'He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave'

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Fr. Randy Timmerman

God stooped down to meet us in human form; he bowed low in order to lift us to himself. It was through this act of humility that Jesus was to be exalted above every other name.

My mother has very little patience for baseball. At Brewer games, she entertains herself by counting the lights in the stadium, rather than watching the action on the field.

Recently, she and my dad went to Arizona to watch the Brewers play. My dad enjoys baseball and attending spring training is something he had always wanted to do. They were gone for 10 days.

Palm Sunday (April 9, 2006) Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16 Is 50:4-7 Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 Phil 2:6-11 Mk 14:1--15:47 or 15:1-39

When they returned, my mother said, "I just made up my mind. He has done so much for me over the years that this was the least I could do for him. I was not once going to complain, nor say it was time to go home. In the end I actually enjoyed it."

This simple statement of love, of self-emptying love, of setting aside one's own life for the sake of another, is a glimpse into what emptying oneself is about. Initial love, romantic love, or infatuation often finds young lovers doing things for the other, giving gifts and small gestures of love. But committed love involves the emptying of the self for the other.

Holy Week is about moving from initial love to committed love. Jesus had been preparing for this moment his entire life. "I have come to do not my own will but to do the will of the one who sent me."

This would be the moment when his Father would be glorified in Jesus' act of laying down his life, in love, for the sake of all. It was not the nails that held him to the cross but rather his love. His unconditional, self-emptying love for you and me that prompted him to move toward "not my will but thy will be done."

	Reflection questions • How will you practice the gift of self-emptying love for the sake of another this week? • Read the crucifixion account again in Mark's gospel (ch. 15) and imitate in your life the paradox of God's love for you.

A truth of our faith is that God reveals himself in opposites. Holy Week is a week of opposites. The glory of God is shown in the humility by which Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem and is obedient to the will of his Father. The wealth of God is displayed in Jesus crucified alone and abandoned, as a criminal. The wisdom of God is shown in the foolishness of the cross.

How do we make sense of the paradoxes of our lives? The truth of our faith is that suffering draws us closer to the mystery of love. The most complete unity between spouses, for example, is experienced not when they enjoy something together, but when they suffer together, each for the other, each with the other, loving each other in suffering and despite suffering. Jesus is their model.

Fr. Randy J. Timmerman is pastor of St. Paul University Catholic Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

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