I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

- Matthew 26:26-35

Yesterday we read that on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And he said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  he answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  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 not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it."

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.   This is the institution of the Eucharist.  On the evening He is about to be seized and arrested, this is the long-awaited messianic banquet, to which He admits even Judas (compare to Esther 7), and seeks by all means to save him.  My study bible says that because of his wicked heart, Judas' participation leads to his condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).   In the Divine Liturgy, Jesus' words are repeated, which invite the faithful to receive His body and blood.   Holy Communion is meant to unite us to Christ.  Here Jesus gave thanks (which is from the Greek word for "eucharist").  My study bible says this is in order to teach us: first, how to celebrate the sacrament; second, that He comes willingly to His Passion; and third, to accept sufferings with thankfulness, knowing that God can use sufferings for ultimate good.  The Old Covenant was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats, but the New is sealed by the git of Christ.  He shed His own blood to conquer sin and death, and to reconcile us with God.  This Jesus calls the blood of the new covenant, which is God's promise and the fulfillment of the Law.  By new, my study bible says, Jesus means that this covenant brings immortality and incorruptible life.  We are to understand that this covenant will always have the quality of newness; this is the very nature of Christ Himself and the power of God (Revelation 21:5).

"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.   My study bible tells us that patristic writers teach that Jesus also drinks the cup of His own Blood.  He does so in order to lead all believers into participation in His heavenly mysteries.  In My Father's kingdom relates to the time after His Resurrection, when Christ will eat and drink to show the reality of His victory over death (see Luke 24:41-43).  Moreover, it directs our understanding to the eternal banquet of the Kingdom in the age to come.

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.   Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7, and He makes His own prophecy of what is to come for the disciples, particularly for Peter.  But they all deny what He tells them about themselves.

There are two extraordinary things that happen in today's reading.  The first is the institution of the Eucharist, in which Christ not only prepares us for this time in which we await His Return, but also initiates the presence of the Kingdom in the world, and our way of participating in it and in His very life.  The second is Peter's (and the rest of the disciples') denial of Christ's prophecy that Peter will deny Him three times this night.  Peter vows that this will never happen, as do the other disciples.  But it's a very important lesson for us about reliance only upon ourselves for something.  We can't really calculate all our own weaknesses.  Only Christ understands that about His disciples, and about the powerful forces that will be at play to scatter His followers; these forces are both worldly and those described as the powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12, Luke 22:31).   So often we are simply unaware of our real struggles and real needs, but Jesus is not "in the dark" about the reality of the present time and the dangers that are there.  Peter, and the subsequent story that is to come in his denial of Christ, illustrates an important story about our own confidence in ourselves.  While confidence is generally a good thing, and our culture certainly seems to admire it or form cults around those who seem to possess it to a great degree, there are different kinds of confidence.  There is a kind of toxic side to self-confidence (if we may call it that) when we fail to understand our vulnerabilities and weaknesses as human beings, and most particularly when we are blind to our own spiritual needs.  But having confidence that comes from a spiritual orientation to Christ and His promises is a completely different kind of confidence.  It is rather a confidence in the reliance upon Christ that acknowledges vulnerability and is aware of our need for spiritual strength in faith and communion.  And therein comes the Eucharist, which Christ institutes at this Last Supper before He is taken by the authorities.  Christ institutes the Eucharist in order to initiate us into the Kingdom that is present even while we live in a world full of threats and insecurities.  He allows us through the Eucharist to participate in His very life.  He gives us strengths, confidence, and nourishment of a kind we can't find elsewhere.  He gives us what we need for confidence in Him, even as He predicts that all of His followers will be scattered, but that He will meet them again in Galilee.  He meets us in the Eucharist.  Until He returns at the Second Coming, He is with us mystically in His presence through this communion that includes all of us in His mystical connection with us; His very Body and Blood allow us to participate in Him as He also is in us (John 14:19-24).  In order to find a genuine and realistic sense of confidence and security, this is what we need for a life in a world that is never without its risks and a life in which our imperfections and weaknesses are part of our very nature.  Life is a learning curve, but through reliance on God we pray that we may walk in the ways that are best for us, and that even our mistakes are used to bring us closer to God and more deeply into true communion and confidence.  In this way it is truly our humility that gives us the greatest strength, the reality of wisdom, and the capacities for faith through all things.  Let us be filled with the food He offers us.