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Preaching the Triduum |
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“FIRST IMPRESSIONS” HOLY WEEK TRIDUUM
(B)
By Jude Siciliano, OP
Dear Preachers:
As I look upon the readings for these days, I have some general thoughts that
might be useful for any of the preachings we do from Thursday to Easter Sunday.
I was advised once not to think of these days as separate events, but to keep
their unity in mind. You cannot think of one of these days out of the context of
the other two. So, Good Friday needs also to be seen in the light of Easter;
Easter has to be faced in light of Good Friday. You hold the pain and death
while mindful of the new life of Easter; you celebrate the new life of Easter
mindful of what it came out of--the death of Good Friday.
I also enter these days reminded that I am not pretending to be “there when they
crucified my Lord.” These events we celebrate are present tense, not some
ancient happening. God is either healing our wounds, giving us bread for our
journey and overcoming death or God is doing nothing at all for us. We are
looking not for a return from the dead on Jesus’ part; but for someone to roll
away the stone and open a whole new way of life for us. We don’t need a past
hero, but someone to open up the present and future for us; to show us
possibilities now and into our future. On our own, facing our deaths and
struggles, we see no path, no sense to what we experience. But if the stone were
rolled back we might see new life and transformation possible for us.
Good Friday forces us to stare death in the face and keeps us from jumping too
quickly ahead to a giddy celebration of Easter. We are not involved in some
biological or natural process here; the way we wait through a hard winter with
crust frozen soil, knowing, as day follows night, that there will be Spring. We
are sure flowers will bloom soon, indeed they have already begun to do that. But
their flowering and the new shoots breaking through the earth, are not “proofs”
of a resurrection awaiting us all. Nature might make a good example when we want
to make the Resurrection “reasonable,”“ expected,” almost “logical.” But note
that in the Southern Hemisphere, Easter comes in Fall, the dying season. Maybe
Good Friday and Autumn make better partners.
What’s clear in the narratives is that a human died. That’s supposed to be the
last word; he is dead. He is the son of Mary and like so many other mothers, she
has seen her son die. This day links us with so many parents who have lost their
children to violence. It also is a day to think about preaching against the
death penalty. Mary is not expecting him to return in the Springtime with the
flowers. Good Friday says, “that’s that.”
Easter is more than flowers catching us by surprise. They may present a good
metaphor, but we expect them, we don’t have a basis to expect the Resurrection.
Metaphors pale in the light of what God did; God did something much more. We
take death seriously so that we can be completely surprised by Easter. Sunday
will require that we see everything completely differently. Now, Resurrection is
the lens through which we see everything. Nothing really quite matches what
Resurrection really is and we take its surprise to our daily lives as we face
death in all its forms. When we are confronted by the dyings, we should not
gloss over them as if they were easily overcome. Good Friday requires us to take
these deaths seriously, they are beyond our power to triumph and when new life
comes and a way through opens, we know they have their origins in a more
powerful source than ourselves.
We sit at the Vigil Service having suffered the violence of Jesus’ death and all
the other deaths and endings we have endured. We vigil, realizing how weakened
we are by death and the corrupting forces in our lives. As we vigil we wait to
hear the Easter announcement of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16: 1-8) and we recall a
promise we heard at the beginning of this same Gospel when John the Baptist
promised us, “one more powerful than I is to come....” That’s what we wait
for...the news of this powerful one’s arrival. In the Gospel he showed his power
through miracles and the authority of his teaching. Will he be even more for us?
Will he have power even over death? We wait in the darkness of our vigil, as we
listen to the ancient texts that re-tell the story of our deliverance in the
past. Will we be delivered again, but this time finally delivered from the
finality of death? A recent death in my own family once more raises the
question, not as a speculative discussion, but as a matter of life or death,
faith or despair.
Mark’s resurrection story is very enigmatic. It was originally the end of the
Gospel, “because of their great fear they said nothing.” The following verses,
with clearer assurances seem to have been added later to make up for the absence
of Resurrection appearances in the original ending. The message of the young man
in white to the three women is worth a reflection.
One commentator (Edgar Krentz) notes that the description given Jesus by the
messenger, “Jesus of Nazareth, the one crucified,” contained double insult
terms. “Nazarene” linked with “crucified” describe Jesus as “crude, unlettered,
small town, rejected and humiliated with a criminal’s death.” Well, so much for
the “more powerful One”! Except these terms of opprobrium are now linked with
resurrection! The rejected and crucified one is resurrected, the messenger tells
us. We are left with that pronouncement to our bewildered lives. We too, who
experience the crushing power of death and who feel rejected and set aside by an
easy swipe of its powerful paw are hearers of this startling and unexpected
news. There is hope for us.
