For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
"This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSV)
. . . Jesus said to him,
"Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"
Luke 22:48
Handed on. Betrayed. Handed over. The Greek root word paradido is one of those two-edged sword kind of words. It can mean to hand over, deliver up, or betray; but it can also mean to entrust, commit, hand down, or pass on.
In St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians, this word gets a workout. Jesus was betrayed - handed over. But this becomes Good News when St. Paul hands on what Jesus has entrusted him to hand down to future generations. Jesus gave us a way to remember him in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. Jesus did this on the night in which he was betrayed.
We call this day "Maundy Thursday" because on the same night in which he was betrayed, Jesus gave us a Novum Mandatum -- a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." What would it mean to love others as Jesus loves us? Looked where it landed him.
Pastor Linda
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
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