The Greatest Head Fake in All of History

What we just witnessed so far today, what we just experienced, my friends, was the greatest “head fake” in all of history.

The Palm Sunday liturgy shows us the quintessential distinction between Holy Mass and all other forms of prayer and worship. The Passion Sunday Liturgy of the Word sums up the entirety of Holy Week inside the span of about 30 minutes. And that 30-minute summation can be further distilled down to…ONE WORD.

We use this one, distinctive, chilling word every time we come and give full, conscious, active participation in the Mass. I suggest the one word of which I am speaking is the very reason we are here at this Mass.

The priest himself alludes to this word at the beginning of the Mass when he invites us “call to mind our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.”[i]

But we don’t generally hear this one word until, when in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, right after the priest washes his hands, the “expression of his desire for interior purification.”[ii]

It’s in the dialogue between the priest and the people, we hear the celebrant say, “Pray brethren that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father.”

And we say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy church.”

And he gives us an “Amen.”

The priest says the one word and then we respond with the one word. And the one-word reason we have been celebrating the holy Mass for nearly 2000 years is, … anybody?

SACRIFICE!

We started today with the blessed branches and crying out, “Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!

Hosanna in the highest!”

Although few, very few knew of the evil, diabolical plan that was coming, we, yes, we, paved the road to the Cross with these very palm branches.

Thus, began the liturgical roller coaster of Holy Week. And while we just lived in the previous half hour the Spark Notes version of Holy Week, starting right this minute and for the next six days, we get to live the Holy Week of the Lord including the First Mass in real time.

Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. And we feel good. And then for the next few days is the calm before the storm. Satan works on Judas, Pilate, the chief priests, the Sanhedrin and others, and, with these pawns of his sets his battle plan in motion. The greatest battle in history was about to take place. The battle between those who will follow and obey Jesus and his church and those who won’t.

One of Jesus names is Prince of Peace but remember what he said to the twelve, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have come not to bring peace, but a sword. …He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”[iii] And we awoke this morning to news of anti-terror police officer Arnaud Beltrame sacrificing his own life for that of a hostage in France. Lt. Col Beltrame died a hero and we pray for the repose of his soul.[iv]

Preparing for his own sacrifice at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, our Lord institutes the priesthood. And this is a beautiful reminder because earlier in the week or even that day, priests around the world come together with their bishops and renew their priestly promises. It’s at the Lord’s Supper that the bread and wine substantially become the body and blood of Christ. We enter into and make present that one sacrifice.

On Good Friday we walk and pray the way of the Cross. We pray the Stations in multiple ways on Good Friday. We venerate the Cross in an extremely sparse church to remind us that Jesus accepted the chalice of dying for my sins, for your sins, for all sin. And this is where Satan thinks he won.

But on Holy Saturday morning, according to the ancient homily, “Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory.”[v]

It’s the greatest head fake in history. Jesus, sacrifice, accepting death, death on a cross, tricked Satan. Jesus entered hell and freed the righteous and opened the gates of heaven. And then rising from the dead he inspires us and invites us to take up our cross, whatever cross he wants us to bear, to sacrifice ourselves to God, and follow him.

…See you at the Resurrection.

[i] From the Introductory Rites of the Mass, Roman Missal

[ii] GIRM 2003, #76

[iii] Portions of Matt 10: 34-39

[iv] I later learned that Arnaud Beltram was, according to a news report, was a practicing Catholic

[v] From the Holy Saturday Ancient Homily in the Liturgy of the Hours Office of Readings