#the last supper and the passover feast | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

walkswithmyfather · 1 year

Text

“The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.” “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him. He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal. They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

“But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” —Luke 22:1‭-‬22 (NLT)

“Easter Explained: An 8-Day Guide to Celebrating Holy Week.” A Devotional By Spoken Gospel - Day 5: “Maundy Thursday”:

“For the last 1,600 years, Christians around the world remember the last days of Jesus' life during Holy Week. Today is Maundy Thursday. 'Maundy' comes from a Latin word that means “covenant.” Maundy Thursday remembers the day Jesus shared a final meal with his disciples and gave them a new covenant.

So far, each of Jesus' final days has made it increasingly clear that he intends to tear down the current religious order and inaugurate a new Kingdom. The religious establishment has been looking for a way to kill Jesus for this message, and Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples, has just volunteered to betray his teacher (Luke 22:4-6). And on the first day of Passover, Judas decides to betray Jesus with a kiss.

Passover was a Jewish feast that reenacted how God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt. God promised that if his people sacrificed a lamb, painted its blood above and around their doors, and then ate the slaughtered lamb with flatbread, he would free them (Exodus 12:1-10). God made good on this covenant when, after the meal, an angel came and killed the firstborn sons of Pharaoh and anyone else who defied God's plans to free his people. But after the death of the firstborn, God's people were freed from Egyptian power and soon became their own kingdom.

Jesus tells his disciples to make preparations to celebrate this day (Luke 22:7-13). But while eating the lamb and bread and drinking some wine, Jesus redirects the meaning of those symbols. According to Jesus, they don't just look back to a past act of salvation but forward to a new one. Jesus took the bread and said, “'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20). God's covenant on the first Passover promised freedom and a Kingdom on the other side of a sacrificed lamb and a dead firstborn. And at the same meal Jesus makes a new covenant and promises that by the sacrificed body and blood of God's firstborn, God's people will be freed once again. But first they must accept, eat, and drink his body and blood.

A lot happens after this moment. Judas leaves dinner to betray Jesus. The disciples argue about who is the best leader. Jesus goes to a nearby garden to pray and briefly asks God to take away the responsibility of being the bloody cup he has just offered. Judas returns with a mob that drags Jesus to a Jewish court. The disciples scatter. Peter, the head disciple, denies he even knows his Master. Then the religious establishment condemns Jesus as a heretic and beats him until the sun rises.

But Maundy Thursday is good news because Jesus announces that the darkness and disappointment of these final hours will lead to freedom and a Kingdom. Just as bread cannot be eaten until it's broken and wine cannot be drunk unless it's poured, a covenant cannot be made without blood. As we've said before, 'Maundy' comes from a Latin word that means covenant. And on this day Jesus promises that he will bear the cost for our covenant of freedom. Just as Israel was freed from slavery by the blood of a lamb, we are freed from slavery by Jesus' blood. He is the firstborn son who was lost so that we are no longer captive to this world's powers, temptations, sins, and consequences. Because of Maundy Thursday we are free citizens of Jesus' new eternal Kingdom.

So I pray that on this Maundy Thursday you will accept Jesus' body and blood as a new covenant - God's promise to free you and bring you into his Kingdom.”

19 notes · View notes

frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 1 month

Text

28th March >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. John 13:1-15) for Holy Thursday (B) : ‘He began to wash his disciples’ feet’.

Holy Thursday

Gospel (Except USA) John 13:1-15 Now he showed how perfect his love was.

It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.

They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’

Gospel (USA) John 13:1–15 Jesus loved them to the end.

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Reflections (4)

(i) Holy Thursday

I have a print of a painting of the scene in this evening’s gospel reading of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the last supper. It is by a German artist named Sieger Koder who died nine years ago at the age of 90. He was a prisoner of war during World War II. Having worked as an artist for many years, he went on to study for the priesthood and was ordained in his late forties. He combined his vocation as a priest with his work as an artist, and continued painting well into his retirement. The focus of his painting of this evening’s gospel reading is on Jesus and Peter. A kneeling Jesus is bent over a bowl of dirty looking water and the seated Peter has his feet in the water. Peter has his left hand raised in protest at Jesus wanting to wash his feet, ‘Never’, he says in our gospel reading, ‘you shall never wash my feet’. He is outraged that Jesus is performing for him a task that would normally be reserved to slaves. Peter’s strong protest is matched by Jesus’ strong insistence, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me’. Peter’s eventual surrender to Jesus’ desire to wash his feet is depicted in the painting by Peter’s right hand which is at rest on Jesus’ shoulder. The artist doesn’t show the face of Jesus directly, only his back, but his face is reflected in the dirty water where Peter’s feet rest.

A painting that comes from the soul of an artist can speak more powerfully than words alone. Peter felt unworthy of this menial expression of Jesus’s service of him. We can all be like Peter. We feel unworthy of the Lord’s loving service. We struggle to receive the Lord’s gift of himself. Sometimes we have to learn like Peter to let go to the Lord and to allow him to serve us in the way he chooses. It is was difficult for Peter to accept that Jesus, his Lord and Master, could relate to him like a slave. No doubt Peter would have said, ‘It is your feet I should be washing’. Yet, this is the way that the Lord has chosen to serve us all. He gets down on his knees for us to demonstrate the depth of his love for us. What Jesus did at the last supper anticipated what he would do the following day on Calvary. At the supper, he laid down his garments to wash his disciples’ feet. On Calvary, he laid down his life to wash all of humanity in his love. Just as he humbled himself to wash the feet of his disciples, so he would humble himself even more when he submitted to death on a cross for each us all. The Lord who emptied himself to wash the feet of his disciples is the same Lord who emptied himself on the cross for each one of us. We can each say with Saint Paul, ‘I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me’. Like Peter, we can struggle to accept the way the Lord empties himself, humbles himself, in love for me personally. We can have our own way of saying Peter’s ‘Never’, ‘not me’. Yet, the Lord would be as insistent with us as he was with Peter, refusing to take our ‘Never’ for an answer.

