April 5, 2004 - Monday of the Holy Week

Servant of the Poor

Readings:
Is 42:1-7; Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14; Jn 12: 1 -11

Introduction

Holy Week is for us the time when we meditate on the saving death of our Lord. The days of his suffering are approaching. The first reading gives us the first of the famous songs about the Servant of Yahweh. The liturgy of the Holy Week characterizes Jesus as the Servant of Yahweh. This first song speaks perhaps directly about the attitude and role of God's people, but we find these exemplified fully in Jesus, the perfect servant of God and of people. He is shown here to us as God's servant who came to serve the poor and the suffering by bringing them justice and freedom, and light in darkness to all; he will be the covenant of us, the people, by uniting us with God and one another. All this he did for us by his saving death.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you have called your people
to be the servant of one another
in the cause of justice and mercy.
You showed us in Jesus, your Son,
what it means to serve
and how much this may cost us.
Fill us with the Spirit of Jesus,
that we too may not break those who are weak
nor repel those groping in the dark.
Let him teach us to serve and to love
with compassion for the helpless
and respect for the least and the poorest,
together with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Is 42:1-7

Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14

R (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R The Lord is my light and my salvation.

When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,
My foes and my enemies
themselves stumble and fall.
R The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
R The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Gospel Reading: Jn 12:1-11

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where he had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they gave a dinner for him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus.

Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume made from genuine nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Judas, son of Simon Iscariot-the disciple who was to betray Jesus-remarked, "This perfume could have been sold for three hundred dinaríí and turned over to the poor." Judas, indeed, had no concern for the poor; he was a thief and as he held the common purse, he used to help himself to the funds.

But Jesus spoke up, "Leave her alone. Was she not keeping it for the day of my burial? (The poor you always have with you, but you will not always have me.)"

Many Jews heard that Jesus was there and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests thought about killing Lazarus as well, for many of the Jews were drifting away because of him and believing in Jesus.

Commentary

JUDAS will be with us many times during Holy Week-almost every day. There must be significance in this. We cannot ignore him; we have to look at him. He comes to us already judged and condemned in John's gospel. He stands there, hopeless, expecting no mercy.

John wrote, "He had no concern for the poor; he was a thief and used to help himself to the funds." The other gospel writers only record what Judas did, and refrain from passing judgment on him. As if in contrast to John's bristly presence we have Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. What is she doing to the atmosphere? "She took a pound of costly perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus. The whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged," Jesus had said (Mt 7:1). Our judgment may be factually true: that's the bait on the trap. But it is not the whole truth: that's the trap. All our judgments are incomplete. We don't know the full truth about anyone. And we hardly begin to understand the mercy of God.

General Intercessions

Indifference and routine are perhaps more deadening and corrosive to the Christian life than calamities and acute sufferings, for we are often not aware of them. Let us pray to our Father in heaven that we may struggle to regain our freedom which Christ bought for us with his life, and let us say: Lord, set your people free.

- For the Church, that, like the Lord Jesus Christ, it may shun positions of power to share the life and miseries of the faithful to lift them up to the joys and life of the risen Lord, we pray:

- For those who are resigned to a life of boredom and routine, that they may answer Christ's challenge to grow to his full maturity, we pray:

- For those who have handed over their inner freedom to publicity, social pressure and conformism, that they may dare again to be themselves and to take their lives into their own hands, we pray:

- For those who fight injustice and oppression, that they may not be moved by hatred, but that they may be driven by a genuine love and concern for their neighbor, we pray:

- For those who are afraid of death, that they may rely on Christ, who overcame death by the cross and turned it into a gift of life, we pray:

Lord our God, the loyal death of your Son made it possible for us to become free people and to discover joy in its fullness. Through his death and resurrection, may the pains and storms of life become instruments of the freedom, joy, and happiness promised us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
with your Son in our midst
we your people ask of you today:
Bring to us sinners
the justice of your forgiving love
and help us to establish
true justice on earth,
that we, the people of your lasting love,
may never be a scandal to our neighbor
but servants and signs of hope and joy.
Let this be our offering to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
by the body and blood of your Son
you call us to serve the cause of right.
Breathe into us, your people,
the Spirit of justice of your Son.
Let him take us by the hand
and make us with him
the source of unity and light
to the poor and the blind of our day,
to the seekers of love and truth.
Be with us, your people,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

We know that these days of the Holy Week the Lord Jesus will lead us from death to life if we learn from him to love and serve one another and to live for one another, even at the cost of sacrificing ourselves. May God give you this courage and bless you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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