READING: MARK 14:12-26

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’

So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The Teacher asks: where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’

The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me.’

They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely you don’t mean me?’

‘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, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

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

REFLECTION

Welcome to Tuesday’s Foundation Podcast. Today’s reading is taken from Mark 14:12-26. It’s a very familiar passage to many of us – be sure to read it through in full at some point today. I’m going to focus on verses 22-24.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.

As I said at the start, this is incredibly familiar passage to us. We hear these words read out to us whenever we take communion. It’s perhaps because these words are so familiar to us that we can sometimes forget how significant they are for us as disciples – people who follow Jesus.

First – the invitation. In breaking the bread and pouring out the wine, Jesus points us in the direction of the cross – the centre of our very faith. He tells his disciples that the bread is his body, and the wine his blood. This was the first communion. There are many different interpretations of what this meant but we, as Christians, believe that when we re-enact that last supper, when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we encounter Jesus spiritually. In doing so, we demonstrate that we have fellowship with Jesus – we align ourselves with Him.

However, it goes much further than that. Jesus also tells his disciples here that his blood will be ‘poured out for many’. It’s not just that we have a connection with Jesus; we are totally reliant on him. This phrase ‘poured out for many’ illustrates that Jesus death’ will be the atonement for our sins – the once for all sacrifice. Our sins separated us from God – this is death. In Jesus dying the Trinity experiences death – separation. This is where we should have been but Jesus steps into that place. He dies and experiences separation. He does that for mankind. He does that for us.

And so as I read this passage, I felt God was reminding me again of his amazing grace. We often sing the tune; these words tell the story. It’s the Gospel – the good news. And we need to hear this all the time. I once heard a wise leader tell me that as Christians we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves each day. To look in the mirror in the morning and remind ourselves of this story. It’s good for us to start each day by simply reminding ourselves of God’s grace in our lives and saying thank you for that. It expresses our need for a saviour – that we can’t do this all our own. It releases us from the pressure of needing to go out and earn points to get us closer to God. We are more than enough in his eyes. This is what Jesus was declaring to his disciples at the last supper. This is communion. It’s the great invitation to all of who would choose to believe.

If that’s the invitation, then what follows is the challenge. It’s in this phrase, ‘poured out for many’ that Jesus reminds us of the global impact that his death and resurrection will have. It will transform the world! It’s the whole point. It’s not about putting a bandage on the world and nursing it in its damaged state. It’s literally making the whole thing new again.

When we commit to Christ, when we accept communion with Him – we receive the challenge to take this message – the message of grace and transformation – out with us into the world. As it says in Corinthians, we are to ‘proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’ How do we do that exactly? We can sometimes overcomplicate this but primarily I think it’s through acts of goodness. Jesus went around doing good. We are to do the same. Think about the day ahead of you. How can you ‘do good’? Where can you show someone else kindness? Where can you take the Gospel message that we hear again today and go and put it into practise?

PRAYER

Jesus – thank you for these amazing words. Thank you that you love us because you love us. This is the message for us today – it’s all about your great love for us. Let’s remind ourselves of this again at the start of the day and then look for ways in which we can do good to others: These small acts of great love which show that we are committed to you Jesus and we’re committed to your cause of transforming this world around us now.

Amen

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