“Invested with new meaning”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, August 31, 2023
Mark 14:12-26 (Forward, p. 33) CEV p. 1047
Every so often we experience something very, very familiar but, because of some change of circumstance, it takes on a new meaning, is ‘invested’ with new meaning. For instance, I had baptized many infants and young children, and even been allowed to hold newborns, but when I had children of my own and was allowed to hold and cradle them immediately after birth and then baptize them several months later, the whole experience took on an absolutely new meaning and significance.
I have been privileged to be part of a number of Passover meals, Passover Seders, over the years, and this has always been a very special time for me. And, certainly it has been for countless Jewish worshippers over the centuries, even up until the present.
However, here on that occasion we call ‘the Last Supper’, Jesus invests it with a whole bunch of new meanings. On an occasion when the Jewish people historically celebrated God’s faithfulness, Jesus predicts an act of unfaithfulness, of betrayal, in fact. And, on an occasion when they remembered the pascal lamb whose blood was shed and daubed on their doorframes to affect their salvation, He offers Himself, with the symbolic elements of bread and wine standing in for His broken body and shed blood. And, according to John’s account of this meal, by washing all of their feet—a job normally fit only for the lowest of slaves—He demonstrates His servanthood and His tremendous self-giving. I suspect that these words and actions were such that the Twelve never, ever forgot them.
And, from what I ‘read into’ the account, I suspect that Jesus meant it this way. While some commentators, such as the footnote in my present translation, the Contemporary English Version, notes that ‘a male slave carrying water could mean that the family was rich’, I prefer the explanation from others that their meeting a man carrying a water jug was a deliberately pre-arranged sign between Jesus and the owner of the Upper Room, as men don’t normally carry water jugs. It was normally a woman’s job, and so seeing a man doing so would have been quite remarkable—and rather noticeable and noteworthy. Furthermore, by sending just two rather select trust-worthy disciples—Luke identifies them as Peter and John—instead of several or the whole bunch, Jesus is able to keep the location secret for the
time being. And, likewise the questions put to the householder and the arrangements, give a strong sense that all this was, at least in some part, pre-arranged. In other words, Jesus doesn’t want the word to get out about the where and the when of this meal to get out—meaning that Judas could not know of any of the details in advance. Jesus wants to have this time with His disciples in private and uninterrupted. Such was the importance of the Last Supper to Jesus and His original disciples—and, indeed to us. Jesus invests this shared meal, with its elements of bread and wine, as something special and memorable, as a time of fellowship with Himself and each other, and as a lasting remembrance and celebration of the salvation that He has bestowed upon us believers at so great a cost to Himself.
Forward notes: “When it was evening, he came with the twelve” (verse 17)
“If you remember, we began this month scattered on the hillside, hungry, waiting for bread and fish to satisfy our hunger. We were worried there would not be enough. But we lingered and were fed. How lovely then that we end this month with another supper, in the quiet of a chamber around a table with our friend Jesus. It is the last supper he will enjoy with his friends, and the air is filled with equal parts thanksgiving and anxiety.
“It turns into an evening of betrayal. But more importantly, it becomes an evening of blessing. With the Passover in the air, the bread and wine become promises of liberation and life. They signify the promise of God’s kingdom and God’s hope. And then they sing a hymn and go out to the Mount of Olives. We know the rest: betrayal, trial, suffering, crucifixion, resurrection, and leaving. But mostly, we know that each time we gather to remember this supper, Jesus is with us. He promised. He promises. So, let us break bread together, sing our hymns, and go out rejoicing.”
Moving Forward: “Try to remember Jesus each time you break bread, feed the hungry, and share what you have.”