Luke 22: 7 – 20 Passover Become Eucharist

Luke 22: 7 – 20 Passover Become Eucharist

When the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover lamb, he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." They asked him, "Where do you want us to make the preparations?" And he answered them, "When you go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters and say to the master of the house, 'The teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large upper room that is furnished. Make the preparations there." Then they went off and found everything exactly as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover. 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 the 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.

Jesus is a good Jew and like all good Jews, he celebrates the Passover: the memorial of God’s intervention into the lives of his ancestors to free them from slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. Essentially Passover is a celebration of Thanksgiving and Remembrance. In this gospel passage, Jesus makes the transition from Passover to Eucharist. First he gathers all his loved ones around him as family and friends gather to celebrate the Passover. Then he gives thanks. It doesn’t say exactly what he gives thanks for, but I imagine it is for this chance to be together, for their friendship and presence in each others’ lives, and, since his faith in God is such an important part of his life, he no doubt gives thanks for all of these things to the goodness of God. Then he blesses, breaks and distributes the bread and then the wine – calling the bread his body and the wine his blood (more about this next time). Then he asks those present, his closest friends, “to do this in remembrance of me”. Jesus knows that he is leaving and he wants to leave his followers with some action that will sustain them in the coming times, something that will recall Jesus’ actions and words to them, his sacrifice for them. We Catholics call this a sacrament – a sign given by God to increase and sustain faith. But at its heart, like the Jewish Passover, the Eucharist is a way to celebrate and remember the “in-breaking” of God’s power and mercy to bring God’s people to salvation. Passover/Eucharist. Thanksgiving/Remembrance. Amen