The reading
Luke 22:1-27
Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is
called the Passover, was near. The chief
priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they
were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who
was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and
officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give
him money. So he consented and began to
look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present. Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on
which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go
and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it." They asked him, "Where do you want us to
make preparations for it?" "Listen," he said to them,
"when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet
you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, "The
teacher asks you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples?" ' He will show
you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us
there." So they went and found
everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. When the hour came, he took his place at the
table, and the apostles with him. He
said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before
I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat
it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he
said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." Then he took a loaf of 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." And he did the same with the cup after supper,
saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my
blood. But see, the one who betrays me
is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been
determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!" Then they began to ask one another which one
of them it could be who would do this. A
dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the
greatest. But he said to them, "The
kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are
called benefactors. But not so with you;
rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader
like one who serves. For who is greater,
the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the
table? But I am among you as one who serves.
We had a small group last night for our Maundy
(commandment) Thursday service. Only 4 people could attend. We had a discussion on the reading instead of
a sermon. While the word Maundy means commandment, this night is more about the
gifts that Jesus gives to the faithful to remember him, experience God’s
presence, find comfort and joy. The work
of Jesus here is to prepare us to be the church, to be the visible, active,
creative expression of God in the world
Among the gifts or commands Jesus gives the
disciples, the big one is Holy Communion. The meal we share each week to
experience the presence of Jesus in two very common things (bread and wine). There are others.
There is the keeping of rituals and traditions. Jesus and his disciples are celebrating the Passover
as the Jewish people have for over 1000 years before this night, following the
same instructions as their ancestors have for generations.
There is the sharing and using of resources for ministry. The person in the city has an empty room that
is offered to Jesus to celebrate this meal.
Jesus asks for and receives help. (I would be tempted to say “why don’t I
just run to 12 stores, get supplies as cheap as I can and build a shed
someplace”). Church does not work alone.
There is gathering as a community of all people, it
includes the disciples who will build the church and Judas, the one who betrays
Jesus. Everyone eats. Perhaps this is
the answer to the question I often hear about our food pantry and finding out
if the people we serve are really in need and deserving. We are church in a
messy world, I often think of the disturbances in our church, the people
cooking, different groups running around or loud conversations as a reminder
that our faith is active and happens in real time. I have to ask “where are the women at this
meal”, after all, they were with Jesus every step of the way, remaining
faithful when all the men are gone and going to the empty tomb when all the men
are scared.
There is serving others. This comes out most clearly
in the Gospel of John which has footwashing instead of holy communion on this
last night. For me personally, helping
others has always been a place of spiritual experience. Foot-washing was a common custom in Jesus
time, a basic welcome to someone’s home and a job reserved for the lowest
servant. Today, we wash ourselves (and
walk on cement, travel in vehicles and mostly wear closed shoes). Instead of footwashing, we will purchase
hygiene items (soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, washcloth, mouthwash, shampoo,
etc) to be distributed to new arrivals at the Pam Am family shelter (and leave
the washing to them).
If you look at Jesus last hours in all 4 gospels,
there is the singing of Hymns and time of prayer. Each of these focuses on God’s presence at
this very difficult and anxious time. We
are invited to do the same as we approach Good Friday
During our discussion, I invited everyone to share any of their experiences with this things, inviting conversation about song and service.
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