Let us go up to Jerusalem
Although we are enjoying the sunshine of early Spring (as I write this) and Easter is almost as late as it can possibly be, it still seems as though Christmas was just a few weeks back.
With this in mind, I am reminded of the words of the shepherds to each other as they marvel at the message of the angels concerning the baby in the manger:
‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass’ (Lk 2:15)
And so they choose to hurry to Bethlehem.
Now, we are called elsewhere this week; not to Bethlehem but to Jerusalem. It is only some 5.52 miles from one to the other, or 8.89 km for those who prefer the metric. Yet between these two holy places lies the life of Our Lord, the ‘thirty years among us dwelling’ as the hymn puts it. Those years reveal him to be a teacher, healer and prophet. But now he will show the full extent of his love and offer himself for our salvation. He will reveal himself to us once more this week as the ‘Salvator Mundi’, the Saviour of the World. Let us go up to Jerusalem.
What does Holy Week ask of us? Each year it asks for our active cooperation and our serious participation. We know from the Gospel narratives (and this year we will listen to the Passion according to St Luke and St John) that a whole crowd accompanied Jesus up to the Holy City. This crowd was a varied bunch to be sure, as are we. What role shall we play? Will we be spectators and bystanders or participants? All the better will be our pilgrimage this week if we shun the uncommitted options and walk alongside Christ, noting each and every gracious word and action.
With this in mind, I urge you, as best you are able, to connect with the Church in these holy days. There is a full schedule of liturgies and ample opportunity to be reconciled to God through the Sacrament of Penance—Reconciliation. Each of us knows there is all the difference in the world between being a bystander and a pilgrim. This latter choice is the one of the disciple. When we walk with the Lord, and engage fully in the drama we are changed, little by little, into the people we are called to be. I wish you a blessed week. Please pray for your clergy.