The command is to go to Galilee if we want to see him. What could that mean?
Galilee is where it all started and where he taught and performed his miracles,
amid the outcasts in the backwater of the Jewish community. The passage ends
with the silence of the women. How long will they stay “bewildered and
trembling?” Remember that this Gospel is written to persecuted community during
the Jewish-Roman War of 66-7-AD. If the community kept quiet and kept its
collective head down, they might get through the persecution. But this Gospel
calls for confession, calls us to lose our lives, “for my sake and for the
Gospel” (10:29). Mark’s Gospel reminds us that persecution and the proclamation
of the Gospel are linked. So, at this point of the story we are called to go to
Galilee, rethink Jesus' teaching and proclamation and, on that basis, decide to
follow or reject his life.
What’s the cost for us to live the Gospel’s call in our lives? What are the
costs in our modern culture of living the consequences of his teaching? Jesus
went “ahead of you to Galilee.” Maybe recalling his life and words there will
help us discover him resurrected in our lives, giving new life to those
overpowered by death and its consequential fear and withdrawal. Easter time may
be a good time to reread the Gospel accounts in the light of the resurrection
and discover their possibilities for our lives. Maybe in Galilee we will
encounter “one more powerful.”
ONE GOOD BOOK FOR THE PREACHER
“The Three Days: Parish Prayer in the Paschal
Triduum” by Gabe Huck. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1981)
This is a gem of a resource for the Triduum. Good for planners of the liturgy
with suggestions drawn from parish experience. Gives a wealth of information on
the liturgy of these days and an overview of how the days form a unit.
QUOTABLE
“No season seems so hard to maintain as Easter
time. Perhaps its character will be rediscovered as the presence of a
catechumenate is felt in the parish community, as Lent becomes a parish-wide
season of renewal and the Easter Triduum as experience of Christ’s Passover. The
we can seek the musical and visual and verbal signs for these fifty days of
great peace and joy.
—from, “The Three Days: Parish Prayer in the Paschal Triduum” by Gabe Huck, page
92.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. CD Available: “FIRST IMPRESSIONS: PREACHING REFLECTIONS ON
LITURGICAL YEAR B” This compilation, from past “First Impressions,” includes two
reflections on almost all Sundays and major feasts for this liturgical year. For
more information and to purchase go to:
http://judeop.ispraleigh.com/
2. I get notes from people responding to these reflections. Sometimes they tell
how they use “First Impressions” in their ministry and for personal use. Others
respond to the reflections, make suggestions and additions. I think our readers
would benefit from these additional thoughts. If you drop me a BRIEF note, I
will be happy to add your thoughts and reflections to my own. (Judeop@Juno.com)
3. Our webpage address:
http://judeop.ispraleigh.com/
(Where you will find “Preachers’ Exchange,” which includes "First Impressions"
and “Homilias Dominicales,” as well as articles, book reviews and quotes
pertinent to preaching.)
4. “Homilias Dominicales”-- these Spanish reflections are written by three
friars of the Southern Dominican Province, Leobardo Almazan, Juan Torres, OP ,
Wilmo Candanedo, OP and two Dominican sisters, Regina Mc Carthy, OP and Doris
Regan, OP. Like “First Impressions”, “Homilias Dominicales” are a preacher’s
early reflections on the upcoming Sunday readings and liturgy. So, if you or a
friend would like to receive “Homilias Dominicales” drop a note to John Boll,
O.P. at: Jboll@opsouth.org or
jboll@preacherexchange.org
5. "First Impressions" is a service to preachers and those wishing to prepare
for Sunday worship. It is sponsored by the Southern Dominican Province, U.S.A.
If you would like "First Impressions" sent weekly to a friend, send a note to
John Boll at the above Email address.
DONATIONS
If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible
contributions to Jude Siciliano, O.P., whose address is listed below. Make
checks to: Dominican Friars of Raleigh. Or, go to our webpage to make an online
donation: http://judeop.ispraleigh.com
Thank you.
Blessings on your preaching,
Jude Siciliano, O.P., Promoter of Preaching, Southern Dominican Province, USA
P.O. Box 12927, Raleigh, N.C. 27605, (919) 833-1893, Email:
judeop@juno.com
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Blessings on your preaching.
