Holy Week Devotion from the Racial Equity Team
“When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.”
Our Best and Worst Moments
Holy Week Devotion
Throughout Lent we have been looking at the sin of racism and hearing the call to see it in our individual and communal lives. This week we journey to the Upper Room, the Cross and the Tomb.
On Thursday, congregations will gather to remember the Last Supper. The very night that Jesus was betrayed by his disciples he celebrated Passover with them and spoke these surprising words, “This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you.”
This story, these words, are central to our faith, our liturgy, our lives together. We live them on Sunday mornings as we gather for worship. We live them at hospital bedsides and as people draw near to death. We may cling to the words as we struggle to move through the slog of life.
“This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you.” These words remind us that Jesus is present in the best and worst moments of our lives. Truly present, bringing us hope, comfort, and all that is needed to carry us to the next moment, the next breath of life.
Mary McClintock Fulkerson and Marcia W. Mont Shoop speak of this meal with these words,
“Eucharist tells us who we are even as it calls us to who God hopes we can be.” 1
“In each of these accounts, there are clear descriptions of Jesus’ concrete presence among his friends, the people he loved, and there are clear descriptions of betrayal and ruptured relationships. From the earliest expressions Eucharist held together the tension between deep devotion and love for others and the pain of betrayal and broken community. Jesus invites his beloved to stay close to him even as he names the breach of trust that is unfolding before them.” 2
Luke’s telling of the Last Supper portrays raw humanity. Jesus says, “This is my body, which is given for you. This cup that is poured out for you is my blood.” Then boom, right away, with his very next words, Jesus speaks of betrayal. “The one who betrays me is with me. And immediately the disciples begin to wonder who among them would do such a thing, (They all would, in the end, betray him in one way or another.) Then, still at the table, an argument breaks out. The disciples begin to step all over each other as they disagree about who is the greatest among them. Oh. My. Gosh.
What is wrong with these guys? Jesus has just given them the precious gift of his body and blood, and they respond by arguing over their own greatness!?!
This week we will gather at the Lord’s Table as family/community. We, a messy, dysfunctional community will stand side by side as we receive the body and blood of Christ. We, with our thoughts of who is right and wrong, who among us is theologically on the nose, and who is way off base, who is getting it right in life and service and who is failing miserably, we all hear these words and receive the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ.
We who will be on our best behavior and moments later will speak our minds and diss our neighbors and ignore the needs of those around us and deny that we participate in the brokenness of the world.
In those first moments in the Upper Room and the moments we are at the Table, Jesus enters the reality of human life. He comes amid our fragile attempts to be at our best and the truth of our sin and brokenness. He speaks and offers himself to us, for us. Thanks be to God.
In the singing, in the silence,
in the hands expectant, open,
In the blessing, in the breaking,
in your presence at this table.
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the wine of grace;
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the bread of peace.
In the question, in the answer,
in the moment of acceptance,
in the heart’s cry, in the healing,
in the circle of your people.
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the wine of grace;
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
be the bread of peace. 3
The Rev. Barb Girod
Retired Pastor
Member of St. Mark’s, Neenah
1A Body Broken, A Body Betrayed
Race, Memory, and Eucharist in White-Dominant Churches by Mary McClintock Fulkerson and Marcia W. Mont Shoop
2A Body Broken, A Body Betrayed Race, Memory, and Eucharist in White-Dominant Churches Mary McClintock Fulkerson and Marcia W. Mont Shoop
3Evangelical Lutheran Worship
