Take, eat; this is My body

 

 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."  Jesus here institutes the Eucharist, which my study Bible names the long-awaited messianic banquet, to which He admits even Judas at this meal, as Christ is seeking by all means to save him.   Because of his wicked heart, my study Bible says, Judas' participation leads to his condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).  My study Bible comments that Christ's words are repeated in the Divine Liturgy, when the faithful are invited to receive His body and blood.  In Holy Communion, we are truly united to Christ.  Jesus gave thanks (the root of this verb in Greek is eucharist) to teach us first of all, how we are to celebrate this sacrament.   He is also teaching that He comes willingly to His Passion, and that we also can accept sufferings with thankfulness -- as we know that God can use sufferings for ultimate good.  Moreover, my study Bible adds that the Old Covenant was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats, while the New is sealed by the gift of Christ Himself -- who shed His own blood to conquer sin and death and to reconcile us with God.  Christ calls it the blood of the new covenant, which is God's promise and the fulfillment of the Law.  In using the word "new" Christ means that this covenant brings immortality and incorruptible life; it will always have the quality of newness.  See Revelation 21:5.  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

"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 comments that according to patristic consensus Jesus also drinks the cup of His own Blood.  This He does to lead all believers into participation in His heavenly mysteries.  My study Bible says that in My Father's kingdom relates to the time after Christ's Resurrection, when Christ will eat and drink to show the reality of His victory over death (see Luke 24:41-43).  Moreover, it points 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 gives another prophesy that will be fulfilled, quoting from Zechariah 13:7.   Note how not only Peter, as frequent spokesman for the disciples, vehemently denies that he will stumble, but also so said all the disciples.  

What strange combination of events we get in the Gospels.  It is much like life itself:  together with the greatest gift for mankind, the most exalted moment of Christ's grace to us in the giving of the Eucharist, we are told that this night they will strike the Shepherd, and all will be made to stumble because of Him, and the flock scattered.  It is like the chiaroscuro of the greatest painters, or the film noir of modern times, in which black and white, dark and light, are juxtaposed to give us just this sense of how the dark can be present even while there is the greatest light existent for us at any moment in our lives, even seemingly at times of the greatest exultation.   The story of Christ, no matter how many ways in which we might experience something similar, or a story is told that seemingly holds the same elements, sets a pattern down for us.  It expresses something real about the world that we live in, and it offers us a choice in the midst of this world in which light and dark can coexist so starkly, as we read so clearly in the prologue to John's Gospel, when we are told of Christ that "in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  We might experience this black and white quality often in our own lives also.  Seemingly at times when our deepest desires might be realized, so we experience a darkness that seems to blight our happiness even at the same moment.  But the power of this story is in the light that it offers us in the midst of darkness, for it is that light to which we must be drawn and which shows us our way through the world.  It is His light to which we cling and follow even when we can't see very well in the darkness that we experience in life.  For when we lose that light, then we truly lose our way.  So often we might find ourselves lost in darkness because something sounded right or good, and it really wasn't.  Peter displaying his great proclamation of indignance and loyalty to Christ, stating, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble," might be seen as one example of this.  All of the disciples follow his lead in this declaration, but Christ knows better and understands the human weakness and vulnerability upon which darkness can play.   A fine thing -- the kind of loyalty and courage on display in Peter's statement -- may cover a truth we'd rather not see nor know, and will have to discover for ourselves, as Peter will with bitter tears.  But therein, even in that sub-story to this plot, is the Cross, for it is in reconciling to the reality of our lives that we find the light and come to terms with what it asks of us -- hence the great historic stress on truly knowing ourselves and coming to terms with the things we need to be aware of and to act upon (see Matthew 18:8-9).  But here in today's reading, Jesus gives us the very gift that literally means to give thanks, the Eucharist.  He gives us the gift of Himself and His communion with us and among us, the sacrifice of His Body and Blood.  And at this greatest moment which we as humankind can receive, He warns of the Cross and speaks of the danger that awaits the disciples as an enemy will strike the Shepherd.  We shouldn't forget we still live in the same world where that same enemy preys on weakness and vulnerability, where we can fool ourselves with our own bluff, and our vulnerabilities may even be things we're not aware of.  Let us understand that it is in the truth of the Gospel that we find ourselves and we find our way, not in saccharine or sentimental ideas but in coming to terms with truth at the Cross, including the truth of where we stumble.  Neither believe those who say life is all darkness, for that is the way to nothing.   For this is the good news, the road of salvation and spiritual growth in the Kingdom, preparing us for the crowns these disciples will certainly wear.  For we are on a road, Christ's "way" -- which goes together with His truth and His life, and there is no other to be found (John 14:6).