The Last Supper

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover?" And he sent out two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" ' Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us." So his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me." And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with me in the dish. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

- Mark 14:12-25

In today's lectionary reading, we jump ahead in the gospel of Mark. I prefer day-to-day readings in order in the gospels, so that one may learn as each lesson builds upon the other. I may consider deviating from the lectionary cycle in future, so that we can go through the gospels as they are written, chapter by chapter. But today, I will follow in the lectionary reading.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover?" My study bible notes that the first day of Unleavened Bread (14 Nisan) is when the Passover lambs were ritually slaughtered at noontime. Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread actually begin after sunset on this day, which is then 15 Nisan, because the Jewish calendar counts days from sunset to sunset. And he sent out two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" ' Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us." So his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. Jesus' prescience - his foreknowledge that they will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water - is another expression of his deity. He also knows how the man will respond. My study bible compares this with the events of Palm Sunday: "As with the colt, so with the upper room. Jesus is not presumptuous in the use of the room. It was a gift to the man to have the Son of God use it and thus forever set it apart as holy. Whatever gifts God asks of us today are similarly sanctified."

In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me." And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with me in the dish. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born." It's a powerful thing to read that several of the disciples ask, "Is it I?" What a poignant comment on what is to come, and how little they understand of what is happening. My study bible has another helpful note on this passage: "Jesus says this not in deprecation of this man, his own creation, but in deprecation of that man's choice and rashness. For it was the rashness of Judas's own will that made the Creator's gift of goodness useless to him. Divine foreknowledge of the betrayal takes away neither Judas's moral freedom nor his accountability. For God all things are a present reality; He foresees all human actions, but does not cause them." Just as all gifts to God are sanctified (see previous paragraph in commentary, the note from my study bible), so do the gifts from God challenge us to choose wisely. Judas has been given a gift that he will now betray. This is a greater challenge to responsibility than an everyday act or choice; it is one that carries a far greater power of consequence and effect.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." My study bible notes: "The body denotes the totality of man. On behalf of all mankind, Christ offers himself in the totality of His Person." Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many." For many is the Semitic way of saying for all, for an "innumerable people," my study bible notes. Just as earlier in the day, at noon, the Passover lambs were slaughtered, Jesus is clearly referring to himself and his sacrifice in this institution of the first Eucharist. We have these distinct elements: the prophesy of betrayal, and the deep warning of condemnation for the one by whom that betrayal comes, the institution of the Eucharist in commemoration of this sacrifice - once and for all - and the new covenant, effective through this voluntary sacrifice, this acceptance of the will of the Father. Responsibility is total: both for the choice of Judas, and for the choice of Jesus to lay down his life "as a ransom for many." As my study bible notes, Jesus gives us all that he is, His Person. Each time we partake in the Eucharist we are not only accepting this Person but we also share in the wine of the covenant he has made with us. The totality of this act, the inclusion of human will, betrayal and sin into its powerful reality, is a totality of God. To understand that, "For God all things are a present reality; He foresees all human actions, but does not cause them," is to accept the Mystery of this reality at work in us and among us. "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And Jesus will be true to his promise, refusing the wine offered to him as he is on the Cross. He accepts what is to come, and foresees it all, even as the apostles have no idea what will happen. Our first Eucharist (from the verb evcharisto/ευχαριστω - "to give thanks") comes to us in the midst of betrayal and sacrifice, a moment of powerful condemnation and evil, and yet within the entire reality of God, the great gift and covenant which we celebrate and for which we give all thanks. The totality of this moment encompasses the great highs and lows of our reality, of our choices, our existence. The powerful work of Christ, of God, in the midst of calamity, is the powerful reality of our faith which we celebrate with each Eucharist.

Today is the day of the Last Supper. This is, according to my study bible, "the long-awaited messianic banquet, to which he admits even Judas, seeking by all means to save him." This Last Supper is the feast to which we are invited - Bridegroom to Bride - into union and covenant with the totality of the Lord, in His Person. We partake of all that he is, in this great sacrifice for us, this promise he fulfills with us, the new covenant. All are offered to drink this cup. Many readers will tonight be attending services to commemorate this night of betrayal, and promise and covenant, this institution of the commemoration of our union with Him. As you take the cup and take the bread, think about these words of promise, in the midst of calamity and betrayal. This is an act that will scatter the apostles, and yet we receive "with thanks." Think about the totality of God, and the reality of your life. What betrayal have you done or experienced? What have you watched betrayed or shattered? In all of that reality of human choice, and the depth of betrayal, God is at work, and the promise is there. This promise is true: the body and blood are that which are given to us for participation in this feast. Remember this example, his brave and strong institution of Eucharist at this Last Supper before his trial and crucifixion, which will indeed be his last cup before he will "drink it new in the kingdom of God." Remember that promise. It will see you, too, through all betrayal, and dishonor of "the things of God." Hang onto that promise, that cup and the bread, and remember this sacrifice that will serve "as a ransom for many," and "for the life of the world," and how it can work in your own life, no matter what the world around you - and its faulty, disastrous choices - may present.