On Shrove Tuesday, my students put a banner bearing the word “Alleluia” into a locked trunk to symbolize the desert journey of Lent. After Easter, when they return to class and we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, the lid of the trunk will be opened, and this beautiful word of praise will be exposed and proclaimed once again.
As Christians today, we know the full story of how Jesus conquered death, yet we are removed enough from the first Easter to run the risk of taking the events and their significance for granted. Therefore, we remove “Alleluia” – a word used throughout the rest of the Church year - from our worship and even from our sight. We want to focus on the fact that our salvation depends on Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection; therefore, at the Easter Vigil or on Easter Sunday morning, when we sing the word that has been silenced, we focus on truly praising the miracle of the risen Lord.
As we hear in the Gospel of John, those who discovered the empty tomb were not completely sure what had happened on that first Easter Sunday. Mary of Magdala felt that people had taken the Lord’s body, and, while Simon Peter and the other disciple are said to have believed, John states, “they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (Jn 20: 9).
As Christians today, we know of the covenants God made with the people throughout the Old Testament. We also know how Jesus referred to the words of the prophets throughout his ministry, and we know that Jesus fulfilled them by dying and rising again. We have the advantage of knowing how the story has unfolded; yet, we still need to refocus on what all of this means, particularly as we attend Mass.
On the fifth Sunday of Lent, Bishop Robert Barron’s homily reflected on the “new covenant with the house of Israel” which was foretold by Jeremiah. In reflecting on the words, “I will place the law within them and write it upon their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people” (Jer. 31:31), the bishop reminds us that previous laws were outside of the people, but the days were coming when the law would be internalized.
Jesus referred to this “new covenant” at the Last Supper when he took the cup and told his disciples that the wine was his blood: “ … the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Bishop Barron recalls that Moses splashed blood on people, and that the high priest at Yom Kippur did the same, symbolically. Jesus, however, offers his blood for the people to drink; meaning that the law was no longer symbolic. Rather than merely written on tablets or respected as a moral standard, “Jesus is himself the law of God” and “when we drink his blood, God is writing his law upon our hearts.”
As Christians, we claim to believe in the resurrection, and yet we run the risk of missing the meaning of words and the significance of the visuals placed before us every time we attend Mass. Like children who benefit from literally “putting away” the Alleluia, we may need reminders to focus on what is truly happening at Mass. As Bishop Barron comments, Mass is not just a nice gathering of people; nor, is it simply the chance to sing songs of worship or to listen to the Word of God. Those aspects are important, but the Mass is so much more.
At every Mass, we recall the sacrifice of Jesus, and the pouring out of blood which is not merely a “symbol,” but the “new covenant.” We have the law of God written upon our hearts and this “comes true,” says Bishop Barron, “every single time you come forward and you eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus.”
We may temporarily “lock away” the Alleluia to remind ourselves to never take its meaning for granted, but we must never overlook the meaning of the new covenant established by Jesus and renewed at every Mass. Jesus has conquered death, granting us eternal salvation, and our union with God begins in this life, as we literally receive him in the Eucharist.
May we genuinely praise God for the blessings of the new covenant, every time we partake in “the Supper of the Lamb.” Alleluia!
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