Holy Thursday – B

On the night before He died, after sharing His Last Supper with His friends, Jesus went out to the garden to pray. After a very short time, He found Himself alone. But He didn't have to be.

Jesus had just given His friends bread and wine as His Body and Blood, and they might have been nourished by these gifts and strengthened by them to remain with Jesus no matter what He might have been called on to face. But they weren't.

Jesus had just told His friends that what He had just done, they too must continue to do, in memory of Him. He shared His priestly ministry with them in a way that might have stirred up tremendous loyalty and devotion in their hearts. But it didn't.

Jesus had just given His disciples and example of service in washing their feet – He who was their Master and Lord made Himself their servant and slave. This example might have inspired within them the profound gratitude that is borne of humility. But it didn't.

Jesus, the generous giver of incredibly valuable gifts, might have been strengthened in His sorrow, supported in His struggle. Instead, He found Himself alone. But He didn't have to be.

Tonight we rejoice in the gifts Jesus gave to His disciples, and to us, at His Last Supper, on the night before He died. We are grateful for the gifts of the Eucharist, the Priesthood, and Jesus' example of generous service. But tonight, for all our gratitude, Jesus will once again, in different ways, be left alone. But He doesn't have to be.

Tonight, Jesus will be left alone in the lives of people who are poor, homeless, hungry, and without any hope of breaking out of the cycle of poverty they are in. Jesus will be left alone in the lives of those who are lonely, afraid, separated from their families and their native land, seeking only a gesture of hospitality and concern, and finding none. But he doesn't have to be.

Tonight, Jesus will be left alone in the many parishes and churches throughout our world, our country, even our own state of Virginia, where God's People will be without a Pastor or a priest to celebrate the Eucharist with them, to hear their confessions, and to be a presence of God's love in their midst because we haven't made the work of prayer and encouraging vocations to the priesthood a priority in our lives as a Church where we are rarely deprived of the sacraments and the ministry of priests. But He doesn't have to be.

Tonight, Jesus will be left alone, except for the presence of one or two people, in our own parish, in churches around our diocese, and in churches around our world, when on this unique night of the year, most people will decline the invitation to spend some time during the time between when Mass ends until midnight in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in churches and chapels where the adoration of the Eucharist is actually a continuation of the Mass and the celebration of the Easter Triduum that we begin at this liturgy. Jesus will literally be almost completely alone. But He doesn't have to be.

One of the most consoling messages we hear in the Word of God is God's promise to us that He will never leave us alone – in good times or bad, in sickness or in health, in heartbreak or in happiness. But on Holy Thursday night, we remember that soon after Jesus gave His disciples the signs that He would never leave them alone or orphaned, he also found Himself very much alone. But He didn't have to be.

Tonight, we might think of Holy Thursday as a night of solidarity – God's solidarity with us, and our solidarity with God.

Jesus was most generous in giving the gifts that are signs that He has not and will not ever leave us alone – His example of service, the gift of the Priesthood, and especially the gift of the Eucharist.

But on this night, we can also recall how Jesus Himself, soon after giving these gifts, found Himself very much alone in His agony in the garden.

Tonight, we will conclude our liturgy in silence and in darkness, two conditions that often foster a sense of being alone.

But as people of faith tonight, let us leave this place in silence and darkness, not feeling alone or afraid, but rather in solidarity with Jesus whom we promise never to abandon as we resolve to meet His needs in the lives of those who suffer in any way, as we resolve to pray that all of the members of His Body may be blessed with the ministry of priests in their communities, and as we take some time to be in His presence as we participate in the adoration of the Eucharist in our chapel.

It may be the case that in some ways in some places Jesus may be alone tonight. But we also know that it is true that He doesn't have to be.

Thomas P. Ferguson
April 13, 2006