Daily Devotion

14 Apr (Mon) – Until it is Fulfilled

Audio

Prepare

Today is the 14^th of April, Holy Monday. Welcome to Holy Week. 

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. It marks the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He rode on a lowly donkey colt. The people welcomed him with palm leaves, the symbol of life and kingship.

In Holy Week, we remember the passion. This refers to the suffering of Jesus. He goes willingly to the Cross, dies, is buried, and then is raised from the dead.

Psalm Reading

We begin by listening to Psalm 41, verses 5 through to 13.

⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.
⁸ They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹ Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!
¹¹ By this I know that you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹² But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
    and set me in your presence forever.
¹³ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Our Scripture reading today comes from the New Testament, Luke 22:1-23. Let us listen together to verses 7, and then 14 to 20.

⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

¹⁴ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. ¹⁸ For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Reflection

Jesus died for us.  What does this mean?

The motif of atonement can be traced from the Passover. And the Passover can only be understood in the context of God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from 400 years of enslavement by the Egyptians.  A lamb for every household. A male lamb, a year old, without blemish, to be offered at twilight. Its blood is to stain the doorposts and lintel of the house.  Its body, the whole lamb, is to be roasted and eaten that very night. It must be consumed in haste with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. For in that very night, God himself passed through the land of Egypt and struck dead all the firstborn, both man and beast. However, for the households marked by lamb’s blood, death and judgment passed over them. Their firstborn were spared.  And then, after discovering the deaths across Egypt, Pharaoh relented and let the Hebrews go free.

This, is the Passover.  This, is what Jesus and his disciples were observing in the Scripture passage we just listened to. 

And out of the remembrance of the old, comes the new.  Not to replace the old, but to fulfill the deeper meaning of the Passover. The lamb animal foreshadowed the Lamb of God. His Blood marks out those who shall be passed over by death and judgment. His Body feeds those who are to be delivered from slavery into freedom.  There is no other way of doing it.  The lamb, and the Lamb, must be sacrificed. Its blood, and His Blood, must be spilled. Its body, and His Body, must be given.

Jesus knew this.  He announced it.  He enacted it at the last Passover meal he shared with his disciples, using bread made of ground wheat and wine made of crushed grapes.  

“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

And then Jesus actually suffered it, on that very first Good Friday.

(pause)

Holy Communion is the re-member-ing of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. It is for the atonement of our sin, both yours and mine. In this Holy Week, let us be thankful again. We should reflect on what God has done for us through the Lamb of God.

And will you share this message of hope to those who need it.

Meanwhile, we wait for the day when we will sup with the Lamb in the heavenly Banquet in His Kingdom.

(pause)

Collect/Prayer

Let us respond with faith. We should recognise Jesus as the Lamb of God. He is the one perfect sacrifice that atones for all of our sins. This allows us to live free and not die. The Church has a very simple prayer in her liturgy. It is called the Agnus Dei, which is Latin for “Lamb of God”. Let this sung version of the Agnus Dei accompany you in your meditation of this prayer common to so many believers (i.e. saints) across the world and over the last two millennia.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy on us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy on us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Grant us peace.

Link to full Morning Office