The Lord who washed the feet of his disciples at the last supper also did something else, as Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading. He gave himself, his body and blood, to his disciples, under the form of bread and wine. Like the washing of his disciples’ feet, this too anticipated what he would do the following day on Calvary. On the cross he gave his body and his blood as an expression of his love for us; he emptied himself for us. At the last supper, he brought forward this self-emptying love by giving himself, his body and blood, under the form of the bread and wine on the table. Just as he insisted that his disciples allow him to wash their feet, he now insisted that they eat the bread and drink the wine, which he identified with himself. They are to receive this gift of himself. His command to ‘do this as a memorial of me’ meant that the Last Supper was also the beginning of what we call the Eucharist. At every Eucharist, the Lord gives himself to us under the form of bread and wine. The Lord’s self-emptying love, expressed fully on Calvary, is present to us at every Eucharist, as it was present at the Last Supper. When we take the bread of the Eucharist and eat it, we are entering into communion with the Lord’s self-giving love. We are allowing ourselves to be caught up into the Lord’s servant love for us, and, in entering into communion with the Lord, we also enter into communion with one another.

Having received the Lord’s love at the Eucharist, we are then sent out to share that love with one another, to give as we have received. We are to wash each other’s feet, whatever form that might take. Such acts of self-giving love are to be found throughout the homes of this parish. The spirit of Holy Thursday is alive among us, and for this we give thanks.

And/Or

(ii) Holy Thursday

We can learn a lot from the way that children express their faith. Those of us who are adults tend to think of ourselves as the children’s teachers. Yet, they can teach us a lot, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Their spontaneous openness to the Lord when they are very young can touch our own faith and help to deepen it.

On one occasion in the gospel story the disciples of Jesus were trying to block parents from bringing their children to Jesus. They were clearly of the view that children should be neither seen nor heard. The evangelist tells us that Jesus was indignant with his disciples and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not stop them… Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it’. Jesus was saying to his disciples – ‘Look at the children and learn from them. They have a lot to teach you about receiving the gift of the kingdom of God’. Children know how to receive the gift of God. Their openness to the gift of God can help to open up all of our hearts to the Lord’s presence and call in our own lives.

The meaning of Holy Thursday could be summed up in the word ‘gift’. At the last supper Jesus gave his disciples the gift of himself in loving service. He did this in two ways. Firstly, he washed their feet. This was a menial task that servants in a household usually performed. In washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus was showing that he was their servant, our servant. We usually think of Jesus as Lord. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is one of the great Christian confessions. How can a Lord do the work of a servant? This was why Peter objected to what Jesus was doing – ‘you will never wash my feet’. Peter, unlike children, could not receive the gift of Jesus’ service. However, Jesus was showing by this gesture that he exercises his lordship not by ruling and dominating but by serving, by giving the gift of himself. It was by giving the gift of himself to us that he became our Lord. In laying down his garments to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus was anticipating the greater gift he would give them the following day, when he would lay down his life for them and for us on the cross.

The second way that Jesus gave the gift of himself to his disciples at that last supper was when he gave himself to them under the form of bread and wine. Taking bread, he blessed it and gave it to them saying, ‘Take and eat’. Taking a cup of wine, he blessed it and gave it to them and said, ‘Take and drink’. Like the washing of their feet, that gift of himself under the form of bread and wine anticipated the gift of himself that he would make to them and to all of us the following day on the cross. In allowing Jesus to wash their feet and in taking the bread and the cup, the disciples were receiving the gift of himself that Jesus would give them from the cross. In receiving that gift they would never be the same again. They would now have to give as they had received.

Jesus intended that what happened at the last supper would be the shape of the church forever, the shape of our own lives. The last supper was not just a once off event. When he had washed feet of his disciples, he said to them, ‘Do as I have done… love one another as I have loved you’. As he has served us, we are to serve one another, and in serving one another, the Lord continues to serve us in and through each other. In giving the bread and cup to his disciples he said to them, ‘Do this in memory of me’. We are to repeat the words and actions over the bread and cup, and in doing that the Lord will continue to give himself to us under the form of bread and wine. This is what we do when we celebrate the Eucharist. Both of those commands that Jesus gave at the last supper are important: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’, and ‘Do this in memory of me’. A life of service and the celebration of the Eucharist are both at the heart of what it means to be the Lord’s followers. At the Eucharist we receive again the Lord’s gift of himself that he made to us on the cross, and in receiving that gift we find the strength to live faithfully the call to love one another as he has loved us.

And/Or

(iii) Holy Thursday

All four gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, the day before the Jewish Sabbath. All of the gospels agree that, on the previous evening, Thursday evening, Jesus had a final meal with his disciples. We call that meal the Last Supper. We commemorate the Last Supper every time we celebrate Mass. However, at this Mass which we celebrate on Holy Thursday evening, we commemorate the Last Supper in a very focused way. That is why only this Holy Thursday Mass is called the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

The earliest reference to the Last Supper, the oldest reference, is to be found in this evening’s second reading. In that reading, Paul reminds the church in Corinth of the tradition about that Last Supper that he had earlier passed on to them by word of mouth, when he first preached the gospel among them. ‘This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you’. The memory of that Last Supper was one of the most precious traditions of the church. It was a precious tradition because of what happened at that Last Supper, what Jesus did. However, in that reading, before describing what Jesus did at the Last Supper, Paul refers to what was done to Jesus. Paul initially refers to that evening as ‘the night he (Jesus) was betrayed’. This was the dark side of that evening. One of Jesus’ closest disciples, one of the Twelve, one of that group in whom Jesus had invested so much of himself betrayed Jesus that evening to his enemies. Yet, the shadow that was cast over that evening did not define it. It was not defined in the memory of the early church by an Judas’ act of betrayal. It was defined by Jesus’ act of love. It is that act of love that we commemorate and celebrate this Holy Thursday evening.

