Deacon Arthur C. Donart, Ph. D.; SFO wrote this message.
Easter is the highest Holy Day in Christianity. In preparation for the Easter celebration, there are 40 days of Lent, which is a special time for fasting and penance. In this year, 2021, the Christian Holy Week coincides with the Jewish feast of Passover. I remember participating at the Sedar Supper in the Jewish tradition, before going upstairs and presiding over the beginning of a Roman Catholic Mass.
I will start with definitions. Catholic means “Universal.” The Catholic tradition includes Lutherans, Episcopalians, Russian Orthodox worshippers, etc. Mass is a name taken from the Latin, eta missa est, meaning, “you are sent.” In the Catholic tradition, every celebration of Mass is a celebration of Easter. The Alleluia may refer to a liturgical chant. Gospel means “good news,” from a Hebrew word meaning, “praise be to Yaweh” or, in our language idiom, “praise God.”
As a part of the Mass in the Catholic tradition, the Alleluia is sung before the reading of the Gospel.
This first part of the liturgy is known as the Liturgy of the Word. In the Gospel according the writer known as John, he writes, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh.” Christians believe that by hearing and processing the Gospel–the Word–they can receive and experience God in the person of Jesus (meaning “one who saves.”)
Finally, before the presider asks the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into the spiritual body and blood of Jesus the Christ (“anointed one”), the Hosanna is sung. It implores, “Save us! God save us!” This ritual memorializes Jesus’s death on the cross and His resurrection, His return to life following His death–that is Easter!
The congregation is then dismissed with the words, “You are sent to love and serve the Lord and one another.” This is not meaningless; this is not “feel good” rheteric. It is a call to fight for justice and peace as Jesus did, in a nonviolent way.
To examine that nonviolent way, we must look at the Beatitudes in a new and more correct translation. Fr. John Deer in his book, The Beatitudes of Peace, explains. Recently, a French scholar wrote that the Beatitudes’ translation we have been using for centuries, with the words “Blessed are…”, is wrong
Matthew’s gospel was written in Greek. Jesus spoke Aramaic.
When scholars translated the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer into Aramaic and then back into English, what they discovered lifts these teachings to a whole, new level. Instead of the passive connotation “Blessed are…”, a more accurate translation would be the definition of Mass, “Arise and walk forth!”
Arise and walk forth, you poor in spirit; yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Arise and walk forth, those of you who mourn; you will be comforted.
Arise and walk forth, you meek; you will inherit the earth.
Arise and walk forth, you who hunger and thirst for justice; you will be satisfied.
Arise and walk forth, you who are merciful; you will be shown mercy.
Arise and walk forth, you pure of heart; you shall see God.
Arise and walk forth, you who are peacemakers; you shall be called the sons and daughters of God.
Arise and walk forth, you who are persecuted for the sake of justice; yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Arise and walk forth, when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely, because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This translation of the Word puts the Beatitudes in a whole new light! Jesus is empowering these people who are suffering Roman oppression. He is preaching in the tradition of the ancient Hebrew prophets. No wonder the Roman Government crucified him for leading an insurrection! His message of nonviolent opposition to oppression and injustice did overcome Rome. No military uprising ever did.
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, Pope Francis tweeted, “During these days, the Church enters into the great meditation of the Lord’s Passion. The suffering Christ is present in the person of the poor, the excluded, the sick, the hungry, those who bear the mystery of the cross with Him.”
We do not have to look at Myanmar to see oppression. We do not have to look at Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia to see human rights abuse. We can see the suffering and passion of Christ right here at home in
- the rise of hate crimes
- the too-frequent shootings
- our own hungry and homeless
- workers being abused and cheated.
The resurrection of Christ gives us hope, and the Beatitudes give us a strategy for success. Our baptism gives us a mission.
Happy Easter,
Deacon Arthur C. Donart, Ph. D.; S.F.O.