At the last supper in St. Luke’s account, Jesus expresses what is in his heart with these moving words, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” This is no ordinary desire! There is an urgency that alerts us to a critical moment, which is not surprising. Jesus had taken his life into his hands by remaining in Jerusalem. He knew the Scriptures: “I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.” He had gone so far as to do what even a Jewish slave would not do by washing the disciples’ feet. Why such eagerness? Why such urgency? Because he must absolutely eat this Passover meal with his disciples and with us as well.
On a natural level one might see his eagerness as simply a desire to be with his friends at such a moment. But it is more than that. We get closer to the truth when we hear his words, “It is you who have stood by me in my trials.” This is not just a gathering based on friendship or family ties. His eagerness is rooted in the deepest religious realities, expressed concretely in today’s first reading from Exodus.
The Lord explained to Moses and Aaron that each family had to procure a lamb. It must be sacrificed and its blood used to protect the families from the destroying angel who, seeing the blood on the doorposts, would pass over them. Jesus knew that this meal was the culmination of the entire history of God with his people: their election as his own possession; their bitter lot as slaves forced to work with mortar and brick; their miraculous deliverance, and, finally, the promise of a kingdom. His was the eagerness of love, and he would express his love by sharing this Passover meal with them. And he himself would be the lamb of sacrifice.
Listen carefully to these words: “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” Jesus wanted to share everything with them. Like the poor widow in the gospel, he put in all he had, his whole being. His gift of himself would fulfill his promise to give them a kingdom: “For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him”, that is in Jesus. His Yes is what we are witnessing today, his total yes, a yes that would be sealed in blood.
For the Scriptures go on to say, “Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.’” This is the deepest religious reality we are talking about. Jesus is creating a new covenant, a binding promise, a word of commitment that will never be broken. And he could not express his commitment any better than linking it with his blood, poured out first in this cup, and later on the cross.
What we are witnessing today is Jesus taking “up the cup of salvation” on our behalf. We have all sinned in one way or another, and only God can bridge the gap we have created. This is the reason for Jesus’ eagerness: in union with his Father and the Holy Spirit, he wants to restore the covenant. And he does it by continually pouring himself out as a gift of love. This is love to the end.
