The Collect
ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle
1 Corinthians xi. 23.
I HAVE received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
St. Augustine writes … “on this night Jesus carried himself in his own hands.” On this night Jesus offers Himself, His Body and Blood, foreshadowing His offering, His giving His Body and Blood on Good Friday. Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it and gave it to his disciples, “Take, eat: this my body, which is broken for you”; likewise, “he took the cup … saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood.” On this night, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus took his body and blood in his own hands, and he offered them to those who would betray him.
Jesus’ offered Himself to those who were His own in a profound communion of love, a love that would forgive their many betrayals, remit their many sins. Among them was Judas, the archbetrayer, an enemy to Jesus whose betrayal was unforgivable; but Jesus’ friends also betrayed Him. Peter denied Him and the rest of the disciples would forsake Him. Jesus knew this, and yet Jesus loved His disciples, His own, and He loved them to the end: This is my Body given for you, my Blood shed for you.
What comfort we discover here. Despite our many betrayals, our many sins against Him, every Sunday Jesus offers Himself to us in a communion of life, love and forgiveness. In this communion of Jesus’ Body and Blood God assures us of His favor and goodness toward us, that we are very members incorporate of Jesus’ mystical body, and are also heirs through hope — Christ in us the hope of glory! —of His everlasting kingdom (BCP p.83). St. John Chrysostom in a homily delivered on Holy Thursday proclaimed: “Christ is present. The One who prepared that [Holy Thursday] table is the very One who now prepares this [altar] table. For it is not a man who makes the sacrificial gifts become the Body and Blood of Christ, but He that was crucified for us, Christ Himself. The priest stands there carrying out the action, but the power and the grace is of God. 'This is My Body … ”
The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed…
In the 14th century medieval cathedral of Durham in northern England, a ceremony known as the Judas Cup was instituted as part of the Maundy Thursday liturgy. Following Holy Communion, a large cup or bowl called a mazer was placed before the monks. “it was called the Judas cup because the face of Judas was worked into its bowl so that when the monks drank from it they could see, as it were, the face of Judas looking at them and, in a sense, mirroring their own face.”
On Maundy Thursday the monks were to recall the trials, failures, and ambiguities of discipleship even among the most committed of them. They were reminded that of those privileged to be present at the Last Supper, one disciple was already plotting Jesus’ betrayal, while another would soon deny any knowledge of him.
After reading Psalm 22. 1-11 the Dean of the Cathedral led the clergy to a table set in the Quire.
The Dean reading, said: As they sat at supper, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me - one who is eating with me’. At this they were distressed, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely you do not mean me?’ ‘It is one of the Twelve’, he said, ‘who is dipping into the bowl with me.’
The Celebrant then placed the mazer on the table and poured wine into it from an earthenware jug.
Celebrant: Alas for the man by whom the Son of man is betrayed.
Dean: Lord, is it I?
Clergy and Congregation: Lord, is it I?
The Dean then drinks from the mazer and passes it to the other clergy present. Each in turn drinks from it in silence.
Dean: Even if I were to die with you, I will never disown you.
Celebrant: And they all said the same.
Clergy and Congregation: Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.
Celebrant: It was night, the night in which he was betrayed.
JSH+