Given up for whom?

Today is Holy Thursday and we’re continuing our series of Holy Week meditations with an exploration into the heart of the Christian liturgy, first celebrated on Holy Thursday some 2000 years ago. Yesterday we looked at the downfall of Judas and how we all can fall under Satan's control through little sins. The call to confession was not insignificant, for to enter into the graces of Holy Thursday, we must come with clean hearts.

“Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.” This promise from our Lord in the Beatitudes is not just a promise that the pure of heart will make it to Heaven, it’s a promise for the here and now. The pure of heart will be given the grace to see God in this life and the next. When we come to worship with purified hearts, truly repentant and confessed, we come face to face with God in the Holy Eucharist. And when we come to see God - to truly see him - we become witnesses to his work in the liturgy and can enter into the heart of Christian worship.

Holy Thursday Mass is famous for foot washing. Every Holy Thursday, the priest washes the feet of individuals from the parish. In many protestant denominations foot washing is the hallmark of Holy Thursday service as well. But, this isn't just a call to service, it is more importantly a directive from Jesus that what is about to happen is for those he is serving. For us, it’s a call to receive. To let Jesus work on us, to prepare us, to purify us. So in a sense, the Mass is a place where we aren't called to be active, but to be receptive to Jesus.

“This is my body, given up for you.” Jesus gives up his body for the Apostles at the table. He gives up his body for the people who will believe in him through the Apostles throughout the ages - that’s you and I. He gives up his body for the Church. In a sense, the heart of the Mass is the sacred heart of Jesus made tangible in the Holy Eucharist. But, the Holy Eucharist isn't stagnant. It's alive. His flesh and blood are poured out for each of us and given to dwell within the purified hearts of the believers. So, the Mass is about us.

Yes, but that isn’t it entirely. “This is my body, given up for you” isn’t only directed to us. At the same time, Jesus is giving his body to the Father. He, the Paschal Lamb, is the sacrifice offered for the sins of the world to God the Father Almighty. While laying his life down in service to us, he lays his life down in sacrifice to the Father. So, the Heart of the Mass is the offering to the Father. Yes again, but not entirely.

The ultimate task of the Messiah is the union of Heaven and Earth. When you look at the Star of David (the symbol of the messianic line), you see two triangles. One directed downward and the other directed upward. The Messiah fuses Heaven and Earth as one. This is why we pray the Our Father prayer in the Mass, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.”

So the Mass is about this union. The Mass is about the heart of Christ, it is about the heart of the Father, and it is about our hearts for the purpose of bringing Earth and Heaven together. And where does Jesus choose this restoration to take place? Some might say the most sacred place in the Mass is the most Holy Altar. It is, but is it not also our hearts? Jesus brings Heaven to the hearts of all those who receive him with pure intention. "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you."

This Holy Thursday, we pray you lift up your hearts to receive Our Lord with pure intention and with him, the fullness of Heaven.