This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me

 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. 

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

- Luke 22:14-30

Yesterday we read that 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 that Christ has a fervent desire for this Passover because this meal will impart the mysteries of the new covenant to His followers, and because this event will inaugurate the great deliverance of humanity from sin through the power of the Cross.   It is from the Greek word for suffer here in this verse that we derive the word "Passion."

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."   This is the first cup, which concludes the Old Testament Passover meal Christ eats with His disciples to fulfill the Law.  When Jesus says until the kingdom of God comes, He's speaking of His Resurrection.  At that time He will eat and drink again with His disciples (24:43; Acts 10:41).

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."  It is from the root of the Greek word for gave thanks that we derive the word eucharist.  This immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and Sacrament of Holy Communion in the Church.  Before end of the first century, the Didache (the earliest known teaching manuscript of the Church, ascribed to the apostles) refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist."  My study bible also cites St. Justin, who says in AD 150 of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body."  From the time of the ancient Church it was accepted that Christ's words are true, "that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (Justin Martyr).  This is simply a mystical reality.  In the Eastern Church it remains accepted as such, without theory or explanation.  The Church knows Christ as both God and human.  In the Eucharist is the fullness of the incarnate Christ; hence, a deep Mystery.

 "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 points out to us that Judas, too, is invited to the table for the mystical supper.  Jesus is seeking by all means to save him.  But it is his ultimately unworthy participation that leads to his utter destruction (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; compare Esther 7).

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  As Jesus has just spoken of the coming of the kingdom of God,  the apostles enter into a small-minded dispute about who will be considered the greatest among them in this kingdom.  They have their minds on worldly affairs -- even has Christ has just revealed great mysteries to them.  He corrects them first by comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom (as my study bible puts it) they themselves considered an abomination.  He also contrasts them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study bible quotes Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles, my study bible says, will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  This reflects the many times Jesus cited righteous figures from Israel's past as those who would judge the leadership of His time and their failure to know Him.  God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ; therefore the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  That is, not through position, but through lives of righteousness and the true depth of the heart ("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" - Matthew 5:8).

There is everything we can find in today's reading, all the ups and downs, highs and lows, the sacred and the profane in Christ's life.  We begin with the great mystery of the Eucharist, that which is given to us so that we affirm and remember His presence with us.  It is the heart of the Liturgy, and how we remember Him and seek to live to Him as His followers.  It is the fullness of the Church and His very life that He gives to us.  He tells them this is the last cup He will drink before He suffers.  If we look up the Greek verb suffer, we find that it indicates things that happen to us -- that which causes strong feeling.  This is where we get the word passion (the Greek verb "to suffer" is pasxo, a root also for pathos).  If we ask ourselves, "Does God suffer?" then all we must do is look at Christ and His human life and we must affirm that indeed, God suffers.  Christ suffers with us.  The capacity for this depth of feeling, of passion, good or bad, is considered to be reflective of the fact that we are, indeed, made in the image of God.  The Incarnation indisputably teaches us that our God is not simply a detached intellect, a kind of computational spirit that winds up the universe like a clock, but a Person, one who is personal -- one who feels.  His suffering isn't merely stoic, but is one of true fullness and depth of feeling, a kind of heroism that lives through and transcends.  His rejection is absolute, and so is His love!  He continues to try to save Judas, offering him another chance with Him, to be one of them.  It is an example of how Christ offers us everything.  Even those closest to Him, His closest disciples, the apostles, fail even to take in His words, to understand the nature of His kingdom, to hear His words about His suffering -- and squabble over who will be the greatest as if Jesus is talking about becoming a worldly king.  And again, it is opportunity for teaching.  His concern is for His Church, and what kind of leadership it will have.  His emphasis is service, and He is the prime example of what kind of leadership He chooses for His kingdom.  It is important that we understand all of these things to be here and present, because they are all here and present for us in our lives, even in our every day lives in this world.  So we go through suffering and passion.  So we are capable of love and service.  So we walk, with Him.  At those times in our lives when we are called upon for some sort of sacrifice, and even to suffer the highs and lows of emotional depth and even trauma, let us remember Him.  He was there first, for us.  He is here present, with us, to see us through it all and take us to His kingdom, with Him.