Reflection on Holy Thursday
We enter the most dramatic and important
episodes in the life of Jesus and indeed in the life of the Church: the Paschal
Tridium. The drama of salvation begins at the Upper room in which Jesus gathers
with his disciples for the Last Supper. It is here Jesus institutes the first
Holy Eucharist which becomes the summit of Church Liturgy and life. Yet, why
does Jesus have to commence the first Holy Eucharist here in the Last Supper?
If we have a closer look at the Last Supper,
it is actually a warm and solemn celebration of Passover meal. In Jewish
tradition, Passover meal commemorates the Liberation of the Jews from the
slavery in Egypt
led by Moses. It is the story of victory and power of God. In the time of
Jesus, Passover meal is ritually done within a family where immediate family
members gather together in intimate meal. It is a celebration of intimacy and
unity. Only the persons closest to us can sit together in our table and share
the same meal with us. Indeed, Jesus shares his table and meals with His
closest friends, the disciples. Thus, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we
are invited to be part of that intimate friendship with Jesus. It is in
Eucharist that various differences and boundaries that separate humanity are
being torn down. Though we are different in ethnicity, culture, gender, age and
personality, we become closest friends and intimately one in Eucharist. This is
why the Eucharist is also called the Holy Communion.
In
this Last Supper, Jesus offers His Body
and Blood for His disciples and for us. In Jewish culture, body symbolizes
a person’s total belonging and blood is believed to be the source of life of
living creatures. This is why body and blood are the most pleasing offerings
for God in ancient time. When Jesus offers His body and blood for us, we
receive God in His totality. Jesus becomes so poor so that we may become so
rich. It is no longer the story of a vampire-like God who demands blood offerings
to please Him, but of compassionate God who now offers Himself for His people.
Thus, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we behold who our God is. He is
God who makes us His closest friends, and to prove His true friendship, He breaks
His own body into pieces and shares them so that every one of us may have a bit
of God, a fullness of life. It is the missionary aspect of the Eucharist. After
we are made one in Christ, we are to be broken and shared this fullness of life
to others.
Eventually,
the Eucharist is the celebration of God’s victory. Yet, if we try to put the
Last Supper in context of Easter Triduum, it is actually a communal celebration
in the face of its disintegration; a thanksgiving in the midst of horror. Jesus
is about to be deserted by his closest friends, sold by a disciple for a price
of a slave, and denied by the very person who vowed to defend him with his own
life. So, is it really about victory? We have to remember that this betrayal
and cowardice are not the center of the story. It is Jesus who refuses to give
up or run away for his life, but freely chooses to celebrate with these people.
By embracing these people who betray and run from Him, Jesus has won the battle
over fear, vengeance and death. It is
God’s victory.
The
Eucharist is a story of God who has embraced us, even before we deny, betray
and run from Him. It is a story of God who heals us even before we hurt Him. It
is a story of God who breaks and shares His own life even though before we die
in sin. The Eucharist is the story of our God is and who we are in His immense
love, our own story.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
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