When it was evening, he sat down with his twelve disciples...

The picture above is deceptive in the very least.  There is no mention of a table in the Greek text.  The inclusion of a table in modern translations might be the result of popular portraits of the event such as the one by Leonardo DaVinci.   Jesus most likely sat on the floor, perhaps on pillows, along with the twelve. 

Why did Jesus wait until the meal began to announce a betrayer in their midst?    Perhaps because it intensifies the scandal of the betrayal itself.  Eating a meal together would have implied a friendship.  We notice in Matthew that the disciples respond to Christ’s announcement by calling him “Lord”, yet Judas is singled out (or rather singles himself out) by calling Jesus, “Rabbi”.  According to Douglas Hare in his commentary on Matthew, only those who were not believers would address Jesus as “Rabbi” or “Teacher.”  But doesn't the fact that the disciples respond with the question, "surely it is not I" show that indeed, they recognize the possibility that their human weakness could itself lead to their becoming sinful?  Origen cites this very argument when he notes that anyone who believed they were incapable of such an act would not have responded as they all did.  Their futures are uncertain, their fear founded in the weakness which could lead them to fall victim to evil.

And don’t we wonder about Jesus’ response to Judas?  “You have said it.”  I wonder if the disciples caught what Jesus said.   There is no mention of a reaction by Judas or the disciples to Jesus’ accusation.  According to the Gospel, Jesus simply continued with the berakah and the institution of the Eucharist.  But behind this statement of Christ is a hope that Judas will change his mind.  Judas, stubborn as he was, was devoid of any hope of changing.  His die was cast.....

We truly know, because Jesus was celebrating the Passover, that the meal he was sharing was a Seder meal.  Yet in none of the Gospels is there an account of the four cups of wine, the matzo, the harroseth or any of the other ritual elements of the Seder meal.  And which of the four cups was it with which he gave his blood to his disciples?  Some scholars say that it would have been the second cup, the cup which was intended to recall the saving acts of God for his people Israel.  Because Jesus says that it is “the blood of the covenant”, we can make a connection between this blood and the blood of the sacrificial lamb which was painted on the doorposts of the Hebrews. 

We will now look at the Eucharistic Institution by Our Lord.... (click here)

Pange Lingua

The hymn composed by St. Thomas Aquinas

and sung at the transfer of the Most Holy Eucharist

at the liturgy of Holy Thursday