Deep Despair

Tonight we will gather together remotely to remember the last supper of Jesus, when he washed the feet of his disciples and gave them a new commandment, to love one another.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, 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. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’ - Mark 14:17-25

This morning's Gospel reading, however, is different.  It focuses on the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

In Mark's version of the last supper, Jesus does not tell them to remember the drinking from the cup and eating of the bread.  And he does not end on a positive note.

Instead, we are told Jesus is going to God, and we are left to ponder what that all means.

After supper, they will go with him to the Mount of Olives and he will tell them they will all abandon him.  This is a real downer, isn't it?

Betrayed and abandoned, Jesus will face death alone. 

I think Mark wants us to focus on that.  Yes, we know Sunday will bring joy, but for now, let us be fully aware of the depth of our despair.

This is where we are today, with a bleak future and the real possibility of more deaths from this virus.  We are in the depths of despair, but we have hope.  We believe it will get better, though we don't know who will survive and who will be lost.

It is that unknown that drives our fears, and what better time to feel that than now, just before Jesus is crucified?

This year, we get to feel what it is like to be living in the midst of fear and uncertainty.  Let us not miss the opportunity to embrace the moment as if we were among the disciples on that evening when Jesus shared his last meal with them.  If they truly understood what was happening, would they have acted differently?

This is our chance to act differently.

More to come...