Why Maundy Thursday ? -A Memorable Farewell !!!

Why Maundy Thursday?- a memorable farewell..!!
Jesus too knows his hours are numbered. But he is not planning to hide or flee. Instead,he arranges a special farewell dinner with the men and women closest to him.It is a solemn and intimate moment for him and his disciples; he wants to experience it in all its depth. This is a well thoughtout decision. Aware of his imminent death, he needs to convey to them his total trust in the Father, even in this hour. He wants to prepare them for the crushing blow that awaits them; his execution must not plunge them into sadness or hopelessness. They need to share the questions that they are all pondering: what will become of God's reign without Jesus? What should they do? Where will they turn now, to nourish their hope for the coming reign of God?Apparently it is not a Passover meal. Some sources say Jesus intended to share with his disciples a Passover meal, or seder, in which Jews recall their liberation from slavery in Egypt. But the description of the banquet never once alludes to the Passover liturgy; it says nothing of the paschal lamb or the bitter herbs that Jews eat that night; it does not ritually recall the departure from Egypt, as the liturgy prescribes. Moreover it would be unthinkable, on that evening when families are celebrating the most important meal in the Jewish calendar, for the chief priests and their assistants to drop everything to arrest Jesus and arrange a late-night meeting to decide on the specific charges against Another source reports more plausibly that Jesus held the dinner before the Passover feast; it says he was executed on the 14th of nisan, on the eve of Passover. In short, we cannot clearly identify the last supper with a Passover meal.Probably Jesus did make the Jerusalem pilgrimage to celebrate Passover with his disciples, but he could not fulfill his wish, because he was arrested and tried before then. He did have time to celebrate a farewell dinner, however.In any case it was not an ordinary meal but a solemn dinner, the last of so many that they had celebrated in the villages of Galilee. They drank wine, as they did on special occasions; they reclined at the table for peaceful conversation, rather than sitting as they normally did. It is probably not a Passover meal, but the excitement of the paschal festivities is all around them. All the pilgrims are making their final preparations: obtaining unleavened bread, buying the paschal lamb, seeking out a place in the local inns or on household patios and terraces. Jesus' group is also Impelled by that conviction, Jesus sets out to enliven the meal by sharing his hope with his disciples. He begins the meal according to the Jewish custom: he stands up, takes the bread in his hands, and blesses God in the name of them all; they all reply, Amen. Then he breaks the bread and distributes a piece to each person. They all know that gesture. They have probably seen him do it more than once. They know the meaning of that ritual by their host: in giving them that piece of bread, he is giving them God's blessing. How moving it was to see him give it to sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes! Receiving the bread, they all felt united with one another and with God. But this time Jesus adds words that give new and unexpected meaning to his gesture. As he distributes the bread he tells each one: This is my body. I am this bread. See me in these pieces of bread, giving myself to the end, to bring you the blessing of God's reign.What must these men and women have felt, hearing these words for the first time? What he does at the end of the meal surprises them even more. They all know the accustomed ritual. Near the end of the meal their host, still seated, takes a cup of wine in his right hand, holds it a palm's width above the table, and pronounces over it a prayer of thanks for the meal, to which everyone responds, amen. Then he drinks from the cup, the signal for everyone else to do the same. But that evening Jesus changes the ritual and invites his disciples to drink from a single cup: his! They all share the cup of salvation that Jesus has blessed. Passing the cup around and offering it to everyone, Jesus sees in it something new and special that he wants to explain: This cup is the new Covenant in my blood. My blood will open up a new future for you and for everyone. Jesus is not only thinking of his closest disciples. At this decisive and crucial moment,the horizon he has in view becomes universal: the new Covenant, the definitive reign of God will be for many, for all With these gestures of distributing the bread and wine to be shared by all,sacramental action, the most.
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