A reflection on the daily readings, for Monday of Holy Week, by Father Perry.
By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor
Isaiah presents us with the famous “Servant of the Lord” poems, or “Suffering Servant” poems.
It is not clear whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity. But what is clear is the mission of that servant that is described.
The servant is drenched with the Holy Spirit of God.
Justice pours out, but with a gentility almost indescribable. Even in the early church up to the present, these poems were beautifully seen as a description of the Christ — and they aptly fit.
Almost climatically this mission is described as a voice so gentle even as it calls forth justice for all: “A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth.”
This is holy justice, holy service, holy ministry, and the holy Christ.
The responsorial psalm celebrates this in typical psalm-like song: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
+ Then, beautifully anticipating the washing of feet demonstrated by the Christ on Holy Thursday’s Last Supper memorial — an act of service that aptly describes the servants of Christ, the soon-to-become foot washers of the Lord — we have another foot washing from St. John’s Gospel.
Mary, from the now famous Martha, Mary, Lazarus family (and Lazarus had been raised from the dead by the Christ) washes the feet of Jesus with such tenderness and such love.
She anointed his feet with costly aromatic oils, and dried those anointed feet with her own hair.
This act of love is criticized as an excessive action wasting good oils that could have brought good money and even been given to the poor.
Jesus predicts, in a very indirect way, his coming death and shows this act of love as awareness and appreciation of his love and presence experienced in the now and predicted as a love and presence that would be eternally given.
This Mary, once again, has “chosen the better part.”
Father Perry D. Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.
