Devotion for Thursday in Holy Week, April 9
Luke 22:14–30 “This is my body.”
The Last Supper seems to have been a most intentional occasion: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (v. 15) He apparently intended to interpret the Passover meal as symbolic of the death he was to die. Just as the blood over the doors of the Israelites had signaled the Angel of Death to pass over them (Exodus 2), so Christ’s blood, shed sacrificially, was “for them,” to cover and protect them.
Jesus spelled out the meaning which his death would bear. It was to open up a relationship to God, a new relationship of forgiveness based upon the living sacrifice himself. What is so remarkable in this case is the sense of control and poise that Jesus evinces, by which he gave them words and symbols with which to interpret a most out-of-control and explosive series of events that would take place later, but soon.
This Maundy Thursday will be different for so many we have shared before. For some of us, we will have the joy or sharing a meal over Zoom—please join in if you are able. The Reverend Nat Katz has thought deeply about a new way to communicate the meaning of Maundy Thursday, and I know he will bless us all. If you haven’t received the Zoom info in an email from us, email info@allsaintsbh.org and we’ll send the link. Or you can watch the service live-streamed on Facebook and our website at 6 pm.
PRAYER
Thank you Jesus for the words and symbols you give us.
Thank you for outward signs of Grace.