Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Exodus 12:6-8
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:25-26
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." John 13:12-15
Piety
O God, you sent your only Son -- our brother, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – to ransom his life, death and resurrection to redeem for us the rewards of eternal Life. As we reflect on this sacrifice, give us the gifts to imitate His perfect love that breaks the cycle of violence and betrayal. Send your Holy Spirit to guide us in obtaining the covenant promises you offered because you so loved us in the world that you gave us your Son. Amen.
O God, you sent your only Son -- our brother, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – to ransom his life, death and resurrection to redeem for us the rewards of eternal Life. As we reflect on this sacrifice, give us the gifts to imitate His perfect love that breaks the cycle of violence and betrayal. Send your Holy Spirit to guide us in obtaining the covenant promises you offered because you so loved us in the world that you gave us your Son. Amen.
Study
The symmetry of the holy days of the Hebrew calendar and the Christian calendar align perfectly with Holy Thursday and Passover. The congruency with Passover allows us to reflect upon the Blessings of the Past. Holy Thursday Mass allows us to reflect upon the Blessings of the Present Moment as the first bread and first cup passed around the table in the Upper Room is recreated. His presence is heard (Gospel), seen (Consecration), touched (Body), tasted (Blood), smelled (incense). The combination allows us to look ahead and reflect upon the Blessings of the Moments Yet to Come.
The blood on the vertical doorposts and horizontal lintel of the homes where the Jews dwelt in Egypt foretells of the blood of the chalice offered up at the Lord’s Supper. The meat of the lamb foretells the Body of Christ offered up for our sins as Eucharist. The lamb’s blood of Passover foretells of the Lamb of God’s blood on the vertical post of the cross to which was nailed the feet of Jesus the Lamb and the horizontal bar of the cross to which were nailed the hands of Jesus the Lamb.
Despite the betrayal upon which we have been reflecting all week, Jesus was the anti-betrayal. When he called Judas to be a disciple, Jesus knew what was ahead in his relationship with the Betrayer. Yet he called Judas anyway.
As Jesus prayed in the Garden, his closest disciples slept. He loved them despite their weariness. Jesus never grows weary of us.
When Jesus was hauled away by the Romans after the kiss of Judas, he knew what was ahead but he loved those who would condemn him later that day anyway.
He did not repay in kind what he faced in the world. Jesus broke the chain of sin, hatred and betrayal by loving all of us until the end. He did not love like a king or ruler loves the subjects of his power who pay him homage. He asks for no sacrifice. He asks for imitation. Jesus, instead, gave us the model of the love of the servant. The love of the foot washer. The love of the least.
Action
Newton tells us that in the physical world, every force is met with an equal force. In the spiritual world introduced by Christ, Jesus showed us how he met the force of treason with the opposite force of love, the force of betrayal with the opposite force of servant leadership, the force of torture with the opposite force of forgiveness.
Newton tells us that in the physical world, every force is met with an equal force. In the spiritual world introduced by Christ, Jesus showed us how he met the force of treason with the opposite force of love, the force of betrayal with the opposite force of servant leadership, the force of torture with the opposite force of forgiveness.
What forces do you face in the world? How can you change the power of those forces by meeting these with opposite impulses? Rather than strike back, turn the other cheek. Rather than meeting hatred with hatred, turn the tables and meet it with love.
The world is filled with people who oppose each other and meet force with like force – not with opposite force. Today our newspapers and internet sites, our radio stations and television channels blare with expected forced ripped from the headlines.
Deadly Blast Shatters Calm in Somali Capital. Seven Die in PG County Attacks. Troubled History Emerges for Suspect in Fatal Oakland Shooting. Attack Hits NATO and Afghan Troops. JP Morgan Set to be Punished for Lehman Collapse.
How can you use the Jesus example as a way to break that chain of force and instead use creative nonviolence and love to halt the timeless inheritance of hatred and betrayal. Jesus did so with a loaf of bread, a cup of wine, his friends and his life. He has nothing more to give. Now, it is our turn to pick up where he left off.
No comments:
Post a Comment