The Society of Saint John the Evangelist: The Daily Office





Holy Week

Br. David Vryhof
Br. David Vryhof

 
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Holy Week at the Monastery

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday

Br. David Vryhof

Meditations for Holy Week, 2008 – Thursday

The Maundy Thursday Liturgy

Recalling Jesus’ final meal with his disciples
In John’s gospel, chapter 13 marks the beginning of the “Book of Glory.”  NT scholar Raymond Brown writes, “In the great cycle of Jesus’ life (descent from the Father and return to the Father), the bottom of the descent and the moment when the ascent begins is now when the Son takes on himself the form of a servant (v.16). His hour (v. 1) has begun.”

John’s account of the meal vs. the Synoptic Gospels’ account

  • Was it a Passover meal?
  • John shares a meal with his disciples on the night before the Passover begins, so that Jesus is put to death (on Friday) at the same time that the lambs are being sacrificed in the temple.  The connection is deliberate since Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). Although the meal has ‘Passover overtones’ – recalling the meal eaten by the Israelites before the Exodus – it is not, per se, a Passover meal.
  • The synoptic gospels do not use this title (“Lamb of God”).  They imply that Jesus is sharing the Passover meal with his disciples; bread and wine would have been part of that meal (Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13).
  • Perhaps the best ‘solution’ to this discrepancy is that John’s account is correct and that the synoptic gospels have simplified the meal with ‘Passover overtones’ to a Passover meal (R. Brown).

Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.

  • The focus of John’s account of the meal is the footwashing (John 13:1-17).  Jesus gives his disciples an ‘example’ of loving service (v.15); they are to wash one another’s feet.  [Note: Jesus speaks of himself as a servant in Luke 22:27.]
  • The washing of another’s feet, made dirty by travel on dusty roads in sandals, was a menial task not required of even Jewish slaves.  Such utter humiliation on the part of Jesus leads Peter to object.  The meaning is probably two-fold: it is a lesson in humility and the ‘washing’ signifies baptism.
  • The meal is also the setting in which Jesus identifies Judas as his betrayer (John 13:18-30) by giving him a piece of bread.  In John’s gospel the Beloved Disciple has a peculiar role in the exchange.

Jesus identifies the bread and wine with his body and blood.

  • Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25 – “Take, eat; this is my body.”
  • Luke 22:14-23 – “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (v. 15).  [cup-bread-cup]
  • St Paul’s account: I Corinthians 11:23-26
  • John 6 (especially vv. 52-59)

Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane

  • The Synoptic Account: Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46
  • John’s Account:
  • “a place where there was a garden” (v.1)
  • Judas comes with Roman soldiers and temple police “with lanterns and torches and weapons” (v.3)
  • “Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’  Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.  When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they stepped back and fell to the ground” (John 18:4-6).

“I am the Bread of Life”

The context for this saying: the miracle story of the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14), one of the ‘signs’ followed by a lengthy discourse in John’s gospel.

Jesus’ claim – “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:35,38,41) – was significant because:

  • Bread is a clear symbol of nourishment and life.  The metaphor would have been easily understood; Jesus is clearly speaking of his ability to give and sustain life – not only physical life, but eternal life (the new life he is offering).
  • Bread is a divine gift.  Although bread is a human product – dough is made with human hands (Mt. 13:33) and baked – there is no dough without grain, and there is no grain without the rain, which God sends (Mt. 5:45).  It is God who fills the hungry with good things (Lk. 1:53).
  • Feeding the multitude was a powerful sign.  It recalled a similar miracle by Elisha (II Kings 4:42-44).  The sign leads the people to acclaim him as a prophet (Jn.6:14) and to try to make him a king (Jn.6:15).
  • It recalled the manna which the people of Israel ate in the wilderness (Jn.6:31) – [see Exodus 16:20-21] – and evoked the image of Jesus as a “second Moses” (Deut. 18:15, 18).  It was believed that the Messiah would once again feed his people with manna.   This belief also appears in the New Testament (Rev.2:17; Lk.14:15).
  • It connected this ‘living bread’ to the sacrifice of his life on the Cross (Jn.6:51).  The thought of devouring a dead man’s flesh and drinking his blood is repulsive to the people, who do not understand he is speaking of spiritual things (Jn.6:52, 60). 
  • It anticipates the Church’s celebration of Eucharist.  John 6:51-58 represents a theological reflection which connects the bread Jesus is offering with the Eucharist, which was an important part of worship in the Johannine community. 

The Eucharist is, like bread itself, a divine gift. 

  • In the synoptic accounts of the Last Supper, where the connection is more clearly made, “the act of giving bread means that Jesus gives himself up on behalf of others; that is, under the figure of the bread, the Son of God is revealed as a sacrificial offering.”  (Imagery, p.118)
  • The point is that the Christian must take Jesus Christ into his inmost being, that he must enter into us as does the food we eat and drink.  To ‘eat this bread’ is to believe in the One whom God has sent.

Suggestions for further reflection and prayer

  • “I am the Bread of Life.”  Reflect on the ways in which Jesus nourishes and sustains your life.
  • Consider the deeper meanings of the Eucharist – e.g. as signifying the self-offering of Christ, as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, as a meal/sign of unity shared by all (without distinction of class or privilege); as a sacrifice/offering to God which, like OT sacrifices, is returned to the people as food, etc.
  • Consider the significance of extending our hands to receive the Eucharist (it is received, not taken).  Be mindful of this action when you receive the bread in the Eucharist.
  • Watch and pray with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
  • Pray with the icon of the Beloved Disciple (in the Holy Spirit Chapel of the monastery).
  • Ignatian meditation: Imagine Jesus washing your feet.


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