What was that act of love? There were indeed two acts of love that defined that evening. One is described by the evangelist John in this evening’s gospel reading and the other is described by the apostle Paul in this evening’s second reading. The first of Jesus’ acts of love we are about to re-enact in a few moments. Very often, in the culture of Jesus, a host would give his guests a bowl of water to wash the dust of the streets and paths off their feet. It was considered an fitting act of hospitality. It would never happen that the host himself would wash the feet of his guests. If the host was wealthy, he might get one of his slaves to wash their feet, but he would never do it himself. What Jesus did at that Last Supper in washing the feet of his guests, his disciples, was something completely out of the ordinary. It was totally unconventional. Peter’s reaction to what Jesus was doing was perfectly understandable, ‘You shall never wash my feet’. Yet, Jesus’ insistence was stronger than Peter’s resistance. This was how Jesus wanted to relate to his disciples. He wanted to serve them in this very menial way, as it would have been understood then. He wanted to empty himself in their service. He was treating them with great respect and dignity. He was giving himself in love for them, for all of them, Judas included. We have to see those disciples as representing all future disciples, all of us here this evening. The way Jesus relates to them is how he wants to relate to us all. The Lord’s self-emptying love embraces us all. In laying aside his garment to empty himself in love for his disciples, Jesus was anticipating what he would do on the following afternoon. Then, his garments would be taken from him by his enemies and Jesus would empty himself in love on the cross for all of humanity. This evening we celebrate the extent to which Jesus gave of himself for us all, at the Last Supper and on the cross. We are invited to do what Peter was so reluctant to do, to receive the Lord’s love in the way the Lord wanted to express it. Having received that love, we are then invited to share that love with each other. In washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus was showing us how we are to relate to one another. We are to approach each other with the same respect for the dignity of the other that Jesus showed on that evening.

The second action of Jesus on the evening of the Last Supper is described by Saint Paul in the second reading and by the other three evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke. He took bread, thanked God for it, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is for you’. He took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’. Jesus identified himself, his body and blood, with the bread and wine. Just as he gave himself in love to his disciples by washing their feet, he now gave himself in love to them by giving himself to them under the form of bread and wine. Just as in washing their feet, he anticipated the gift of himself on would make on the cross, so in giving them his body and blood under the form of bread and wine he was again symbolically anticipating the gift he would make of himself on the cross. The early church repeated this second action of Jesus with his words every time they gathered to celebrate the Eucharist. At every Eucharist, the love which Jesus gave expression to by his actions at the Last Supper and most fully on the cross is present again to us all. As Paul says at the end of that reading, ‘Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death’, and the love which the death expressed. At every Eucharist, we are invited to receive the Lord’s love and we are called by the Lord to bring that love we have received to each other. At every Eucharist, the Lord sends us out with the words, ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’.

And/Or

(iv) Holy Thursday

All four gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, the day before the Jewish Sabbath. All of the gospels agree that, on the previous evening, Jesus had a final meal with his disciples. We call that meal the Last Supper. We commemorate the Last Supper every time we celebrate Mass. However, at this Mass which we celebrate on Holy Thursday evening, we commemorate the Last Supper in a very focused way. That is why only this Holy Thursday Mass is called the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

The earliest reference to the Last Supper is to be found in this evening’s second reading. In that reading, Paul reminds the church in Corinth of the tradition about that Last Supper that he had earlier passed on to them by word of mouth, when he first preached the gospel among them. ‘This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you’. The memory of that Last Supper was one of the most precious traditions of the church. It was a precious tradition because of what happened at that Last Supper, what Jesus did. However, in that reading, before describing what Jesus did at the Last Supper, Paul refers to what was done to Jesus. It was ‘the night he (Jesus) was betrayed’. This was the dark side of that evening. One of Jesus’ closest disciples betrayed Jesus that evening to his enemies. Yet, this shadow that was cast over that evening did not define it. It was defined by Jesus’ act of love. It is that act of love that we commemorate and celebrate this Holy Thursday evening.

There were indeed two acts of love that defined that evening. One is described by the evangelist John in this evening’s gospel reading and the other is described by the apostle Paul in this evening’s second reading. Very often, in the culture of Jesus, a host would give his guests a bowl of water to wash the dust of the streets and paths off their feet. It was considered a fitting act of hospitality. If the host was wealthy, he might get one of his slaves to wash their feet, but he would never do it himself. What Jesus did at that Last Supper in washing the feet of his guests, his disciples, was totally unconventional. Peter’s reaction to what Jesus was doing was perfectly understandable, ‘You shall never wash my feet’. Yet, Jesus’ insistence was stronger than Peter’s resistance. This was how Jesus wanted to relate to his disciples. He wanted to serve them in this very menial way. He wanted to empty himself in their service. He was treating them with great respect and dignity. He was giving himself in love for all of them, Judas included. The way Jesus relates to them is how he wants to relate to us all. The Lord’s self-emptying love embraces us all. In laying aside his garment to empty himself in love for his disciples, Jesus was anticipating what he would do on the following afternoon. Then, his garments would be taken from him by his enemies and Jesus would empty himself in love on the cross for all of humanity. This evening we celebrate the extent to which Jesus gave of himself for us all. We are invited to do what Peter was so reluctant to do, to receive the Lord’s love in the way the Lord wanted to express it. Having received that love, we are then invited to share that love with each other. We are to approach each other with the same respect for the dignity of the other that Jesus showed on that evening.

The second action of Jesus on the evening of the Last Supper is described by Saint Paul in the second reading and by the other three evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke. He took bread, thanked God for it, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is for you’. He took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’. Just as he gave himself in love to his disciples by washing their feet, he now gave himself in love to them under the form of bread and wine. Just as in washing their feet, he anticipated the gift of himself he would make on the cross, so in giving them his body and blood under the form of bread and wine he was symbolically anticipating the gift he would make of himself on the cross. The early church repeated this second action of Jesus with his words every time they gathered to celebrate the Eucharist. At every Eucharist, the love which Jesus gave expression to by his actions at the Last Supper and most fully on the cross is present again to us all. As Paul says at the end of that reading, ‘Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death’, and the love which the death expressed. At every Eucharist, we are invited to receive the Lord’s love and we are called by the Lord to bring that love we have received to each other. At every Eucharist, the Lord sends us out with the words, ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

4 notes · View notes

officialyourdailyinspiration · 2 years

Text

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Anointing of Jesus (Matthew 26:1-16)

We enter now upon the last events of our Lord's life. We are within two days of the Passover. We have a glimpse of the plotting of the priests and elders, and their desire to take Jesus by subtlety to kill Him. They wished, however, to wait until after the feast, fearing excitement and tumult, and had so determined. The culmination of the plot was hastened, however, by the unexpected treachery of Judas .

