“Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.”
,Mark 15:40-41
By Fr. Philip Shano, SJ
Our Lenten journey is approaching its completion. The days since Ash Wednesday have been a preparation for this week, what one theologian has described as a sacred doorway, opening to Holy Week, when Jesus makes his way toward the culmination of his earthly existence.
It is not possible to approach this time without a growing awareness of the situation of our world and the plight of individual women, men and children in so many corners of our world. We have an acute consciousness of the challenging situation of so many, especially in the Global South. It’s helpful for us to see the connection between what Jesus is going through and what a stranger is going through as she struggles to find a life for her family in a safe and clean place.
The primary focus of this week is Jesus of Nazareth, his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the indignity of the final days of his public ministry. Did he feel abandoned and alone, fearing that he had been forgotten by his family and friends? The same question can be asked by others. Am I labouring alone in this tea garden, doomed to spend my life here? Will I live in this refugee camp until the day I die? Is there anyone out there who knows and understands what I am going through? Similar thoughts were probably going through Jesus’ mind in that final week. Remember that a part of his family’s history was being a refugee family, fleeing by night and heading to Egypt. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is followed a few days later by Gethsemane and death on a cross. His human journey goes through his mind.
Consolation emerges when Jesus discovers that he is not going through his passion alone. Of course, there is a sense in which he is alone. No one can take away the cross that he must bear, just as no one can take away what I am going through. They can help him carry the cross and they can stay nearby. We hear in the Passion Narrative that some women were watching from a distance. The Gospel mentions Mary Magdalene and some other women. The writer points out that in Galilee these women had followed Jesus and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Jesus is going through a dark time. He feels alone. It helps him to feel less alone when the women and other supporters stay with him. Many of the people supported by the projects sponsored by CJI are going through their own dark times. Our compassion helps them to feel less alone, perhaps a little more hopeful that there may be a life beyond the present darkness. The reality is that many in our world are alone and forgotten and abandoned. CJI and others try to alleviate that aloneness. Did Jesus feel a sense of companionship from others? The Canadian writer Michael Ignatieff reminds us, In dark times, it is people we need, people whose examples show us what it means to go on, to keep going, despite everything.
At the entry to this sacred doorway, let us imagine the people entering through the doors of Jesu Ashram, bringing their difficulties with them and hoping to find physical healing. Let us call to mind the young children sitting in a classroom and breaking the cycle of their family’s history.
LISTEN
Achik Kawsay Choir
Peace Prayer
REFLECT
What images of women and their role does the Gospel reading evoke for you?
Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
PRAY
Let us remember in our prayers the Latin American Network of Solidarity and Apostolate with Indigenous People, a CJI Jesuit partner whose projects contribute to strengthening Indigenous identity, culture, and community. Its most recent project aims to strengthen leadership, especially among Indigenous women, so that their wisdom, spirituality, and ancestral ecological knowledge can help enhance community relations and care for the environment. Last fall, it organized an energizing gathering of Indigenous women from Latin America. RSAI includes lay and religious representatives from Indigenous territories in of Latin America with a Jesuit presence: Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, I could see the olive trees, feel the cooling night breeze, the tiredness of Peter, James and John. Most of all, when I put myself into the place of Jesus, I know why I am here, what is to come. Yet I am also a man, with the weakness of a human. Totally alone physically and psychologically, I pray and beg my Father. I have to keep my spirit, the only thing important in my life.
God, help me walk in communion with all those suffering, near and far away, in all parts of the world including the Holy Land. “My God, my God! Have you forsaken us?”