The Merger of Sacrament and Treachery

 

Mark 14:12-26, NLT - On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.  At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’  He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”  So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve.  As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me.  For the Son of Man[d] must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.  I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

                Over the course of my three decades of ministry, I have heard many persons say something to the effect that, “I don’t take communion because I don’t feel worthy.  It’s not a silly concern.  To receive a tangible expression of God’s grace should bring to mind that such a gift is indeed grace.  We don’t deserve such a consideration, but it is extended to us nonetheless.  Of course, we are unworthy. 

                However, reading this account of the institution of sacrament of communion should help us hear that our sense of being undeserving of this grace is precisely why it is offered.  If we were worthy, it would not be called a sacrament of God’s grace, but rather an honor or reward for our praiseworthy efforts.  As it stands, this gift was not withheld from Judas, the man who was about to indirectly cause the death of God’s Son.  Jesus Himself names Judas unworthiness of even having been born.  Then He hands Judas bread and cup with the words, “My body. . . and My blood.  Knowing full well the treachery Judas was about to commit, Jesus states that His sacrifice is for Judas as well as anyone else. 

                As we have traveled through Mark’s gospel, I have often asked you adopt the identity of the villain in these stories because Mark is intentionally trying to get us to do so.  While we would like to dismiss our capacity for treachery against Jesus, Mark gets right up in our face and all but forces us to see it.  We enjoy intimacy (signified by a shared meal) with Jesus while unintentionally (or even intentionally in some cases) working against Him in the background.  When Jesus talks about Judas being better off “never being born,” He is foreshadowing the agony that drives Judas to suicide in the next chapter. 

                Judas is not “bad man.”  He is all of us.  He is a human being that often misunderstands what God is doing and chooses to work against it as a result.  He is one who is all too easily influenced by wealth to betray His core values.  He is one who sometimes thinks he is doing the right thing when he is doing the exact opposite. 

                Enter the sacrament of God’s unmerited grace.  Sin doesn’t separate Judas from the grace of eating (being close to) Jesus.  That grace eventually shows Judas his sin.  It also shows Judas that his sin is forgiven.  It should do the same for us.

 

Question:  Have you ever found yourself knowingly or unknowingly working against God’s purposes?

 

Prayer:  God, please forgive us, for we often don’t know what we do.  Forgive us as well for that which we do knowingly.  Help us see ourselves in Judas so that we will more fully know the magnitude of grace that You offer us in Jesus. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:      Pray for the end of divisiveness among the human family, especially that in the Church.’

 

Song:  Just As I Am – Alan Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnSmJecnEk&t

The Last Supper

 

The Last Supper

 

Matthew 26:17-30, The Message - On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”

He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.

After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”

They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”

Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”

Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”

During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:

Take, eat.  This is my body.

Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:

Drink this, all of you.

This is my blood,

God’s new covenant poured out for many people

    for the forgiveness of sins.

“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”

They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.

 

This is a longer scripture reading, but a shorter reflection.  We could have broken up the exchange between Jesus and disciples about betrayal from the sharing of bread and wine (which is where the sacrament of communion comes from), but to do so would miss something very important.  Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him.  Jesus has some harsh words for that person (who we and Jesus already know is Judas).  It is revealed that it is Judas even though the betrayer is not specifically called out.  But notice what happens. Or more accurately, notice what doesn’t happen.  Judas is not expelled from the dinner.  In fact, Jesus allows him to stay for the highlight – what we now call the institution of the Lord’s Supper. 

At this supper, Jesus declares that the bread they break is His body that is broken for them and the cup they drink is His blood shed for their forgiveness.  Judas is included in this.  Of course, this doesn’t negate what Jesus said earlier; it’s going to be very bad for Judas.  We will talk about that when we get to Matthew 27.  But here, in the same moment as the revelation of Judas’s betrayal, Judas’s forgiveness and redemption is proclaimed to him.  Grace is offered to all no matter what has happened before.

I need to hear that a lot.  I make mistakes; sometimes they’re big ones.  Sometimes, they even feel like they are unrecoverable.  It is in those times that it is good to hear the words of Jesus: 

“This body is broken for you; this blood is shed for your forgiveness.”

This is why we call it a sacrament.  It is a way for the grace of God offered in Jesus to be offered to us on a regular basis.  That sacramental gift is confirmed as we eat the Bread and drink from the Cup.  We invite the grace of God to become one with us.  We are redeemed in the moment and throughout our lives.

 

Question:  What does the sacrament of communion mean to you.  Has it been a way for you receive the grace of God?

 

Prayer:  Loving God, minister to us in our mistakes and brokenness.  Allow us to experience your grace available to us in every moment.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for families you are aware of experiencing brokenness and conflict right now.

 

Song:  Let Us Break Bread Together – Agnes Choo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egk-pX_1nHg