Today's Devotion
Monday of Lent 5, March 23, 2026 - Mark 13:24-37
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
As our Lord gets close to the cross, as He is becoming the final Passover Lamb, He is preparing to give Himself to the world. He is the bread of life, and the bread He gives the world is His flesh (John 6:51). This one last supper will be the first Lord’s Supper. His thanksgiving prayer (eucharistia) before this meal will give this New and Greater Passover its name: the Eucharist. And even as our Lord nears His arrest, He is still Lord of the Universe, still coordinating events in time and space to carry out His Father’s will. The Teacher establishes the first sacred place where the Holy Supper is to be celebrated: a furnished guest room. The disciples “found it just as He told them.”
It is here at this Thanksgiving, at the eating of this one last sacrificial lamb by the sacrificial Lamb Himself, that the betrayer will be announced and identified. And it will be one who shares bread with the one He is betraying. Once again, we hear the voice of Jesus in the Psalms: “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” (41:9).
St. Mark records the Words of Institution of the Lord’s Supper. “This is My body,” says our Lord. “This is My blood.” One shared cup is passed around, and all drink from it. This New Covenant fulfills the Old. The twelve are told to “do this in memory of Me” (Luke 22:19). There will be no more sacrificed lambs, as the remembrance shifts from the shadow to the fulfillment, from the token to the reality: the blood of Christ the Lamb of God that atones for the sin of the world (John 1:29).
And this meal is more than a mere ritual. For Jesus was not one to establish ceremonies for the sake of ceremonies. When Jesus gives His Word, His Word brings about reality. His Word is miraculous. “This is My body…. This is My blood.” “Do this.” The Lord’s Supper is a sacred part of the New Testament church’s worship. We see this as Jesus and the disciples sing a hymn and listen yet again to our Lord’s teaching. Jesus preaches to them about His death and resurrection. The church continues to do so to this day, even as our Lord’s Words continue to resonate with bread and wine, and will do so until His return.
“Do this,” says our Lord. And so we do. We gather. We eat. We drink. We sing. We listen to the Gospel and its teaching. We believe. We receive the gifts. We “do this,” and will “do this” until our Lord’s return.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thank you.