May 15, 2022
VIdeo

Today’s gospel takes us back to holy week and events that led up to the crucifixion. It might seem strange to hear this reading in the middle of Eastertide, but I cant help but wonder if the disciples were doing the same thing in those weeks just after the resurrection, too – remembering the stories, what Jesus said, how the events played out just as he had predicted. They were cementing in their collective memory the gospel that would be preached throughout the world.

It’s the same gospel we proclaim now: Christ died, was buried, rose again, and ascended to his Father’s side to rule the kingdom of God. That kingdom is already present among us, and we who claim Christ as Lord and Savior are part of it. Rehearsing these stories again and again keeps us in the faith, and keeps the faith alive in us. Repeating these stories for each other keeps them from becoming diluted or distorted over time.

Today’s passage takes us back to that final meal Jesus shared with his disciples. In John’s version, this meal happens on the night before Passover begins. According to John, “Jesus will be crucified at about the same time that the lambs are sacrificed in the Temple in preparation for the Passover meal.”[1] But John gives us something the other gospel authors do not: he tells us in great detail what Jesus said to his disciples during this final night they have together. Continue reading →