The New Exodus!
The New Exodus!
On the second Sunday of Lent, we hear from the Gospel of Luke, the Transfiguration story: Jesus, Peter, John, and James go up a mountain to pray. Jesus’ face changes, his clothes become dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appear. What do they talk about? They talk about the New Exodus. We know that in the first Exodus, Moses led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and finally built the city of Jerusalem.
Today’s Gospel passage, we see Jesus was conversing with Moses and Elijah. They talked about Jesus' New Exodus. At the first exodus there was lamb shed blood. In the new exodus Jesus is the new lamb who is going to shed the blood for the entire humanity. The old exodus started from Egypt, traveled through the wilderness for forty years and reached the earthly Promised Land, and finally built Jerusalem. In the new exodus Jesus came to Jerusalem to begin a new exodus to lead us to heavenly Promised Land, the New Jerusalem; heaven. His exodus is passion, death, resurrection and ascension. It is the greater exodus.
At the transfiguration, Jesus revealed His glory. Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents…” Peter loved that mountaintop experience and loved to remain there, but they had to go down for the new exodus. Jesus shows his glory at the transfiguration, but the transfiguration points us to the Cross, the Sacrifice, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, it is our opportunity to participate in Jesus’ new exodus, his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension. Every time we kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we have the excellent opportunity to adore and praise him. We need to ask whether I use the opportunity to prepare and celebrate Eucharist? Do I use the opportunity to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament? We are taking time in this Lent to reflect on the Mass so that we can celebrate in a more meaningful way.
The Mass: Mass is a mystery, a meal, sacrifice, sacred ritual, celebration of the Last Supper, and Eucharist-thanksgiving. There is an order for Mass. There are so many ways to explain the order. Mainly we can say: 1) interlocutory rite or gathering: bring us together into one body, ready to listen and to break bread together. 2) liturgy of the Word or storytelling: we listen to the stories of God’s people. 3) liturgy of the Eucharist, meal sharing or Canon of the Mass: the core of the Mass. We recall the memorial Jesus left for us. And 4) concluding rites or commissioning: we are sent out to live the Eucharistic life into our daily life.
Introductory Rite: The first part of the introductory Rite is “Entrance Procession.” The Roman Missal (Order of Mass, no. 1) says, “When the people are gathered, the Priest approaches the altar with the ministers while the Entrance Chant (Latin introit) is sung. When he has arrived at the altar, after making a profound bow with the ministers, the Priest venerates the altar with a kiss and, if appropriate, incenses the cross and the altar. Then, with the ministers, he goes to the chair.”
When the Entrance Procession begins, everyone stands up. In Exodus 33:8 “Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent.” Standing is the traditional posture of the Christian at prayer: It expresses our attentiveness to the word of God and our readiness to carry it out. We begin by singing together. The entrance chant reflects the theme of the Mass, it also reflects the Liturgical season. What better way to gather than to unite our thoughts and voices in common words, rhythm and melody. The color of the vestment reflects the season and theme of the Mass. In Solemn Mass, during the Entrance Chant the priest may incense the Altar. Normally, the server carries the Cross and leads the procession. Candles can be carried in the procession.
Throughout the Mass we pray from the Scripture. When the Entrance Chant is concluded, the Priest invites the faithful to sign with the sign of the Cross. In the Gospel of Matthew 28:19 Jesus commissioned his disciples before the ascension and said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We begin the Mass by using the words of Jesus from the Great Commission. The priest's greeting comes from 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship (communion) of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Penitential Rite: The penitential act brings out different aspects of reconciliation: personal shortcomings against God and other people, God’s forgiveness, and the communal aspects of sin. We admit our unworthiness and ask him to bless us with forgiveness. In the Roman Missal there are three different forms and the priest chooses one of the forms for the Mass and invites the faithful to prepare for the sacred mysteries. At the end, the priest will give absolution by saying: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” If we commit mortal sin, we need to go for Confession. In the Gospel of Luke 15:11-20, we read the story of the prodigal son. When the prodigal son comes back, he says to the father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.” Luke 18, we read that a Pharisee and a tax collector came to the temple to pray, and the tax collector said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”