The incident of the anointing is given here apparently out of its proper order, probably because of its influence on the treason of Judas. The incident occurred, according to John's gospel (12:1-8), six days before the Passover. Judas was offended by Christ's rebuke of his criticism of Mary's anointing, and under the sting of this, went to the priest, offering to betray Christ.

Bethany was a sacred place to Jesus. There He found a home of love where His heart was rested many a time after the conflicts and controversies of the day in the temple. There His greatest miracle was wrought - the raising of Lazarus. We know Martha and Mary well. They differed in their dispositions - but they were alike in their warm and loyal friendship for Jesus.

These two sisters had each her own way of expressing her love for her Friend. The other evangelists tell us that Martha served - Martha

always served. There are certain people that we never fail to recognize by some unmistakable feature. We always know Peter by his impulsiveness. We know John by his lying upon the Savior's bosom at the last supper. We know Thomas as the man who doubted. We know Felix as the man who trembled, and then sent the preacher away for a more convenient season. We recognize Martha wherever we see her, by her serving. She represents those whose love for Christ takes the practical form, rather than the form of meditation and devotion.

Some people like to criticize Martha and find fault with her; but after all, her type of piety is important in this world where there is so much need for service and ministry. Beautiful as the Mary spirit is, it would not do if all were Marys, for who then would do the work of serving that needs so much to be done? A wife and mother, for instance, who would spend all her time in Bible reading and prayer, giving no thought to her household duties - would not make a very happy home.

The picture of Mary is also familiar. We see her three times in the Gospels, and each time she is in the same posture - at Jesus' feet. When we have our first glimpse within the Bethany home, we find Martha in her characteristic attitude - serving; and Mary we see sitting at the Master's feet, eagerly listening to His words. Our next view of Mary, is when Jesus came back to Bethany after the death of Lazarus, and the sisters came out to meet Him. Again, she is at the feet of Christ, this time in deep sorrow, seeking comfort. And here again we find her at the Master's feet, and now it is in an act of honor and an expression of love and gratitude to Him.

We think of Mary, therefore, as a woman who was always at Christ's feet. In the bright, happy days, she sat there as a learner. When grief was in the house and Jesus came, she went to His feet for comfort. Then when the trouble was over, we find her again in her familiar place, honoring Him with her heart's richest and best gifts. There is no fitter place for the redeemed life - than at the Master's feet!

Mary came in during the feast and anointed Jesus. We must distinguish this anointing from another by a woman who was a sinner. That anointing was an expression of penitence ; this was an outburst of grateful love. Mary brought the best she had, the richest gift in all her possession. Her ointment was very costly. We should bring our best to Christ. No ointment in the world is half so precious to Him - as the love of a human heart; we should bring Him our best love, giving Him the first place in our affection. We should give Him the best of our life, the best of our time, and the best of our service .

It seems a sad pity that any occasion so sacred as this, should be marred by human littleness and baseness. The disciples had indignation. "Why this waste?" they asked. John tells us that Judas led in the criticism, and when we know this - we are not surprised. Judas thought it was waste when the ointment was poured out on the feet and head of Jesus. There still are many people who think everything wasted, which is not coined into dollars, or that does not show in direct practical usefulness. But the truth is, that much of the richest and sweetest blessing scattered in this world, is the fragrance from the breaking of alabaster boxes. It is well to give food and clothing to the poor - but sometimes love and sympathy are better.

But the truth is, the fragrance of love always carries a blessing wherever it reaches. Besides, Christ looks into the heart and is pleased with love there, whether the expression of the emotion takes the form of garments for the poor - or flowers for the sick room.

It is beautiful to read how promptly Jesus came to Mary's relief when she was blamed. "Why are you bothering this woman?" He asked. It was a shame for big, strong men like the apostles - to pounce with such ill manners and cowardly rudeness - on a timid young girl like Mary. They ought to have been gallant enough to encourage and praise her deed of love.

"She has done a beautiful thing to Me!" said Jesus. This was what gave her act distinction and honor - it was wrought for the Master .

Anything done for Christ is lifted up to honor. It is this that makes all lowly Christian service beautiful - it is something done for Jesus. Judas had said the money ought to have been given to the poor. But Jesus said they could always do good to the poor - but they could not show kindness to Him much longer.

Then Jesus said further that this ointment had been poured on His body to prepare Him for burial. Mary probably did not know He was so near death - but Jesus knew it and accepted the honor as for His funeral. We do not know half the real meaning of our lowliest deeds of love! In Mark's Gospel (14:3-9) we read that Jesus said: "She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial."

Many people would have kept that box sealed up, to anoint His cold and dead body. When a man dies, there is never any lack of kind words about him, nor of flowers for his coffin. This is all well in its place - but Mary's way is better. Let us not wait until our friends are gone, before we show our love for them - but rather, let us bring our ointment while they are alive to enjoy its fragrance. Fill the lives of your friends with sweetness; speak approving, cheering words - while their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be blessed by them. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins - send to brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them! Let us learn the lesson today - to anoint our friends beforehand for their burying.

