Note: due to the length of today’s Gospel reading and limited time on my part, I will only provide a reflection on part of the reading.
When the hour came, he took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it [again] until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you [that] from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”
Luke 22:14-20 (NABRE)
Behold, the timeless institution narrative.
As we begin Holy Week, we are reminded of the first instance in which the bread and the wine of the Passover meal become for us the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both the context and obviously the meaning of this celebration of profound mystery are paramount features of this passage.
Jesus gives us the Eucharist within the setting of a Passover meal on the day before he suffered death on a cross for the forgiveness of sins. This is important to note. Temporally, the age of the patriarchs and prophets is behind Him, and ahead of him is the time in which Jew and Gentile alike will adore Him and celebrate His Paschal Mystery until His return at the Parousia. The bread-and-wine offering of Melchizedek and the manna of the desert prefigure this moment. Jesus takes the bread and the wine and transforms them into the appearances under which He is present in totality so as to provide for His faithful a manner by which they may eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life within them (John 6:53). Jesus gives us Himself, the Bread of Life, to eat for our spiritual and physical nourishment. Recognizing our immense frailty and the fact that we are entirely incapable of loving God and our neighbor without working with His grace should motivate us to receive, in the Eucharist, the very God who draws us to Himself. What a mystery! As Catholics, we have such a great gift. We have a tremendous need for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, is an abundant source of such grace.
This passage also reminds us of our own call to be self-giving in our love for God and our neighbor. Are we not to learn from and apply in our lives the teachings and example of Jesus? In giving us Himself in the Eucharist, Jesus demonstrates how we ought to live for God and our neighbor. Love is expressed ― it does not merely reside within the confines of our hearts; rather, it motivates us to do something out of that love. Jesus so obviously gives Himself for others on the cross and in the Eucharist. He makes it clear that love involves a giving of oneself. Otherwise, it would not be love. Our culture, which is the product of the decisions of us individuals, needs to be more “eucharistic,” as it were. This is especially true in the realm of sexuality and romantic relationships. Perversions such as abuse, pornography, or shattered homes are an ugly result of a lack of self-giving. Practically, self-control, compassion, empathetic response, self-reflection, humility, mercy, recognition of and respect for the inestimable dignity and value of each person ― these things bring life and light and only build up the other. Take away these gifts of self and you get the heap of junk that we see today. It’s an accumulation of the bad decisions we make as individuals. It is so important to be reliant on God’s grace so that we may imitate Jesus Christ every day.
What a Savior! He died for our liberation and desires intimacy with us, so much so that He gives of Himself for us to eat so that He may remain in each of us and each of us in Him (John 6:56).
Thank you for reading. Peace.
Eat the Scroll 