Mystical Supper Icon, All Saints Russian Orthodox Church, Las Vegas.
Tonight’s Mass marks something very special for our parish family.
Look: you have never seen all these priests and deacons at one Mass.
I realize that this is a change: having Holy Thursday Mass together.
And it may take some getting used to.
But, if you and I are truly a family, then – like every family –
There are moments when we’re busy in different ways.
Yet on certain occasions, it is necessary that we come together as one.
Tonight is one of only two times in the whole year
when the Church insists a parish has just a single Mass together –
the other will be two nights from now, the Vigil of Easter.
Let’s peel back the layers of what we’re doing here.
The first reading describes the Passover,
celebrated by the Jewish People.
The lamb was one year old and “without blemish”;
it was obtained several days before and lived with the family.
Why is this important?
This points to Jesus, who became a member of the Jewish household,
a member of the human family.
Then, with the whole assembly present, the lamb was slaughtered.
When we come to church tomorrow, what do we recall?
Jesus is crucified with the whole assembly present.
The blood of the lamb is then spread over the doorposts.
This is protection from divine judgment.
By the way: when you and I are baptized,
that’s when the blood of the Lamb covers us!
When we fall back into mortal sin, confession renews it.
And then after the lamb is sacrificed, its flesh was eaten.
This was necessary to complete the sacrifice.
But only those who were members of the household could eat the lamb.
So, this is why only those baptized
and who have chosen to join themselves to the household –
that is, the Church – and who are also in a state of grace,
receive Holy Communion at Mass.
While the lamb is central to the Passover,
Notice the accounts of Jesus’ Last Supper never mention a lamb.
Why not? Because HE is the lamb!
Instead, he takes the bread, and says,
“this is my body, given up for you.”
And of course, there was a cup of wine.
But did you realize there were four cups of wine.
The first was called the “cup of sanctification,”
and the father began the meal with a prayer, over this cup,
and the food is brought to the table.
The second was the cup of “proclamation” –
it was prepared, but not drunk right away;
because while the food was on the table,
the father would tell the account of what God did
for his people who were slaves in Egypt.
By the way, when these events were “remembered,”
the understanding was that in remembering, you were present!
You were actually brought there spiritually, through the meal.
So, when Jesus tells the Apostles, “do this in memory of me,”
two things:
That reveals he made a plan for each of us to be part of his Passover.
Jesus planned for what we call Holy Mass,
and for priests to offer this sacrifice.
And second, our “remembering” here, 1,995 years later,
likewise makes you and me truly present:
in the Upper Room, at Calvary, at the empty tomb.
It happens not because we want it; but because he wants it!
Now, back to the Passover.
After everyone ate, the father would share the third cup,
called the “cup of blessing.”
And Saint Paul just told us that this was the cup Jesus took up,
and said, “This is my Blood.”
I said earlier there were four, where’s the last one?
Tomorrow, you and I will hear these words in the Gospel of John:
After this…Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine….
They put a sponge soaked in wine…up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
So, we don’t finish this Mass tonight. No final blessing.
We do go on a procession – to a special altar – recalling the Garden.
Let me share something very special
about how Father Manning arranged this church.
By the way, Father Jim wanted to be here
for this first gathering tonight as a family.
He was a huge part of the work that brought us together.
Now, notice: the window to your left shows Melchizedek and Abraham.
That meeting foreshadows the Holy Mass,
and it’s referenced in the Eucharistic Prayer.
Look over to your right: that shows the Apostles
gathered with Jesus on the night before his death. This night!
There’s still another detail I want to share with you.
In Jesus’ time, when the lamb was prepared for the meal,
in order to roast it, do you know how they did it?
They took two skewers, made of wood.
One was speared through the torso, from head to tail.
The other was speared through both shoulders. A cross.
Tomorrow we will worship the Cross on which our Savior,
our Lamb of God, was slain.
Tonight is our Passover. It begins tonight.
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