#Devotional Hours Within the Bible #James Russell Miller #The Anointing of Jesus #Matthew 26:1-16 #August 11 #2022

2 notes · View notes

tabernacleheart · 2 years

Text

The context of the annual Festival of Dedication of the Temple gives a special meaning to Jesus’ claim [of His divinity in John 10:30]. On this festival of the return of the LORD to his Temple (after its desecration by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes) Jesus is claiming that He Himself is the abode of God. [Indeed,] throughout the Gospel, Jesus has been making His own the institutions of Judaism. At Cana, He takes over the jars of water for Jewish rites of purification, making them the wine of His wedding-feast. Then He goes to Jerusalem and [functionally] replaces the perishable Temple with the Temple which is His Body. He makes the Sabbath His own by working on it as only God may do. He, rather than the manna provided by Moses, is the life-giving Bread from heaven. At Tabernacles, the festival of light and water, He declares that He is the Light of the world and the Source of Living Water. Finally, He will make the Passover His own at the Last Supper, and as the paschal lamb. It is this [record of so acting and speaking with Divinely transmutative religious authority] which gives the context and significance to the claim that ‘I and the Father are one.’ [Tragically, even though] the hostile question of the Jews [sparked] off Jesus’ sayings, [they are still unwilling to accept His unchanging response] and immediately after this passage they take up stones to throw at Him, [only misunderstanding] His claim to be one with the Father as blasphemy [rather than Truth].

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on John 10:22-30

3 notes · View notes

leonbloder · 1 month

Text

Maundy Thursday

"When they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take this is my body." Then he took a cup and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." - Mark 14:22-24

Today is Maundy Thursday. We call it "Maundy" Thursday because the ancient church mothers and fathers connected it to Jesus' "mandate" to his disciples on this day of Holy Week: "Love one another as I have loved you."

This is also the day we remember Jesus celebrating Passover with his closest friends--what Christians call "The Last Supper."

Jesus loved a good party. If you read through the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life, you will find that in every other chapter, he's sitting down to dinner with one group of people or another.

As he gathered with the twelve disciples on Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus did something that he'd done before when he miraculously fed five thousand-plus people on the hills above Galilee:

He took, blessed, broke, and gave.

When he fed the multitude, he took the food already there among the people, blessed it, broke it, and gave it. It was more than enough for everyone when it passed through his hands.

This miracle was a sign and a symbol of what the world should be like and will be like when God's shalom is fully realized on earth—when there is enough food, drink, hope, peace, and life for all.

Theologians Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan see the connection between the feeding of the multitude and the beautiful moment when Jesus broke bread and shared the cup with his disciples on Maundy Thursday.

Like the feeding of the multitude, this new feast was enough for everyone... everywhere. "Jesus Last Supper," they assert, "was to be the First Supper of the future."

The bread... the wine... These are ordinary things that are given extraordinary meaning. The earthiness of the elements matters to Jesus because he wanted to constantly remind his followers that he embraced earthiness for their sake.

When those earthy elements passed through his hands—when he took, broke, blessed, and gave them —they became, through the faith of the outstretched hands who received them, his own earthiness, his own body.

Miraculously, mystically, and beautifully, we receive Jesus himself by faith in the moments we share that meal again—Jesus who was taken, broken, blessed, and given, Jesus who continually comes to us to provide us with life in abundance. The ordinary elements do not lose their "ordinary-ness," which is the beauty of the whole thing. They serve as a sacrament, a way for us to know that we have received Christ, and carry Christ out into the world.

And Beloved, there is enough of Jesus for everyone... everywhere.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.

#presbymusings #dailydevotion #leonbloder #dailydevo #dailydevotional #christian living #leon bloder #faith #spiritualgrowth #spirituality #holy week #maundythursday

0 notes

barbaramoorersm · 2 months

Text

March 17, 2024

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

The Prophet shares that God is making a new covenant with the people.

Psalm 51

The Psalmist asks for forgiveness from God.

Hebrews 5: 7-9

This letter speaks of the obedience of Christ.

John 12: 20-33

Jesus is troubled and shares the kind of death he would experience.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The Prophet Jeremiah writes that God will make a new covenant with the people. “The days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Northen and Southern Kingdoms). It will not be like the one on the tablets of stone that Moses received and the people violated. But this agreement, this covenant “will be written within them and upon their hearts.” These words seem more personal and deeper in meaning. Many Christians see the life and role of Jesus within this promise of a new covenant. They turn to Jesus’ words at the last supper about a “new covenant in my blood.” In many ways this is a more demanding covenant because of its internal nature. God’s law is not just external actions, but this new covenant calls for a change in attitude and a change in our hearts. In many ways that is what we hope for during our Lenten season.

For a covenant to be written within and upon our hearts calls us to something more than we may have experienced. It seems to call us into a deeper relationship with God. And we Christians believe that relationship has the capacity to become more profound because Jesus became one of us. But this season of Lent which is soon to end, shows us that Jesus paid a hugh price for that relationship.

John’s Gospel shares Jesus’ use of a metaphor to explain what is lying ahead for him. “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Jesus’ audience of ordinary peasants certainly understood this picture. His death did produce much fruit. But his example plays out in our daily lives. When at times, we can put another’s needs before ours and when, we can step outside ourselves to listen and care for others, we may face a small “death” in our lives but also produce much fruit.

Our Gospel also tells us that Jesus was aware of what was coming into his life. “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? Father save me from this hour? And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” By the time John writes his Gospel some 60 to 70 years have passed since Jesus’ death and resurrection. His listeners now understood what Jesus was saying.

But there are several points in the Gospel that may have raised questions for you. “Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast” requested something from Philip. There was a group of Gentiles who were intrigued by Judaism and made a point of attending the Synagogue ceremonies but did not convert to Judaism. Scholars tell us that Paul’s early ministry was to this group of people often called “God fearers.” And, Paul ran into difficulty with his Jewish brothers and sisters who saw him as a “sheep stealer.” In time Paul focused his attention on the conversion of Gentiles as a whole.

The second interesting point in the Gospel is the desire of these Gentiles to meet Jesus. In their travels they undoubtedly heard about him and his message. After the request by his apostles to have these Greeks meet Jesus, Jesus turns to the message if his coming death. We do not know if the meeting took place but the desire to know more about Jesus is very clear.

The Gospel closing with Jesus’ words, “When I am lifted up, I will draw everyone to myself. The Greeks may not have met him directly, but they now knew that he was open to them and their lives. May his modeling be a road map for all of us.

