ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
April 14, 2022
Today is Maundy Thursday, the day we remember and reflect upon the last meal Jesus had with his disciples before his death. According to Mark’s Gospel, as they were eating, Jesus spoke of one who would betray him. He then goes on to offer a ‘woe’ to the one who does the betraying. The word ‘woe’ is a sort of warning that emerges from sadness or grief. But Jesus followed the woe with the words, “It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” The ‘woe’ is associated with the prophets who used it as a sort of heartbroken declaration of unfaithfulness to God. These statements can sound very dire, yet if you read the prophets in their entirety, then you know the prophets never left people in despair. Their intend was never to discourage beyond hope, while at the same time to shock the system of the offender. The ‘woe’ at the Last Supper in Mark’s Gospel can sound very ominous, as it should, but it cannot be read apart from the rest of the Gospel, including what happened less than four days later.
If I need to be confronted with something, O God, I pray for a receptive heart that believes the ‘woe’ is never the last word. Amen.
