Several months ago, I was privileged to be at the hospital beside of Fr. Chris Baker. Chris knew that he was dying. In his usual honest manner, he asked those present if the doctors thought he would ‘make it through the night’ – it was quite late in the evening. We replied that the doctors had not said anything as specific as that. However, since Chris had given the opening, I asked him what sustained him most on his life’s journey. Being still of clear mind he responded immediately “Daily Mass which is the continuation of the New Covenant, the most important covenant between God and us”. He went on to talk about the various other covenants God had made with His people. Of these though, the one that sustained him was the one established by Jesus in the Upper Room with his disciples. It is not a transactional covenant but one of God’s unconditional love for us, Chris explained. As our encounter moved on, Chris recalled various events of his life through which he had experienced God’s love; I had the deep sense that we were on sacred ground.
We will celebrate this core covenant again this coming Holy Week. In that upper room, Jesus left us with the hope that although he would leave this world physically, he would still be present in the remembrance of his mission through our celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the holy sign of this “New Covenant.’ In the liturgy of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper story is nestled between Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the Passion story. What happened in that Upper Room holds these two stories together. For in the Eucharist, we both sing praise to God as the people did at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and remember the hope we carry as a result of Jesus’ passion, death, and ultimate resurrection...
Before the Last Supper, Jesus has already entered Jerusalem after an exceptionally long journey, according to Luke’s Gospel. Jesus triumphantly entering Jerusalem reveals him as a ‘king.’ He appears mounted on a ‘colt’ (ass or donkey). It is notable that unlike other kings, he did not ride on a horse or in a chariot accompanied by a whole retinue of officials. This indicates that Jesus’ kingdom is not one of royal power, privilege, or iron-fisted rule. Instead, he heralds the reign of God in which love, respect, and service of others prevail. When the Pharisees challenge him to calm the people welcoming him with loud acclaim, Jesus responds, “ I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19, 40) Stones are often regarded as the least of ‘inanimate’ creation. However, physics tells us they have activity within them indicating they too have life and are ‘subjects’ presenting themselves to all and sundry. Of course, they will not cry out like us. Who knows how they might express themselves? Nevertheless, they are connected to the whole of creation as ‘kin’. Thus, because of this connection, it can be said the whole of creation is shouting its joy, praise, and hope at the coming of the reign of God , present in Jesus. Indeed, the communion of all created things welcomes God’s reign. Do we not celebrate this communion of all things at each and every Eucharist?
At the Last Supper, Jesus also gave an example of how we are to live as participants in God’s reign. In the washing of the disciple’s feet, he models for his disciple and us how to embody in our lives a spirit of service to others. This spirit is rekindled in us through our participation in the Eucharist. We are encouraged to go and live the Gospel message at the conclusion of each Eucharistic celebration. Thus, Eucharist is unfettered from the constraints of the tabernacle of Moses’ Covenant and indeed from our own tabernacles.
To make his presence more accessible to us, Jesus uses bread and wine, the fruit of the earth and always available to us in our daily lives. Bread, a companion of the stones who cry out his praise, this very bread sacramentally memorializes his continuing presence among us. He said, ‘Do this in memory of me’. These words link us to the values of God’s reign, namely love and peace, along with a reminder of our connection to all things and our call to serve others and the whole of creation.
As we follow Jesus this Holy Week, we are encouraged by the fact that he now journeys with us in the Eucharist. As such, he accompanies us as a ‘pilgrim of hope,’ especially during this Jubilee Year. His presence in all things encourages us on our journey. Just as Jesus’ journey seemingly ended as a dramatic failure, so we may feel helplessly weighed down by many tragedies and uncertainties in our world today. Moreover, many migrants and refugees surely face the threat of failure, rejection, or death. May we all experience the hope that comes with Jesus’ passage through death to new life - the greatest service that anyone can offer us. For Jesus offers us the service of unbounded hope as seen in his Resurrection.
Truly, this is the shape of the new covenant of love. It is the promise that he is with us in the Eucharist. It is the promise of reconciliation emanating from the power of forgiveness. It is the promise that such love brings life that conquers death. It is a promise that through care for our ‘common home,’ the whole of creation can find new life as it “groans” for salvation (Rom 8:22). This is the New Covenant God offers us through Jesus. This is the New Covenant that sustained Fr. Chris in his life as a missionary and gave him hope as he journeyed to his eternal home with God.
Columban Fr Kelvin Barrett currently lives at St Columban's, Essendon.
