Fr. Chris - Holy Thursday - Homily

“Remember To Serve”
 “Do this in memory of me.” … Memory.
 
We might say the all-encompassing theme of the Triduum – the Last Supper, the Passion, the Vigil – is ‘remembering’: remembering Christ as the youth mesmerizing the scribes in the temple, Christ healing the lepers, feeding the thousands, raising Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus back to life. Chiefly, he would want us to remember his teachings of how to live according to the Beatitudes, how to pray to our Father as he taught us, to remember how we must offer ourselves in service to God and to one another, as he so beautifully demonstrated by washing the feet of his beloved apostles.
 
Although we cannot celebrate the beloved, traditional rituals of foot washing, reverencing the cross, and holding high candles of the light of Christ in the Vigil darkness, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we always have our joyous memories of Easters in previous years, and of Christ himself – past, present and to come.   
 
Jesus would want us to especially remember the sacrifice he made of his own life to wipe away the sins of humanity, symbolized in the simple meal he enjoyed with those who followed him. Indeed, he called us all to the priesthood in this sharing of bread and wine, clergy and lay people alike. “Remember me”, he asks. Indeed, tonight we do remember Jesus at the table of Holy Communing with his apostles.          
 
The iconic Baroque composer, Henry Purcell, a young man following in the steps of Bach and Handel, wrote what is considered the first, true English opera, Dido and Aeneas, for the Josias Priest's ‘Chelsea Boarding School’ for young ladies. A short work, it is especially known for one aria, sung at the conclusion, which transformed opera from its earlier, highly structured and ornate roots into a highly emotional and passionate experience. The dying queen, Dido, sings a deeply touching lament called, “Remember Me”.
 
She appeals to Belinda, her servant girl, not to be troubled by her past wrongs, and her descent into death because of a broken heart, but to remember her as a good and loving Queen when she is ‘laid in earth’ – ‘but, oh, not her fate!’ Her earnest wish to be remembered has always reminded me of Christ’s own appeal to us to remember him. He wants us to remember the good news he taught us through word and demonstration, what service and sacrifice and prayer and worship mean, to remember him ‘when he is laid in earth’. He especially calls us to remember and practice the symbolism of his sacrifice in the Holy Eucharist: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
 
This Lent, to know ourselves more deeply at our core as creations of God, we have asked ourselves a few questions: ‘Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I now? Where am I going? … Then, Where do I want to go?’ … and this past week, ‘But where does God want me to go?’
 
Perhaps on this night of remembering, remembering Christ, we can get even closer to ourselves, better grasp who we are and where we are headed, and how we can determine where God wants us to go, by asking ourselves one final question:
 
“How do I want to be remembered?”
 
What earnest song of appeal would I sing to those who have loved and supported me in my life, ‘when I am laid in the earth’?
 
– Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario ​