Reflection Wednesday after Palm Sunday Fr.
Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
Readings: Isa 50:4-9a; Ps
69:8-10,21-22,31,33-34; Matt 26:14-25
We are all in this together (Isa 50:8)!
During this difficult times of pandemic one of
the most frequently phrases used by civil and religious leaders, parents and
friends, spouses and colleagues to console and support one another is “we are
in this together.” Among various embodiment and meanings, in this phrase, this
phrase is also a reminder of the need for patriotism, practicing a sense of
oneness, charity, patience, endurance, courage, hope and of being our brother’s
and sister’s keeper. It speaks of boldness, tenacity, audacity, togetherness in
faith and hope, confronting evil, suffering, facing challenges and persecution
with hope for salvation and victory in the face of this pandemic.
As we continue to meditate together on the meaning
and the mystery of Christ’s passion this Holy Week, we find similar expression “let
us stand up together” (na’amdah yachad) in the third Song of the
Suffering Servant of God, in our first reading today (Isa 50:4-9a). But he uses
it to summon and challenge his opponents whom he will defeat with the grace of
God. We can use it to support ourselves as a united front against our opponent,
the Corona-virus! We are all in this together!
Also the Suffering Servant, like Christ in the
Gospels, describes his mission as that of being a teacher trained by God on how
to sustain the weary, the poor, the afflicted, the sick, widows, dying, and the
rejected. Unlike Israel, the Servant has not rebelled against God (v.5).
Ironically, he has suffered in the performance of his mission. If I may paraphrase,
He gave his back to those who struck him.
His cheek to those who pulled out his beard
He did not also hide his face from insult and spitting
(v.6)
Does this sound like the Christ of the Palm
Sunday and of today’s Matthew’s Gospel? Of course yes! Is the ongoing pandemic,
painful, threatening, destabilizing, destructively, killing to us and our
relatives? Yes of course? So all of us believers have something in common with
God’s servant, namely suffering, pains, insult, etc.
Leading
to the phrase “Let us stand together” in v. 8, the suffering in v. 7 expresses
confidence and hope that God will surely vindicate him at the end against his opponents.
So also was Christ in all that Christ he went through
this Holy Week: betrayal, insult, mockery, persecution, and crucifixion trusted
in the vindication of God his Father.
Whatever we might go through this Holy Week, in
this time of pandemic, let be reassured by the experiences of the Suffering
Servants, who were defended and vindicated by God, that the same Lord and God
will vindicated us. We are all in this together (na’amdah yachad). We
will go through all this together.
Again keep in mind the prayer “in time of
pandemic” with which we began this Mass with:
Almighty and eternal God,
Our refuge in every danger,
To whom we turn in our distress;
In faith we pray, look with compassion on the
afflicted,
Grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners,
Healing to the sick, peace to the dying,
Strength to healthcare workers, wisdom to our
leaders and the courage to reach out to all in love, so that together we may
give glory to your holy name. Amen!