1 note · View note

spiritsoulandbody · 3 months

Text

#DailyDevotion We Rejoice When We Get To Go To Church

#DailyDevotion We Rejoice When We Get To Go To Church Psalm 122 I was glad they said to me, “Let us go to the LORD's house." 2Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem. 3Jerusalem is a well-built city, 4where the tribes, the LORD's tribes, go up. It is a law in Israel to praise the LORD's name. 5There stand the seats for judges to try cases, seats for the men of David's family. 6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May it be well with those who love you! 7Peace be inside your walls and undisturbed happiness in your palaces!" 8Thinking of my relatives and friends I say, “Peace be with you!". 9Thinking of the house of the LORD our God, I will look for your welfare. This is the third Psalm of Ascent. One of fifteen psalms sung as pilgrims to the three festivals sang as they went up the hill to Jerusalem. We can see in this Psalm they are definitely getting closer to the city. The LORD's house and Jerusalem are both named here. So they should be glad when people said to them, "Let us go to the LORD's house." These were three festivals: Passover and Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths. During these festivals they ate food, drank wine, were generous to the lowly, they sang and they danced. Why wouldn't they be glad to go up to the LORD's house. Yet unbelievers found these things to be a burden. We also, knowing we'll receive the feast of our LORD's body and blood, the fellowship of fellow believers and the hearing of God's word make us glad to come to the LORD's house. It also should not be a burden for us to gather together in His house. They were standing in the gates of Jerusalem when they sang this Psalm. So they begin to praise the city which God has chosen to place His name. It is a well-built city. All the tribes would go up to it. Even after the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, there were remnants of the tribes dwelling in Judea who continued worshiping the LORD. Certainly there is a law in Israel to praise the LORD's name but God's people do not need it. They praise the name of the LORD from willing and cheerful hearts. Now the word for law here is edah which is more like testimonies. We also have the testimonies from the Apostles to praise the name of the LORD Jesus Christ for all He has done for us and for who He is, our Savior and Redeemer. In the original city, the princes of David judged the peoples from their seats and his descendant ruled over them. Later, when there was no more Davidic heir that reigned, they set up their elders of the people to judge over them. Now that Jesus has come, He reigns over the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem and His Apostles sit on their thrones judging the people of Israel as Jesus promised them. While they prayed for the peace of the city of Jerusalem, we now pray for Christ's Church, the New Jerusalem. We pray for its peace in this world and for its peace in the world to come. Jesus tells us this prayer will be answered on the Last Day when it descends from heaven. The gates will always be open. No unclean thing or person will come upon the highways into it. The pilgrims would greet their friends and family with "Na shalom," I pray peace. In many churches before the LORD's Supper, sometimes before the prayers, we greet one another with the peace of the LORD. As with the Apostle's command for us to look for the good for one another. The second half of the Small Catechism's explanation to the second table of the Law reminds us not only to avoid hurting our neighbor but also to be of help to them in all their ways of life. So we with the psalmist seek the good of everyone around us as we believe the LORD has been good to us in Christ Jesus. Heavenly Father, grant us joyful spirits that look forward to our worship together around all Your gifts and may we be agents of Your peace and good to all we meet. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Read the full article

#Christ #Christianity #devotion #faith #Jesus #joy #LCMS #Lutheran #Messiah #peace #shalom #worship

0 notes

kxngnestor · 5 months

Text

Ekphrasis on "The Last Supper" from Module 2

Scene: At the Dinner table, moments before the Passover Celebration.

"Peter... John, are the preparations for the Passover feast done," said Jesus after he had instructed them to follow a man and ask for permission to use the guest chamber. 'Yes rabbi, everything happened exactly as you said it would." After hearing this Jesus was very pleased and when the time arrived, he sat down with all twelve of his disciples and said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” The disciples didn't know this, but Jesus was foreseeing his soon to come crucifixion. His disciples were very worried, and Andrew asked, "Why mustn't you feast of the bread no longer rabbi"; and before he could finish Jesus said, " worry not, for there is bigger anguish to be heeded." He continued and said " Very truly I say unto you, one of you who eateth with Me shall betray Me.” Everyone was filled with great sorrow, and Judas knowing it was him asked Jesus " Lord, is it I". Jesus replied, “It is one of the twelve that dippeth with Me in the dish." A couple moments after Jesus broke bread and pour wine unto his disciples and said to do this in remembrance of him and they went unto Mount Olive singing hymns.

Justification: The Visual piece that I chose was "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. I chose this for two reasons: I saw it on module two and had been very interested in the drawing in comparison to what the actual scripture says, and because I find the life of Jesus quite interesting. One of the key details in this image is the fact that all of the disciples look troubled. This piece of information led me to focus a good amount of the dialogue on Jesus telling them about the betrayal. When I was creating the ekphrasis used some referenced from the "King James" of the 21st century bible to mimic some of the old English used, this would be the closest to what they actually spoke considering they spoke in Hebrew and Aramaic. The new interpretation that I brought is that I filled in the events that the bible doesn't cover. Adding my own little twist, moments like how the disciples felt and small talk was all added by me to add to the emotion of the words being said. Overall, I had a great deal of fun making this ekphrasis and breaking down this picture further.

450 words.

#fyp #jesus #artists on tumblr #jesus christ #father #my soul #like

0 notes

shammah8 · 6 months

Text

Passover: A Continual Memorial God instructed Israel they were to keep Passover a memorial, by an ordinance forever.

Since that night in Egypt the Jews have kept the feast of Passover.

I once spent Passover with a religious family on what the world calls "the West Bank." The Bible calls the particular place where I was "the mountains of Israel," or "Samaria." Because it is considered by many to be dangerous territory, my host family's relatives would not come to their home. So I was the only guest at the special Seder Meal.

The smallest child asked the question, "How is this night different from all other nights?" (See Exodus 12:26).

In answer, the English-speaking father throughout the long night's observance related the account of the Exodus to the children as if it had been their very own family which was delivered from Egypt.

I watched with interest when the middle of the three pieces of unleavened bread was hidden in the household and the children went to 53 The Blood and the Glory search for it. There was great joy when the bread was brought forth from its hiding place.

