Why
did Jesus offer himself as "food and drink" to his disciples? Jesus
chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced earlier at Capernaum
- giving his disciples his body and his blood (John 6:51-58). Jesus' passing
over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is
anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's
Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover
of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom.
This
is the most significant meal of Jesus and the most important occasion of his
breaking of bread. In this meal Jesus identifies the bread as his body and the
cup as his blood. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh
and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our
being (John 6:53). That life which he offers is the very life of God himself.
Jesus' death on the cross, his gift of his body and blood in the Supper, and
his promise to dine again with his disciples when the kingdom of God comes in
all its fullness are inseparably linked. Jesus instructed his disciples to
"do this in remembrance of me". These words establish every Lord's
Supper or Eucharist as a "remembrance" of Jesus' atoning death, his
resurrection, and his promise to return again. "For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes"
(1 Corinthians 11:26). Our celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipates the
final day when the Lord Jesus will feast anew with his disciples in the
heavenly marriage feast of the Lamb and his Bride. Do you know the joy of the
drinking Christ's cup and tasting the bread of his Table in sincerity? Mark
ties the last supper meal with Jesus' death and the coming of God's kingdom.
Jesus transforms the Passover of the Old Covenant into the meal of the
"new covenant in my blood".
In
the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in a thanksgiving sacrifice as a
sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator as the giver and sustainer of
life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews
7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His offering prefigured the offering
made by Jesus, our high priest and king (Hebrews 7:26; 9:11; 10:12). The
remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to the people of Israel
that they live - not by earthly bread alone - but by the bread of the Word of
God (Deuteronomy 8:3).
The
unleavened bread at Passover and the miraculous manna in the desert are the
pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing"
at the end of the Jewish passover meal points to the messianic expectation of
the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jesus gave a new and definitive meaning to the
blessing of the bread and the cup when he instituted the "Lord's
Supper" or "Eucharist".
He speaks of the presence of his body and blood in this new meal. When
at the Last Supper Jesus described his blood "poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28), he was explaining his coming
crucifixion as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross fulfilled the
sacrifice of the paschal lamb. That is why John the Baptist called him the "Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus made himself an
offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He
“offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a
sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). This meal was a memorial of his death and
resurrection.
When
we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes
us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it
the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for
death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph.
20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength
for our journey heavenward. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do
you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The
Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit
of receiving the Eucharist is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily
nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity
and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more
firmly rooted in the love of Christ. (Servants of the Word).
Fr. Phil