Lent: Thursday

April 10
Thursday
Mark 14: 12-72

Morning glory
God grew tired of us

Intro
Last week-Judas-we can identify-we have betrayed Jesus for less than 30 pieces of silver.
Thursday lasts from sun up on Thursday to sunrise on Friday.

What story do you think we are going to look at from Thursday? Maundy Thursday-we get that from John’s gospel by the way.

Last Supper As Disciples it’s pretty much a given that if we look at Thursday of the last week we are going to talk about it. Like a bird pooping on your car right after you wash it…it’s almost certain.

We are all familiar with the last supper. We celebrate it each week during worship and almost any time we gather as Disciples of Christ we have communion. During camp we usually have communion every night. There are countless paintings and representations of the last supper. (show pictures-if want in pic)

But today I want to shed some more light on what Jesus was saying. Let’s take a look.

Mark 14: 12-72
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Notice any similarities between this and another story we have already done during this series? Palm Sunday preparation.
Palm Sunday and Passover preparation have some similarities:
Sends 2 of his disciples,
tells them what to look for,
and instructs them what to say.

In the first case, the preplanning was for a public demonstration against an anti-imperial entrance affirming nonviolence. In this case, the preplanning has to do with secrecy. Jesus kept the meeting place secret. Why?

Was it so Judas couldn’t trap him there? This meal-what we call the New Passover-matters, and Judas must not be allowed to interfere with its completion. Why does it matter? What happens that is so significant, so life changing?

22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Here we know Jesus reinterprets the symbols of the Passover. Taking the story from Exodus and substituting himself as the Passover lamb. But is there something more?

1) Story parallels feeding of 5000-talk about this in Pastor’s class-took, blessed, broke, and gave.

Shared meals were one of the most distinctive features of Jesus’ public activity. He often taught at meals, banquets were topics of his parables, and his meal practice was often criticized by his opponents.

Food is important. We need it to live. Food can be used as a status symbol can’t it? What do rich people eat? What do poor people eat? Jesus’ emphasis on meals means something more than just the new Passover celebration.

The point of Jesus’ meals is to insist on shared meals as the mandate of divine justice in a world not our own. Jesus does not merely speak of bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood. Rather, he has all of the 12 (including Judas) actually partake of the food and drink. We, like they, are invited to travel with Jesus through execution to resurrection. So first and foremost it is an invitation to discipleship. An invitation to follow Jesus’ path and to live as he lived.

The Last Supper is also about bread for the world, God’s justice against human injustice, a New Passover from bondage to liberation, and participation in the path that leads through death to new life.
Food is God’s justice and just distribution of food. One of the things the Bible talks about in the end times is that everyone will have enough food. It is unjust that people go home hungry every night-right here in our square of earth people go to bed hungry every night. There might even be people in our own church. What is compassion calling us to do? Better yet what is love calling us to do?

What’s interesting is that from this point on it’s not just talk, but actions
In Mark, over half of Thursday is devoted to failed discipleship.
Nature of Jesus and the world divides-the religious leaders talked a good game but weren’t living it.
If you keep reading through Thursday what happens? How many of Jesus’ disciples fail him?
Disciples fall asleep while praying-because no one falls asleep during a prayer-who does that? Judas betrays him, Peter denies Jesus 3 times and you want to read a painful verse read v. 50
50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

Ask yourself this:
If Judas did not kill himself would he have been restored along with Peter and the rest of the disciples?

Neither denials nor even betrayals are the worst sin against Jesus or God. The worst sin is despair. And despair is nothing more than a loss of faith that repentance will always, always obtain forgiveness. Had Judas broken down, wept, and repented, he too would have been forgiven.

We have the same faults as these disciples-we fallen asleep when our friends and family needed us, we’ve betrayed Jesus; we’ve denied knowing him.

But our world tells us it’s ok. We give in to selfishness, it comes easy. We even call it “the me generation.” What can I get? What can I get out of this relationship, friendship, school, car, church, God…
What can I get instead of what can I give? (Question for the week)

And Jesus is anything but selfish-Jesus is all about others and serving them. Jesus doesn’t respond the way we would to the trial and accusations. He doesn’t respond with violence he condemns it. Jesus enters and exits in non-violence.

This trial on Thursday is happening to him, but it’s not about him…it’s about something else. It’s about us, it’s about an end to power and injustice. Jesus is about restoration and reconciliation. Making things right.

Lent is our time to make things right with God. To recognize the times have betrayed Jesus; the times we haven’t listened to God. It is our reminder to ask for forgiveness and to refocus on what is important. As we try to focus on the attitudes of Christ, we can ponder what we can give instead of what we can get this week.