would celebrate this annually by sacrificing and eating these lambs during the Passover Feast. 

So the timing was right 2000 years ago because Jesus was meant to be the new paschal lamb, the new spotless, innocent lamb which was slaughtered to begin the Passover and save His people, Jews and Gentiles alike.  

Through Jesus’ blood, the lamb of God, we are all saved from our sins which result in eternal death, but through His atoning sacrifice, Jesus has opened the gates of Heaven, opened the gates to Eternal Life. 

Right now I celebrate Mass privately every day, and I always make prayer intentions after the readings, and quite often since this Coronavirus started I have prayed that “the Angel of Death will pass over us here in Dubuque.”   

Do you remember the movie, “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston?  And the Angel of Death appears on that fateful night as a green fog, as screams of the Egyptian mothers fill the night sky?  

This is how I envision the Angel of Death when I am asking for it to pass over us. And the word for Passover, Paschal, is where we get our word Easter.  It is really the same celebration that has been celebrated for thousands of years, starting with Moses and Jews, and continuing still today.  

So my prayer recently has become, “Lord, let this Angel of Death pass over us, on Easter, let the virus be gone without a trace, that everyone, without a doubt, would know it was by your mighty hand that we have been saved. And then that will be a celebration.”

Now, part of me started to think this kind of prayer was foolish, that it would never happen, that my prayer wouldn’t work. 

But then, on Thursday afternoon when Archbishop Michael Jackels came online to say the rosary, he said, “I believe in miracles.  I believe this could end tomorrow. And so we pray.” And then after we finished praying the rosary, the Archbishop said, “Thanks for praying with us. Expect a miracle.” 

Now, God doesn’t always answer our prayers like we hope, but he always answers our prayers, I believe, in the best way that is possible.  And we should expect miracles. 

I don’t know if God will answer this prayer of mine, but that doesn’t stop me from praying, and furthermore, it doesn’t cause me to doubt God for even a second, or even to think that He has abandoned us. 

One part of today's liturgy that always strikes me is this psalm that we pray, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  

And then in the Gospel, we heard, “And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

We might be tempted to think that Jesus thought He was abandoned or forsaken as we might be tempted to think we are now.  But in reality, this was the start of a prayer, the start of a psalm prayer, psalm 22 that Jesus would have been quite familiar with, that He would have prayed quite often, and he was calling it to mind for everyone listening.

For instance, if I were to say, ‘let us pray together, “Our Father…”’ or “Hail Mary…” or in just a few moments when I finish the homily I’ll say, “I believe in God” you will know exactly the prayer that I am making and you will join in with me, right? I announce the prayers usually, but because of those first few words, I wouldn’t have to. 

Well, that is what Jesus was doing here, when he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” all of the traditional Jews who were accustomed to praying this psalm 22 would have immediately recognized it, many would have been able to pray the rest of it by memory... 

But they would definitely remember that even though the psalmist felt forsaken or abandoned at the beginning, it ends with a chorus of praise.

Let me just read how Psalm 22 ends, picking up in verse 25 where we had left off:

25 For he has not spurned or disdained

the misery of this poor wretch,

Did not turn away from me,

but heard me when I cried out.

26 I will offer praise in the great assembly;

my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.

27 The poor will eat their fill;

those who seek the LORD will offer praise.

May your hearts enjoy life forever!”

28 All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the LORD;

All the families of nations

will bow low before him.

29 For kingship belongs to the LORD,

the ruler over the nations.

30 All who sleep in the earth

will bow low before God;

All who have gone down into the dust

will kneel in homage.

31 And I will live for the LORD;

my descendants will serve you.

32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord,

that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn

the deliverance you have brought.

So that is how Psalm 22 ends… Isn’t it amazing? That is what Jesus wanted the people to think about when He was dying... So everyone standing under the cross would have known how that story would end, praising God for the deliverance He has brought.  Everyone would have known, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

Now, I don’t know how this whole Coronavirus thing will end, but through it all, I will glorify God, I will give thanks to Jesus my savior, and I will trust in Him that he will deliver us, out of His great love for us. 

Whether my prayer for the angel of death to pass over us is answered or not, for God to save us now in our need, I know Jesus is the lamb of God who has saved us, is saving, and will continue to save us from our sins, from eternal death.  

Jesus, I trust in you.