Day 42 : Mark 14:12-26
Take it
The words ‘Take it: this is my body’ and ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’ (NIVUK) have been central to Christian worship. We know it as communion.
The meal which Jesus and the disciples were sharing was most likely the Passover meal. It was a meal with prayers and symbolic actions to tell the story of how God protected them from the plagues and led them out of slavery to freedom. In the account of the first Passover (Exodus 12) the Passover lamb was slaughtered and it’s blood put on the doorposts of the house so the plague of the death of the firstborn would ‘pass over’ the house. The bread was made without yeast because the Israelites had to flee Egypt quickly to escape – there wasn’t time for the bread to rise.
Into this meal, Jesus speaks, identifying the wine with his blood which will be poured out in his death to provide protection from death for ‘many’. It also identifies Jesus as the sacrificial Passover lamb, giving his life in the place of others to save them.
The Christian church has observed this sharing of bread and wine as a holy mystery where God meets with his people, uniting them with him and with each other. In Methodist Churches we speak of this meal as an ‘open table’, inviting any who want to come and take it. In Mark’s account this poignant and holy moment is set between the discussion about who will betray Jesus and the later passage predicting Peter’s denial. It is a reminder of the need for what Jesus is about to do – his holiness comes into the mess of human frailty and deception to rescue those who couldn’t save themselves.