How precious is the blessing over the bread: Blessed art Thou, Oh, Lord, King of the Universe Who brings forth bread from the earth.

Of course, I thought of Jesus.

As a Jewish boy He kept the law. Every year of his life He kept Passover. He kept Passover those years He was training His disciples. But when He came to the last Passover He would keep, the Bible emphasizes His intense desire to eat it with them.

The King James Version translates His words like this, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15).

The Amplified Bible translates it, "I have earnestly and intensely desired...."

Knox translates it, "I have longed and longed...."

You see, the time had come when He could reveal that He was the bread without leaven (sin) which would be broken for man and come forth from the earth.

He could reveal that He was the Lamb whose Blood was shed for man.

LUKE 22:15,19,20 15 With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer...

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Believers living under the New Covenant have the right to enter the communion of the Blood "which is shed for you" and to draw a Blood line Satan cannot cross.

54 The Blood Line If we do not have that right, we do not have a better covenant based on better promises. But we do! (Hebrews 8:6.) In Egypt at the first Passover, they applied the blood with a hyssop branch. Since the Lord's Passion, we apply the Blood by faith. Because we believe in the power of the Blood in our hearts, we apply the Blood with our mouths over the doorposts of our lives.☕️Billye Brim

0 notes

miajolensdevotion · 7 months

Text

Luke 22:1-38

* Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

- What was the Feast of the Unleavened Bread called? [vs 1]

- What is Satan do to Judas that cause him to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus for a sum of money? [vs 3-6]

* The Last Supper

- In the Book of Mark, the two disciples sent by Jesus to prepare the Passover meal are mentioned here in Luke, who are they? [vs 7-8]

- Why was Jesus eager to to eat the Passover meal with the disciples? [vs 15-16]

- Why do we Believers still observe the Lord’s Supper today? [vs 19]

- What did Jesus told the disciples when they started to argue? [vs 24-30]

* Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

- What did Peter said after Jesus told him that He prayed for him? [vs 31]

- Then Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him how many times?

- Have you ever denied Jesus?

What have you learned from these passages?

Blessed reading to all! 🙂

0 notes

frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 1 month

Text

27th March >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. Matthew 26:14-25) for Wednesday of Holy Week: ‘One of you is about to betray me’.

Wednesday of Holy Week

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 26:14-25 'The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will'.

One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?’ They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’ ‘Go to so-and-so in the city’ he replied ‘and say to him, “The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.”’ The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.

When evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said ‘I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.’ They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ He answered, ‘Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!’ Judas, who was to betray him; asked in his turn, ‘Not I, Rabbi, surely?’ ‘They are your own words’ answered Jesus.

Gospel (USA) Matthew 26:14-25 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

Reflections (7)

(i) Wednesday of Holy Week

In today’s responsorial psalm the person praying declares, ‘I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons’. He had reached the end of his strength and the very people from whom he would have expected support, his blood brothers, look upon him as an alien and a stranger. When the members of our own family abandon us when we are at our lowest, it is a painful and devastating experience. This was the experience of Jesus on the night of the last supper. He had left his blood family in Nazareth and had started to form a new family of disciples, the inner core of which was the twelve disciples he had chosen to share in his ministry in a special way. Yet, on that evening of the last supper, Jesus was well aware that one member of this inner core was about to betray him. He had become a stranger, an alien, to Judas Iscariot, who had already agreed to betray Jesus to the religious authorities for thirty pieces of silver. When Jesus announced to the twelve at the last supper, ‘One of you is about to betray me’, everyone present wondered if it could be them, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ It is a question we can all ask because any one of us is capable of betraying the Lord by living in ways that are contrary to his desire for our lives. How does the Lord want us to live? There is a very good portrayal of the disciple in today’s first reading. The disciple is one who has learnt to listen to the word of the Lord, and, as a result, knows how to reply to the wearied. As disciples, we are all called to listen attentively to the Lord and out of that listening to speak in ways that sustain and strengthen the wearied, those who say to themselves or to others, in the words of today’s psalm, ‘I have reached the end of my strength’.

And/Or

(ii) Wednesday of Holy Week

The early church was very aware that Jesus was betrayed to his enemies by one of his closest associates. Even though this was a very uncomfortable reality for the first generation of believers, there was no attempt to gloss over the disturbing truth that, in the words of today’s gospel reading, Jesus was betrayed by someone who dipped his hand into the dish with Jesus, someone who broke bread with Jesus. The gospel reading declares that when Jesus announced that one of those sharing table with him would betray him, everyone present was ‘greatly distressed’. To be betrayed by someone you trust is very distressing both for the one betrayed and for all those associated with that person. Some of us may have had the experience of our trust being betrayed. We confide in someone and they use that information against us. This week tells us that, in the case of Jesus, the human betrayal that led to Jesus’ crucifixion did not have the last word; God had the last word by raising his Son from the dead. God brought good out of the evil of betrayal and the many other evils that Jesus endured in the last week of his life. God can also bring good out of the painful experiences that come our way because of others. These days of Holy Week invite us to trust that God can work in life-giving ways even in those dark experiences that might make us cry out in the words of this morning’s psalm, ‘I have reached the end of my strength’.

And/Or

(iii) Wednesday, Holy Week

The early church did not try to hide the painful truth that one of Jesus’ own disciples betrayed him to his enemies. According to our reading from Matthew’s gospel, Judas shared table with Jesus on the night before Jesus was crucified; in the course of that meal he dipped his hand into the same dish with Jesus. Communion with Jesus, sharing table with him, and betrayal went hand in hand. The greatest damage was done to Jesus by an intimate, by someone who had received a great deal from Jesus. We will never know what really motivated Judas’ betrayal. This morning’s gospel suggests that money might have been a factor. The story of Judas reminds us that we are all capable of betraying Jesus. All of the twelve disciples were aware of this possibility. When Jesus said, ‘one of you will betray me’, each of them asked in turn, ‘Not, I Lord surely?’ It is a question we can all ask. We betray the Lord whenever we fail to recognize him in each other and to love him in each other, especially in those who are most vulnerable among us. In Matthew’s gospel, Judas committed suicide because he saw no way back after betrayal. Yet, there is always a way back, even after betrayal, because, in the words of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ blood was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. In the words of Paul’s letter to the Romans, ‘where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more’. That is the good news of this Holy Week.

