The Tridium, 2024. Holy Thursday.
I know from my inhabitation of the human condition ,education, and formation are essential for a healthy journey. A journey that can only be taken one step at a time, lived, experienced one moment at a time. That now moment is my journeying, living both with, and within The Eternal. We are ,as DeChardin reminds us, " not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings immersed in the human condition". Wow !!! was the first reading of that quote an epiphany moment. My whole view of life and spirituality was " Turned upside, right." (Chesterton). Our unique personal, and communal celebrations will be colored by our ability to journey into the depths of what it means to inhabit and journey with the human.
"We are born human, and we spend the rest of our lives coming to know what, human, means", as you know by now is one of my favorite quotes. I have not too much of an idea of what that means, but I hope I am able to cooperate with The One Who is guiding me into an ever deepening understanding. A ever deepening understanding of The Paschal Mystery is the threshold over which I have to step. " O God help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how, beautiful it is."
The Gospel of Mark give a brief description of the happenings, as The Last Supper, The First Mass, was celebrated. The celebration did not end well, for a celebration The Holy One had looked forward to celebrate with His friends. As we journey from the Upper Room's celebration, to The Garden of Gethsemane, the atmosphere sure changes. Rabbi Jesus takes His best friends and goes forward alone to pray. Prayer is our journey from illusion to reality. Not a journey we are always ready for. Jesus knew of it's coming but when it arrived was not ready to face such reality. Jesus prays to His Father that the cup that he was destined to drink would pass him by. He got into a stage of such anxiety that He broke into a sweat of blood. I have asked this question so often over the years,"How many here can break into a sweat of blood ?" In the early years there was rarely a one. Who can claim to enter such an anxiety level ? ALL of us human beings can break into, a set of blood !!!! Look it up. The medical name for this is called hematidrosis . It is documented in history.Especially in the case of soldiers preparing to enter battle. There was no part of the human condition The Historical Jesus did not enter. If He neglected any, did His human journey would not have been, authentic. His life would be a life we could ignore.
The events of these days reveal to us how deep was His drink, from the chalice of suffering. There was not a drop left. He drank it to the dregs.
Judas and Jesus !!!! Why did Jesus choose Judas to be an Apostle ? How did He feel to see Judas at the table for His Last Supper ? It was known Judas was not honest, how could Jesus have ignored that fact ? The Compassionate One had just another way of seeing. We are growing into the adjustment of our sight, so we too able to see as, The Fully Human one did. What changes are going to be a surprise to us ? It was not just Judas. Not too many hung around to see what was going to happen, up close. From a distance was safer. We all like safety, do we not ? It is one thing to pray to Jesus The Christ, it is something altogether to take up his cross and fully follow in His footsteps. How heavy can that cross be ? How can we ever take up our cross daily and walk in the footsteps go He Who has trudged the road to ignominy and death? He journeyed into the place of abandonment and cursedness. Why such sacrificial love ? The Great Teacher was to use His final hours on earth to reveal to both you and I the depth of love that is offered to us The Beloved Daughters, and Beloved Sons. That is our inherent worth. That love reveals a beauty, so awe-full, wonder-full we are not ready for its acceptance. With that acceptance comes the challenge to live a life that authentically reveals to all such eternal love. Our encounters with the Good Fridays of our existence leads us to ..........
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