Tuesday of Holy Week

Lectionary: 258

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.

Experts who study the spread of diseases insist that we should practice social distancing during this crisis. We should wash our hands frequently; and scrub every surface we’re likely to touch, or where virus-laden dust may settle. And whatever you do, don’t touch your face! If we’re especially scrupulous about all these preventive measures, we might slow the advance of COVID-19.

If you don’t work in the medical industry, you were probably tired before this pandemic arrived. Americans don’t give themselves enough sleep. If you do work in the medical industry, you have been exhausted for a long time. We face the retirement of Boom Generation medical personnel, and the escalating medical needs of their age mates. Like their ancestors, they did not hesitate to waste their good health on alcohol, tobacco, too much food, and too little exercise.

I wonder how many hospital directors and state governors are Googling “Saint Crispin’s Day.” 

Isaiah’s words speak to us of futility: “Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength….” 

But we find solace in prayer, “Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God.”

On this Tuesday of Holy Week, we recall the betrayal of Judas, and the utter befuddlement of his companions:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.

Among these clueless disciples Jesus would feel isolated and alone. They cannot understand what he is saying or why. The skeptic among them might have asked, “What’s the point of making such an outrageous statement? Why does he say that?”

Our prayer traditions of the Stations of the Cross and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary recall not only Jesus’ physical suffering; they also remember his abandonment. No one stood by him; no one was there. The gospels of Matthew and Mark accentuate that, although Luke and John remember the presence of sympathizers. Saint Mark intentionally shames the congregation who hears the story as he describes the disciples’ inattention, weariness, and cowardice. Those who didn’t run away denied ever knowing the man.

Jesus was handed over to his enemies who accused and convicted him of things he never said and intentions he never had. They had their duties to perform, and their roles to play. The machinery of justice had to proceed without mercy to destroy the one who had been thrown into its maw. Had he declared his innocence, like Richard Kimble in the movie The Fugitive, he would have heard Gerard’s response, “I don’t care!”

COVID-19 also doesn’t care, but we must care for one another. Holy Week, despite the closure of our churches, calls us to support one another. We must make sacrifices and take risks for one another. We must care for everyone, especially the least among us, during this crisis.