Holy week
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
13 Apr 2003
The week begins as we remember Christ's entry into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover commemorating the Jews' liberation from oppression in Egypt. When a was young a thought of this entry as a big event, like the Queen's first visit to my city of Ballarat in 1954 or like an A.F.L. grand final. It was nothing of this sort. The gathering was very enthusiastic, shouting their welcome, spreading their cloaks for Jesus, but the crowd was rather small, with most of them women and from the country. It probably confirmed the antagonism of Jesus' enemies, but there was no disturbance or threat to public order. Not surprisingly no one claims that this small triumph, this happy and misleading start to the week, had any religious or redeeming significance.
The celebrations of this week now follow the sequence of events before Christ's death and resurrection. The gospels show that Jesus knew that he was likely to be killed, that the pressure from his enemies was mounting; when he went on the Thursday evening to the garden at Gethsemane in Jerusalem to pray for strength, his closest followers slept. They were unaware that the end was near as terrified people are unable to sleep.
Jesus was captured by Roman soldiers in this garden, identified for them by a treacherous kiss from Judas Iscariot, one of his special group of twelve followers, the apostles. Judas received thirty pieces of silver for this betrayal. Why did he do it?
He was treasurer for the group and one gospel tells us he was a thief. Perhaps he thought that he, not Peter, should have been leader. More probably he had high political hopes for Jesus as a leader and became more and more embittered as he realised Jesus had rejected such a role. Judas' name is synonymous with disloyally and ingratitude. He despaired at what he had done and suicided.
Earlier that evening he had attended the final meal, the Last Supper, which Jesus celebrated, blessing bread and wine, turning them into his Body and Blood; the first Christian Eucharist. This tradition is continued in nearly every Christian denomination, especially on Sundays.
In daily life we celebrate the day our friends were born, their birthdays. Christian feast days for the saints recall the day of their death, their entry into eternal life.
In a similar reversal of common sense we call that day on which Jesus was executed "Good Friday". A often ask senior primary children why the Church does this, as the killing of a good young man of about 33 years of age on false charges is a human tragedy.
There is generally a pause as they ponder this strange title. Always someone, sometimes many, is able to reply that Jesus died to save us.
