5th Saturday of Lent (April 12). EAGERLY DESIRED TO EAT WITH YOU

Prepare to Listen.  The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 22:14-19a
14When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.  15He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’  17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’  19Then 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.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”  Imagine being at the table and hearing Jesus say these words.  How might you react; what might you be thinking?
 
Every Sunday my church celebrates Holy Communion.  The liturgy closely follows Scripture, not from the Gospels, but from Paul (1 Cor. 11).  Luke’s account is odd, differing from Matthew, Mark and Paul.  For instance, he reversed the bread and wine, and, according to the earliest copies of Luke, ended abruptly with: “This is my body.”  This draws attention, not to the bread and wine, but to Jesus’ words, that link the past, Passover, with the future, the Kingdom and his redemption.
 
The Jewish Passover wasn’t for the forgiveness of sin.  It was a seal of the covenant between God and Israel, and their redemption, freedom from Egyptian slavery.  Jesus’ suffering includes the same purpose—freedom from slavery to sin.  Therefore, he’d not eat Passover “until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”  As he passed the cup, he reinforced this, saying, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  Israel’s deliverance was just a shadow of the full redemption to come for all creation.  “Jesus’ blood seals a new covenant offering a new kind of freedom, a release from captivity to sin and death, a new covenant extended by a liberating God to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile.”[1]  Communion is both remembrance, looking back to Jesus’ death, and hope, looking forward to the future (perfect freedom in the Kingdom).
 
Why do you suppose Jesus ‘eagerly desired’ to eat Passover with his disciples?  What if he eagerly desires to eat with you?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, you are blessed because you willingly suffered in order to fulfill the promise of Passover, freedom from slavery, for all creation.  Therefore, we keep praying, May your kingdom come.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Live in remembrance and hope.
[1] Craddock, Fred B.  Luke.  Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.  1990, p. 256.