Luke 22: 7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat it." 9 They said to him, "Where will you have us prepare it?" 10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters, 11 and tell the householder, 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?' 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready." 13 And they went, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover. 14 And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21 But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this. (NRSV)
Who would you be around that table that night? Years ago, I planned a special Maundy Thursday service, where we set up two standard church tables as one, set twelve chairs around them, and printed up special baseball card-style Disciple Cards. I found symbols of each of the 12 and under that symbol placed some "stats" about each. And yes, we even had a Judas Iscariot card, carefully marked so that no children would receive one of those cards. We printed enough for each person to sit and take the card and reflect on which disciple they were that night, what the disciple went on to do, and even the tradition behind that disciple's death. You can see why we did not want a child to receive the Judas card. The reaction of the members varied from person to person but some reacted with emotion to know they were for that moment, Peter, or Andrew, or John. We never heard who was Judas from each table.
It took some work, but the disciples put together a table ready for Jesus and them to celebrate a very important and traditional feast of remembrance. This was the night when the youngest would ask, "Why is this night different from other nights?" And the oldest would answer that because on this night, God remembered Israel and set in motion their deliverance from bondage. The night was no different at Jesus' table than other tables around the city with the notable exception of what Jesus said and did, that many of us will observe tonight. Jesus declared that He desired to be at the table with His beloved disciples. Jesus loved each of them, even though He knew the heart of them all, including the one who would betray Him. Jesus also declared that He would not be at any future tables with them; the next time would be the fulfillment of God's Kingdom. He took a cup and asked them to share it amongst themselves, knowing that Jesus would not drink from it again until that time when the kingdom of God would come. Then Jesus took bread, He gave thanks to God, the provider of all things, and broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Wait. Did He just say it was His body? The disciples did not know it was prophetic of that which would happen just some hours later. Then Jesus did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Again, with the "MY" in it? This is His blood? And "new covenant?" What's going on here?
It is sad to know while this very important and very significant theological revelation about Jesus, there is also the reality that someone, who might have said he was just being a "realist" about the future that included Jesus, had already decided in his heart that he was going to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Betrayal was on his mind while Jesus was announcing the eternal benefits of the eucharist. The disciples may have missed the power of the moment because they wondered who among them would be the one to betray Jesus. "Is it you?"
Friends, we cannot miss the moment. We should not be distracted by anything tonight or this afternoon when the bread and cup are passed to us; this is major and important for our spiritual wellbeing. To think about this or that instead of the Why behind God's love in the sacrament defeats what God desires for and with us. Do not betray Jesus again by thinking of earthly things. Your soul is on the line...
PRAYER: Loving God, I know that I have personally betrayed Jesus many times. But I do not want to today. I want to be in the moment and in the spirit that blesses those who celebrate what Jesus did, is doing, and will do, through the bread and cup. Come again today and do it for me; this I pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
