Being a reflection on the meaning of Holy Week.
This week the Holy Church enters into the most sacred of all weeks in her annual calendar – that of Passiontide. It is in this week we the members of Christ’s Mystical Body the Church enter into the greatest of all Mysteries – the Mystery of the All Holy Trinity’s love for mankind. Now what is love? Well in many ways love is more than a set of nice feelings as Saint Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 13:4:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
The All Holy Trinity is the perfect example of this love for when man fell from grace (Genesis chapter 3) God throughout the Old Testament continually sought to bring man back to Him. Indeed, God shows the depths of his love as He sent his own Son that man may be reunited to Him the source of all love and life (John 3:16).
Now Christ is the ultimate sign of God’s love, in that He came into the world and although having two natures perfectly united being both man and God (the second person of the All Holy Trinity), He did not come as a king who sought to laud his power over all – rather, He came as the King who sought to show to all God’s love. In Matthew 20:28 the Lord states clearly what His purpose here on Earth is as He says:
“… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Indeed, this is why on Holy Thursday (the night he instituted the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist) He washed the feet of His disciples – Saint John is clear in his account of this event as to what Christ meant by this as Christ says in John 13:14:
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, has washed your feet, you also ought to wash another’s feet”.
This at once tells us exactly what Christ came to do and that is to serve and in performing this service acting as an example for us. Furthermore, Christ is clear that this act of service is not going to be merely limited to doing nice deeds for others! In fact, this service could even cost one one’s life! Christ is clear in John 15:13 that the greatest love one can have for another is to lay down one’s life for one’s friends – a key point behind the Paschal reality we celebrate this week! Christ gave up His life so that all may have the opportunity to die to sin and be reborn in Him - thus being united to the source of life the All Holy Trinity!
This is why Holy week is the greatest of all weeks, in that, it is the week where God shows us how much He loves mankind. How much more love can the Father show than to let his Son be sacrificed so that all may have the opportunity to have life in Him (John 3:16)! This is a thought that might seem difficult to comprehend but if one reflects on the enormity of the love of God than one can at least attempt to grasp the depth of God’s love for us!
However, why was it only Christ that could repair that which had been damaged by our first parents Adam and Eve? Well Adam and Eve were brought into being by God in a place of perfect bliss and communion with God. The Old Testament makes it clear that mankind is made in the image and likeness of God and as a result mankind was given much responsibility over His creation! When man fell, man lost this deep communion with the All Holy Trinity, and as a result a veil was placed between man and the Lord - immortal man became mortal (This is why at Christ’s death on the Holy Cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two, showing us that through Christ’s death and resurrection man can again approach God and enter into communion). Prior to Christ’s death and resurrection, no matter what man tried to do to make up for the fall man’s efforts always fell short, and as such there still was a great distance between God and Man.
However, in the person of our Lord and Saviour Christ we have one who is perfect in every way as He is both God and man – meaning He can shoulder the burden caused by Adam and Eve’s fall. In a way by taking on human nature Christ’s Divinity was able help humanity make up for the fall (as Christ has both these natures perfectly in union).Thus, by giving His life for His friends Christ was able to repair that which was broken and defeat the consequences of Adam and Eve’s fall namely death - this is why on Great Saturday night we sing for the first time the great Paschal Hymn reminding us that:
“Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life”.
This is why Pascha at once starts in great sorrow, but this sorrow much like the evil one, cannot last long -as in darkness when one lights a fire immediately there is a light which pierces this darkness -so it was in the tomb! Death could not hold that which was not deaths to hold (the creator of life)! Thus, as a result of Christ’s resurrection, the doors of communion with the All
Holy Trinity were opened, as well as the gift of eternal life was bestowed on man again.
Finally, although our Lord and Saviour has risen and ascended into Heaven He has not left us alone – He has sent us the Comforter (the All Holy Spirit) as promised in John 14:16. Also, He has promised that He will be present whenever two or three gathers to pray in His name (Matthew 18:20). Further to this He has given us the greatest of all the Holy Mysteries that of His ‘real presence’. What great a gift to know that whenever a priest prays the great anaphora (the prayer of thanksgiving), that when he prays the words of institution (this is my body etc.) and pronounces the epiclesis (asking the All Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Christ’s very Body and Blood) that Christ is truly present in the Holy Mysteries on the altar! This is the great joy of the Eucharist in that in the Holy Mysteries we are not left alone as orphans but rather, Christ is with us as stated in Matthew 28:20:
“… behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”.
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