Last Time Together
Do you cherish memories of the last time you were together with a friend or loved one?
By that, I mean the really last time, the time after which they were gone and you could no longer be with them.
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. - Mark 14:22-24
In today's reading, Jesus tells his friends something that must have sounded very strange. Not only was he going to be betrayed by one of them and this would be their last time together, but the meal he was offering to them represented his body and blood.
His life, he told them, was being given for many so they would have life.
This is what we believe. We remember this night in our Holy Eucharist each week. It is what we share with other Christians around the world, this knowledge that God came to be with us and died to free us from our sins.
In Jewish tradition, the Passover meal is a remembrance of being freed from slavery, and so it was only fitting that Jesus used the same meal to explain how all who believe are freed from the slavery of sin.
Tonight, we will gather together for an Agape meal. We will celebrate the Holy Eucharist, perform the washing of the feet, a symbolic act that reminds us of our commission to serve others.
At the end of the evening, we will strip the altar and leave in haste, remembering how the disciples ran away when Jesus was captured.
This is the beginning of three days of sadness and introspection, reminding ourselves that we are weak and lack the commitment at times to follow through on our promises.
We will end this low period on Sunday when we see the resurrection of our Lord, but until then, we will live in disappointment beyond doubt. We will think we had failed.
It is important for us to feel this sorrow for it is a source of strength. When we get through it, we can look back and see we had suffered our of our own doubts and fears.
We should be able to handle anything after that, but we will fall back. It is how we are.
So tonight we should let ourselves feel the pain and grief of our loss, which will become even more painful and real tomorrow. We need to feel to love. It is what God chose to come to us to show us. He loves us and feels pain with us.
More to come...