And/Or

(iv) Wednesday of Holy Week

There was light and darkness present at the last supper. Tomorrow, Holy Thursday, we reflect on the light that shone at that meal, through the loving actions of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples and in giving them the gift of the Eucharist. In today’s gospel reading the darkness is to the fore. While they were eating, Jesus solemnly announces, ‘one of you is about to betray me?’ As if to highlight the great tragedy of such an act, Jesus further specifies that his betrayer is ‘someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me’. In sharing the Passover Meal with his disciples, Jesus was entering into communion with them in a very solemn way. Yet, someone who shared in this communion was about to act in a way that would shatter the very communion being celebrated. Indeed, all of the disciples would soon break communion with Jesus, and Peter would do so in a more public way, denying Jesus three times before others. Judas’ act of betraying Jesus to Jesus’ enemies for money was the ultimate breach of communion with Jesus. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the Lord enters into communion with us and we enter into communion with the Lord. We are sent from the Eucharist to live out of that communion, to live in a way that reflects our communion with the Lord. Like the first disciples, we can fail to live out of that communion, in various ways. Holy Week assures us that the Lord remains in communion with us even when we fall out of communion with him. If we acknowledge our failure and turn to him we will discover that the Lord comes to our help, in the words of today’s first reading.

And/Or

(v) Wednesday of Holy Week

Today’s gospel reading is a section of Matthew’s account of the last supper Jesus had with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. In the equivalent passage in Mark’s gospel, after Jesus makes the dramatic announcement, ‘one of you is about to betray me’, the disciples ask Jesus one by one, ‘Not I, surely?’ In Matthew’s version the question the disciples ask has a subtle difference, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ ‘Lord’ is how the early church came to confess Jesus. By adding ‘Lord’ to the question of the disciples, Matthew is encouraging the members of his own church to ask that question for themselves. Only in Matthew does Judas alone then ask the question, ‘Not I, Rabbi, surely?’ It is as if Matthew will not allow the title ‘Lord’ to be spoken by Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. We can all ask the question, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ Like the other eleven disciple, and unlike Judas, we have not taken steps to deliberately betray Jesus. Our presence at the Eucharist indicates that we have a desire to be his faithful disciples. We are people of faith and, yet, we are aware that we are not always as faithful as we could be. We often show ourselves to be disciples of ‘little faith’. The question, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ expresses both our faith in Jesus as ‘Lord’ and our awareness that we do not always live in ways that proclaims his lordship. Like Peter, we can sometimes deny the Lord by what we say and do. Yet, the message of this Holy Week is that, in the words of Saint Paul, ‘if we are faithless, he remains faithful’. The conviction of the Lord’s faithful love encourages us to keep returning to him, knowing that, in the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘the Lord listens to the needy’.

And/Or

(vi) Wednesday of Holy Week

When Jesus announces at the last supper that ‘one of you is about to betray me’, they all ask Jesus in turn, ‘Not I, surely?’ Yet, whereas Judas asks, ‘Not I, Rabbi, surely?’, the other disciples ask, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’ All of the disciples, except Judas, speak as people of faith, addressing Jesus as Lord. Judas will betray Jesus, a shocking breaking of communion. Yet, the other disciples, even though they are people of faith, will soon desert Jesus, and Peter will publicly deny him three times. This larger body of disciples shows that faith in Jesus and failure to live up to the demands of following Jesus can go together. Just because we fail to answer the Lord’s call to witness to him by our lives and to be faithful to him in good times and in bad does not mean that we have no faith in him. In this gospel of Matthew, from which our gospel reading is taken, the disciples as a whole are often addressed by Jesus as people of little faith, standing somewhere between no faith and full faith. Perhaps that is where many of us find ourselves, at least at some stage of our faith journey. If that is where we are, then today’s gospel reading and the gospel of Matthew as a whole suggests that we are in good company, because it seems to have been where the first disciples were a lot of the time. When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, our faith, we always have a way to go. The kind of distressing experience we are all going through can test our faith and, even weaker it. The realization that our faith is not as strong as it could be need not trouble us but rather it can leave us more open to seeking the Lord’s help. We all need to keep turning to the Lord in the prayer of another gospel character, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief’. This is a prayer we can be confident the Lord will always answer.

And/Or

(vii) Wednesday of Holy Week

In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Lord as giving him a disciples’ tongue to reply to the wearied and as waking him every morning to hear, to listen, like a disciple. It is the listening like a disciple that allows him to speak like a disciple. A disciple’s ear makes possible a disciple’s tongue. A disciple was someone who sat the feet of the Master and listen attentively and then lived accordingly. We are all called to be disciples in that sense. We try to develop a disciple’s ear, a readiness to listen ever more deeply to what the Lord is saying to us through his word. As we grow in our listening ability, we will be enabled to speak like a disciple, to have a disciples’ tongue, and to live like a disciple. In the gospel reading, the disciples show a willingness to listen like disciples and to put what they hear into practice. Having listened to Jesus’ instructions about making preparations for the Passover, they respond fully to those instructions. Yet, as the passion of Jesus unfolds they will not behave as disciples. Judas will betray Jesus, Peter will deny Jesus publicly and all the other disciples will desert him at the time of his arrest. Jesus entered into communion with them at the last supper, sharing himself with them under the form of bread and wine. Almost immediately afterwards, however, they broke communion with him, some of them in very dramatic fashion. None of us lives as the Lord’s disciples all the time. We can all break communion with the Lord, especially when remaining in communion with him becomes costly. Yet, the Lord keeps calling us back to listen like a disciple and he continues to offer us a disciple’s tongue so that we can reply to the wearied. All he asks is that we keep returning to him when we lose our way. If we do so, we will always find him waiting for us, for, in the words of today’s psalm, ‘the Lord listens to the needy’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

4 notes · View notes