The Word Today – 04.06.23

Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples, as would be their custom as faithful Israelites. All the descendants of the Mount Sinai covenant gather on this yearly festival to remember the day God passed over the land to free God’s people from slavery and give them new life! Nonetheless, there is something obscure and dreadful about that day. 

This is one of those moments when the slogan God is good all the time challenges us. The blood of the sacrificial lamb was to prevent from perishing all those who believed. The promise was fulfilled on that day. God protected and preserved God’s people, but God did so at the expense of the innocent and the vulnerable. Believers in the 21^st century should always keep in mind that God has hidden works that are impossible for us to comprehend. Still, some died so others could become free and live. It can be argued that it is the natural order of things. However, after considering the demographics who perished in Egypt on that day because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart, I don’t blame you if that leaves a very bitter aftertaste or even if it makes you sick to your stomach. It can be a tough pill to swallow. On the other hand, such a thought might make Jesus’ wrinkle to this remembrance even more majestic. 

When we hear the familiar words of institution for the Eucharist in 1 Corinthians, we are reminded once more that Jesus came to make not some, but all things new! When our Lord speaks of a new covenant, he echoes the words of the prophet Jeremiah about the new thing that God was planning (Jeremiah 31:31-34). John the Evangelist does not describe this meal as Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, he uses the opportunity to reveal what such Holy Supper can do for us. Do we fully understand what the Savior of the world teaches and asks of us here?

The psalmist sings praises about lifting the cup of God’s salvation (verse 13) and losing the bonds of the faithful (16), for every death is costly and grievous to God (15)!