by Donald Senior, C.P.

Luke's Gospel delights in portraying Jesus at meals: the supper in the house of Simon the Pharisee where the woman had anointed Jesus and washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, and in turn received the gift of unconditional forgiveness (7:36-50); meals with sinners that provoked the ire of his opponents (15:1-2); breaking bread with the crowds who hungered for his word (9:10-17).

This eloquent sign of Jesus' mission--the gathering of one people, breaking one bread--dominates the opening scenes of Luke's passion narrative. This meal would be the Passover (22:1, 7), the great liberation feast of Israel. On this very night Jesus' enemies had set a trap for him with the help of Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples (22:1-6). But Luke makes it clear that a drama more fateful than human failure is at work here: Satan, the prince of evil, "enters into Judas" and will attempt through such human agency to strike once more at the author of life (22:3).

Once the preparations for the feast are completed, Jesus takes his place at table with the disciples. Jesus had longed to celebrate this festival with disciples; even more urgently he had longed for God's liberation of Israel, the meaning of this feast, and every fiber of his being was dedicated to that end. The bread and the wine become signs of Jesus' own mission: his body broken and given, for them; his blood poured out in a new covenant, for them.

But the disciples do not yet fully comprehend who Jesus is or what is at stake on this Passover eve. Jesus' warns them of impending betrayal but this seems only to confuse them. Even more poignant, nearly comic, is a scene unique to Luke's passion story. At this most solemn moment the disciples begin to argue about which of them is the greatest (22:24). Jesus cuts through their clumsy arrogance by reaffirming the spirit of his own ministry: "I am among you as the one who serves" (22:27). The death of Jesus itself was the final act of service, the ultimate gift of life on behalf of others. This spirit was to characterize all expressions of authority and power in the Christian community. Luke's scene is perhaps overlooked in the Christian liturgy of Holy Week but it has an impact no less compelling than the footwashing scene of John's passion story that we remember each Holy Thursday.

Luke's Gospel reserves a special role for the Twelve, that core group of Jesus' disciples. The very number was symbolic of the gathering of the lost tribes of Israel, the renewal of God's people that was the object of Jesus' mission. His disciples were to be the witnesses to Jesus' teaching and healing (24:44-49); they were to gather the church and take its mission to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) So Jesus prays for Simon and for the other disciples that the power of evil would not sweep them away (22:31-32). Even though Peter will weaken, the power of grace will draw him back, and his ministry, in turn, is to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the community. As we will see, the evangelist does his best to tell the passion story in this spirit, downplaying the impact of Peter's denial and passing over in silence the flight of the other disciples. For Luke the sure reconciliation that the Risen Christ brings to the community dissolves memories of its infidelities.

The Passover feast concludes with a strong warning from Jesus about the crisis that is about to break upon this fragile community of disciples. They should "arm" themselves and be ready; Luke's Gospel does not underestimate, much less ignore, the aggressive power of evil that lifts its fist against the spirit of the gospel (22:35-38).

Email questions or comments about this page to Fr. Victor Hoagland, C.P. Copyright 1997, Passionist Publications, Union City, NJ USA. Passionist Publications reserves all rights to text, illustrations, and HTML.