The epistle for Passion Sunday is taken from the letter to the Hebrews:
A reading from the Epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul to the Hebrews
Brethren: Christ being come, a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Ghost, offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore He is the Mediator of the New Testament; that by means of His death, for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former Testament; they that who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance; in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Aside from the lector's introduction, so irritating to liberals today, which announces the epistle to the Hebrews as a writing "of the blessed Apostle Paul", what can we say about this reading?
It points us, of course, in the direction of Calvary by reminding us of the Passion - as it should, since this is Passion Sunday, and the Church's thoughts are from now until Easter occupied solely with the Passion of Her Bridegroom.
But not everyone immediately sees the second layer of meaning underneath the words of the epistle. On the surface, it speaks of Christ as having "entered ... into the Holies," where He "offered Himself without spot to God," and therefore became "the Mediator of the New Testament" in order that "that who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance."
In general, then, it speaks of the Passion and the Ascension of Our Lord, and of His redemptive work.
But look more closely.
What lies just under the shadow of Calvary? What lies just under the shadow of the crucifix on the sanctuary wall of your parish? The Eucharist. The Mass.
If we strip out some of the extra clauses in the opening sentence, we have this basic statement: "Christ being come ... entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption."
How did accomplish this? Again, stripping out the subordinate clauses, we have this: Christ, "by a greater and more perfect tabernacle ... by His own blood, entered once into the Holies."
His entrance into the Holy of Holies (which is where the High Priest would make the sacrifice for sins on the Day of Atonement), and the eternal redemption which follows, was effected by two things, according to the text:
1) A greater and more perfect tabernacle (Greek skene, "tent")
2) His own blood
What is this "greater and more perfect tent?"
For this, we may look to another epistle of this same St. Paul, to see in what other ways he uses the word.
In 2 Corinthians 5, we read:
For we know, if our earthly house of this habitation [skenos, "tent"] be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven. Yet so that we be found clothed, not naked. For we also, who are in this tabernacle [skenos, "tent"], do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1-4)
In St. Paul's vocabulary, a "tabernacle" or "tent" can be a metaphor for the human body! Turning back to the epistle to the Hebrews, then, we have this:
1) Christ being come,
1a) a High Priest of the good things to come,
2) by a greater and more perfect tabernacle [i.e., body],
2a) not made with hands, that is,
2b) not of this creation,
2c) neither by the blood of goats or of calves,
3) but by His own blood,
4) entered once into the Holies,
5) having obtained eternal redemption.
See how the "tabernacle" is paired up with "His own blood," which is very remniscent of the usual pairing, "body and blood." The thought seems to be that Christ has "entered" into the Holy of Holies through the agency of His body and blood.
A complimentary thought is seen in the very next chapter:
Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood of Christ: A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh: and a high priest over the house of God: let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water. (Heb. 10:19-22)
We follow where Christ has led; He has gone on ahead into the Holy of Holies to obtain redemption, but in so doing He has "dedicated" - the Greek is egkainizo, or "consecrated," which is even more illuminating - a "new and living way" for us so that we may follow Him into the Holy of Holies.
He has, the text says, entered in by His blood, and consecrated a new and living way (or "road") by His flesh - so that we may "drawn near with a true heart."
That these words are all meant to be understood in a Eucharistic sense is demonstrated by showing the striking similarities between these texts (Hebrews 9 and 10) and the ancient liturgy of St. James. Just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine, the priest prays:
We thank Thee, O Lord our God, that Thou hast given us boldness for the entrance of Thy holy places, which Thou hast renewed [Greek, egkainizo] to us as a new and living way through the veil of the flesh of Thy Christ. We therefore, being counted worthy to enter into the place of the tabernacle of Thy glory, and to be within the veil, and to behold the Holy of Holies, cast ourselves down before Thy goodness ...
The liturgy expresses the thought of the early Church: the "Holy of Holies" was the presence of God, and to enter therein was accomplished by coming into contact with the Eucharistic body of Christ, by receiving Him sacramentally in Holy Communion.
And so it continues today, and the Epistle reading for Passion Sunday points us not only to the Passion of Christ, but also the renewal of that Passion through the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
