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When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
- Luke 22:14-23
At this point in Luke's Gospel, Jesus is in Jerusalem. He has made His Triumphal Entry, cleansed the temple, and faced the challenges of the leadership. He has also returned a few challenges of His own. He speaks to the leadership, His disciples, and also the public. (See readings from last Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). In Friday's reading, Jesus began to speak about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and how they are to endure what is to come, and on Saturday we read His teachings on both the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age, when He will return. In Monday's reading, Jesus taught how we are to await His return. Yesterday's reading told us that in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?" And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' Then he will show you a large furnished upper room; there make ready." So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." My study bible says, "The Passover signifies deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt. Now Jesus, with fervent desire, anticipates the great deliverance of humanity from the power of sin, which will be accomplished through His saving death, establishing the New Covenant. The Passover meal is the Last Supper, continued in the Eucharist of the Church, which is to be fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." My study bible tells us that "Luke reports the partaking of two cups (vv. 17, 20). Several cups were offered during the Passover meal."
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." My study bible tells us that "Christ is the Lamb of God who gives Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross for the salvation of the world. Remembrance in its biblical significance is a reliving of the original event. We do this through the sacred act of the Eucharist."
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing. My study bible tells us, "With these words Jesus looks ahead to His arrest and suffering."
Let us look at many of the elements in today's reading. First, Jesus speaks of His fervent desire to partake of the Passover with the disciples. His fervent desire may reflect His desire to complete His mission, to do what He must for the Kingdom to manifest itself in the world. But in the following verse, He shares this "fervent desire" with the others. In the words, "Take this and divide it among yourselves" Jesus invites us also to fervent desire; we're not just offered this cup, we're commanded to "take" and "divide" -- this is a very active kind of thing we're commanded to do. It's like we're to seize what He is giving, we're invited to action, almost a sort of violent action. We're reminded of His words in Matthew's Gospel, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Our fervent desire for this kingdom must also be acted upon; but the seizure and partaking here is of what He offers -- Himself! Breaking the bread Himself, He offers His broken body -- broken and divided for us, so that we may partake -- saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Remembrance is essential as a component to our "taking and dividing." We remember His life by repeating His life in ours, reliving what is here, reliving His living ministry upon the earth. Ironically, to "re-member" invites us to the wholeness of His Body, in the many "members" that we are, even as He breaks the bread and distributes it. Finally, there is paradox: both covenant and betrayal. "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table." For what is His body broken, for what is His blood shed? It is for covenant with us; we are offered this stark choice here, of paradox: which will it be? And there is Judgment present too: we are all free to do what we choose to do, but "woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Let's take a look at the word "betrayed." In the Greek, it's like the opposite of what He teaches them to do; they're told to "take" this Kingdom for themselves. But to "betray" in the Greek is to "hand over" -- to give something over to others. So here is the invitation, here is the precious Gift on offer: do we take and seize it and distribute it among ourselves, the many members, as He has commanded? Or do we give it away, handing it over to those who cannot and will not love it, to His enemy? It's an important way to look at the language in this text, because we can think of our lives as gifts as well, our talents and capabilities, and think of them the same way. God offers us all of these things, and invites us to "take and distribute." This is what a gift is for. In this sense, a true self-esteem extends from the gifts He offers. It all depends on what we really want, what we fervently desire. We make the choice. Do we do as He commands, or do we just give it all away to those who couldn't care a thing about it, who simply wish to destroy? How do we best live our lives in remembrance of Him?
