Mark 14: 17-26

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me – 0ne who is eating with me.’ They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely not I?’ ‘It is one of the Twelve,’ he replied, ‘one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.’

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant[1], which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.’

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

(See also: Matthew 26: 20-30, Luke 22: 13-38)

Reflection

Imagine yourself as one whom Jesus has invited to share in this Last Supper. What is it that Jesus longs for you to understand about the meaning of his life? What do you long for in your relationship with God?

We use some (but not all) of the elements of the Passover meal to focus our thoughts:

The picture of the sacrificial lamb; ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John the Baptist on Jesus.)

The sweet paste, charoseth, was a reminder of the clay from which the Israelites had made bricks in Egypt -reflect on what you have been saved from by Jesus.

Salt water represented the tears of the Israelite slaves in Egypt. It also reminded them of the cost of salvation (the tears of the Egyptians for their first-born) and of the waters of the Red Sea through which they passed into freedom - reflect on the cost of your freedom (the suffering and death Jesus embraced for you).

Meditate on the picture of The Last Supper by Sieger Koeder.