Maundy Thursday

Dear Brother,

We come now to the end of Lent. Martin Kähler, the Theologian from the 20th century used to say that the gospels are Passion narratives with long introductions. The gospels are essentially about the death and resurrection of Jesus. And in all these narratives, Jesus is portrayed as journeying into sin - into the land of sin - in order to undo it from within. In order to swallow it up with the divine compassion that he alone embodies. I have used this before but it is the image in Tolkien's story where Frodo journeys into the dark land.

And the gospel writers seem to make the point that as Jesus suffers through these days he is confronted by human evil and sin in all it's various guises. First there is betrayal. Judas turns Jesus is and undermines all he has tried to do for a handful of coins. We humans always react badly to betrayal - especially the betrayal of a friend! Dante in his writings puts traitors at the bottom of the pit of hell - Cassius, Brutus who turned on Caesar - and Judas.

Then Jesus encounters sloth - spiritual laziness. Remember how in the garden he prays and he sweats great drops of blood. Although this medical condition is relatively rare, according to Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) it is well-known, and there have been many cases of it. The clinical term is “hematohidrosis.” “Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form.” Under the pressure of great stress the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes “the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands.” As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat. So Jesus asks his disciples to 'watch and pray' but, when he needs them most, they fall asleep. This is meant to remind us of our spiritual sloth.

Next Jesus encounters violence. He flushes out of it's hiding place this most destructive of human sins. Peter reacts in fear and anger and cuts off the ear of the High Priest's servant with his sword and Jesus utters those immortal words, "Put away your sword! Those who live by the sword will die by the sword." By the way, you might find this article on the fall and rise of human violence interesting.

Mark