Holy Week – Home Resources

HOLY WEDNESDAY – ‘The Last Supper’

BREATHE

Calm your head, heart, and hands as you slowly breathe in . . . and out.

Collect for the day

True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross which is the path of glory; for you live and reign in the unity of the Holy Trinity, one God, in glory everlasting.

Amen

Read: Mark 14: 12-31

Wonder

How did the disciples respond to the broken bread?

How did they hear the words: “Take, this is my body.”, “This is the blood of my covenant.”?

How is our brokenness held in this place? How are our vulnerabilities, our pains, our guilts and shames held in the pieces of that bread torn asunder?

How can brokenness lead to healing?

Pray

Lord Jesus Christ,

thank you for willingly being broken to make us whole,

for enduring death to bring us life.

Thank you for seeing our emptiness

and offering food for the soul,

for understanding our hunger deep within

and providing eternal nourishment,

sufficient for all our needs.

Teach us to recognize all you gave,

all you so readily sacrificed,

and to marvel afresh at the extent of your love.

In faith may we eat of your living bread,

and be truly satisfied.

Amen

(by Nick Fawcett)

Meditative Moment

The Last Supper

by Ranier Maria Rilke

They are assembled, astonished and disturbed
round him, who like a sage resolved his fate,
and now leaves those to whom he most belonged,
leaving and passing by them like a stranger.
The loneliness of old comes over him
which helped mature him for his deepest acts;
now will he once again walk through the olive grove,
and those who love him still will flee before his sight.

To this last supper he has summoned them,
and (like a shot that scatters birds from trees)
their hands draw back from reaching for the loaves
upon his word: they fly across to him;
they flutter, frightened, round the supper table
searching for an escape. But he is present
everywhere like an all-pervading twilight-hour.

Holy Wednesday

Something else to do:

Jesus’ last meal was a Passover meal. Each item on the Passover plate has special meaning which links it to the Exodus – the rescue of God’s people from Egypt long ago. God’s people had been forced to do hard work, building all sorts of buildings for the Egyptians. Haroseth is a sweet, brownish paste made with chopped apples which reminds them of the mortar, the mud-cement, that their family had to build with when they were slaves in Egypt. God’s people had to leave Egypt so quickly that God told them to make flat breads for the journey since they didn’t have time to wait for the bread dough to rise. Wine is a special celebration drink, used in the Passover meal to celebrate freedom. (For more of the story of Jesus’ Passover meal, check out Mark 14:22-25)

Since haroseth is made with chopped apples, you have the option of making apple blondies (pale brownies). You might want to eat these with grape juice or any red-coloured squash using some of the suggested prayers.

Apple Blondies

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

3-4 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

Set the oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well until a thick batter forms. You may need to add a bit more flour or a bit more syrup to get the right firm consistency.
Transfer to the loaf tin and sprinkle on the brown sugar.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing.
Blondies are meant to be fudgy in the middle, which looks a bit like the mud-cement, and you can cut them up to look like bricks.

I wonder if you can think of any ways that God has helped you? Can you think of any struggles or disappointments that you’ve managed to get over and rise above? Thank God for looking after you.

A LITURGY FOR AN AGAPE MEAL

“Agape” is the New Testament Greek work for “self-giving love”. In the Christian tradition an “Agape” is also the name for informal meals and times of togetherness and mutual sharing which remind us of all those meals Jesus shared with his friends and the unity that his Spirit continues to give us.

*Theme: Journeying through Holy Week***
Leader	On the table in the midst of this community with whom Christ is present we set symbols to remind us of his promises to us:
Reader 1	A candle, to remind us of Jesus who said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”.
*Reader 2*	Bread, symbol of Jesus who said, “I am the bread of life. The bread that I shall give is myself for the life of the world”.
Reader 3	A cross, to remind us that Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you that you love one another, even as I have loved you that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another”.
*All*	Lord, we welcome your presence with us. May the food and companionship we share nourish our bodies, hearts and minds. May our spirits be refreshed as we live in the light of your presence with us now, and at all times and places. Amen.

Opening
*Leader*	How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony! (Psalm 133) This is the place and this is the time: Here and now, God waits to break into our experience.
Reader 1	To change our minds.
*Reader 2*	To change our hearts.
Reader 3	To change our ways.
*Men/boys*	To make us see the world and the whole of life in a new light.
Women/girls	To fill us with hope, joy and certainty for the future.
*All*	Here and now – let us praise God.

Common Confession
*Leader*	Let us examine ourselves as we seek to live in Christian community as a sign and symbol of God’s peace for the world:
All	We confess our failings in Community: Our lack of understanding, Our lack of forgiveness, Our lack of openness, Our lack of sensitivity. We confess the times: When we are too eager to be better than others, When we are too rushed to care, When we are too tired to bother, When we are too lazy to really listen, When we are too quick to act from motives other than love.
*Leader*	One and all.
All	We forgive. We trust that we are forgiven. In the Spirit of Christ. Amen!