Daily Reflections ...

In today’s gospel, Mark tells the story of the apostles preparing for the feast of Passover that they will share with Jesus. They are asked to find the space and to prepare the meal. Passover for any pious Jew was a defining feast that demanded their participation, and Jesus and his apostles were no exception to this.  Yet Mark relates this story in such a way as though the apostles themselves are being invited not just to a significant religious commemoration; they were being invited into something quite special.

And so, what happened next changed everything.

During the Passover meal, in taking the bread, Jesus says: ‘this is my body’.  Taking the cup, he says: ‘this is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many’.  No longer was this a mere ritual remembrance of a bygone event; it was something that was happening now and would define the apostles and, indeed, us forever.  It was an invitation that would bind us, immerse us and even overwhelm us.

In accepting the Body of the Lord and in drinking from the Chalice of his Blood, this is what fundamentally identifies us as Christians – nothing else!  It is why we do what we do.  And while we might engage in rosaries and religious processions, votive candle-lighting and prayerful devotions, Eucharist will remain at our core, at the heart and soul of who we are – a people ‘gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit to become a living sacrifice in Christ’.

By Gerry Crooks