(Lk 22:14-23:56)
Jesus introduces into the world a total novelty, the principle of life: unconditional love.
The facts narrated in the Passion narratives are basically the same, but each author emphasises catechetical themes considered urgent for his community.
Although placed in a tension of ecclesial anticipation (Kingdom), it is evident from the tone of the Lk narration that the Supper had some character of continuation of the meals Jesus consumed with his own.
Here He already conveys the totality of Himself: 'This is I'. The only Way that unites him to the Father is his Person and his historical events, which condense the mystery of the covenant.
Other paths such as those traced out by the Covenants of Israel can no longer contain his proposal of Love and full Life.
Mt Mk Lk situate the institution of the Eucharist within the Jewish Passover supper. A theological reworking to affirm (in the Faith) the meaning of the authentic Passover of Liberation in Christ.
Compared to the first three, the fourth Gospel is more adherent to the sense of the Broken Bread as the source of Life for all.
Jn "anticipates" the Lord's death at the moment when the priests slaughtered the lambs destined for the Passover supper, on the Temple esplanade.
Thus the sacrifice of the Cross - contemporary with this last event - is rightly placed by Jn in the hours preceding the "Easter" supper of the Synoptics.
Indeed, the Lord's Supper we celebrate did not originate from the popular celebration of the Exodus (of the First Testament) in April of the year 30 (Jesus was 37 years old).
In fact, the Eucharist never had anything to do with the typical ingredients of the Jewish Passover table, such as spices or sauces, sweet and bitter herbs, different chalices of wine and so on.
The original meaning of the ritual gesture of the Master with his own - which introduces the Passion narrative - is the joyful one of Zebah-Todah (Lev 7:11ff: the only votive cult that could be celebrated outside the Temple of Jerusalem, at home, with friends and family).
Hence the double (common) term by which we still designate the efficacious sign that Christ left us: Communion (Zebah) and Eucharist (Thanksgiving: Todah).
Todah was a sacrifice of great praise, one of several specific kinds of the Communion sacrifice. We find several traces of it in the Eucharistic Prayer before.
The ceremonial action of Thanksgiving was intended in a very strong sense, as it celebrated Life found again, after a serious illness or an escape from death.
Much of the Psalms - perhaps more than a third - at various points express the same final joy (averted mortal threat, and the experience of finding oneself saved together with loved ones, by divine Gift).
The meaning of this hymn in daily life was in fact initially also for the Catholic Church (for almost the whole of the first millennium, like the Orthodox Church) celebrated with leavened bread (Lev 7:13), to indicate its domestic and real value.
It traces the proper tones of such ancient worship of thanksgiving in the hearth - unfortunately, difficult to translate in the sense of the proper formulas, perceptible only to a specially trained ear (or in the original Hebrew text).
The joyful and familiar atmosphere with which the rite of Communion and Thanksgiving was celebrated seems here to be undermined by the drama of infidelity. It is a strong call to vigilance for all of us.
Jesus offers himself to his own in the form of an inheritance and treasure. "Do this in remembrance of me": among the evangelists, only Luke reports such words.
The meaning does not concern liturgical repetition. The sign of the broken Bread is summarising - and an invitation to make our own his proposal of existence, marked by fidelity to himself, to his vocation, to the sick.
The Lord's gesture introduces us into a sense of personal freedom and service; into a form of community with reversed criteria.
Withholding is supplanted by giving, ascending becomes freedom to descend, commanding is replaced by dialogue and mutual help; the eagerness to appear vanishes.
Do those who rule even claim to be called 'Benefactors'? "Among you not so" (vv.25-26).
Those who have received the gift of fullness show aptitude for overcoming cravings for precedence and recognition.
Precisely during the Supper Lk inserts the discussion about which disciple was the greatest, because Christ considers it a central issue.
The evangelist places it at the moment of Jesus' testament: it is an inviolable request.
Where - despite great appearances - the desire to win and squabble persists, there is nothing of the open mystery dreamt of by Jesus.
The Church characterised by a fabric of oppositions, powers, interests, dominance of circles and constant fighting manifests nothing divine."Lord, with you I am ready to go even to prison, and to death" - obviously in pretense (as Peter's own denial shows) and in any case to win.
At the decisive moment, the 'leader' is not there, and if he is, he does a thousand pirouettes.
It is also true that the life of the Church and the meaning of the Passion are held on a mysterious plane, but people seek witnesses, not leaders.
Of course, community leaders who abandon are not themselves rejected and marginalised by the Lord, as long as sooner or later they get it into their heads to "feed His lambs" (Jn 21:16), that is, to feed them properly, with healthy food.
But the renegade can become the prototype of all leaders who know their limits.
One must understand weakness. Jesus does not emphasise the error of the disciple who betrays. The imputation deviates from every path. Those who do not feel welcome end up turning in on themselves.
So it is appropriate not to attack, and not only to remedy the troubles. Caring (v.51) helps one to grow and free from bondage.
Peter's gaze catches the inner (v.61: en-blepein) of the renegade disciple: behind the cowardly words and cowardly gestures Jesus sees the good - despite the fact that at times we may turn away.
The Gospel of Lk depends heavily on Mk, yet in the Passion narrative we notice more points of contact with the fourth Gospel.
Like Jn, in fact, Lk presents the Passion of love of Christ as a confrontation - already announced at the end of the temptations in the desert (4:13).
Agony is a term that appears only in the third Gospel, indicating the competition, the inner combat of the one who must be faithful to his own Calling.
The sweat of blood (v.44) expresses the trembling of one who concentrates on the inner struggle.
When things are taken seriously, the nights of true terror - which can also be our own - appear.
"As he entered into agony, he prayed more intensely" (v.44). Christ does not prepare himself by reciting formulas. He listens to the Father in order to grasp and make his plans his own.
If - overwhelmed - Jesus had fled, the authorities would have let him go.
The figure of the Angel (God who communicates himself to us) is the inner revelation that makes us understand the value of the choice to remain.
"At the right hand of the power of God" (v.69): the surprising aspect of the Christian paradox is precisely discovering in one's own experience the power of life that is re-actualised.
But the divine life of indestructible quality has a contrary species... totally unpredictable in its dynamics of principle... both in comparison to sententious condemnations and religious court judgments.
Unsurpassed is the narration of the encounter with Herod (23:6-11).
The tetrarch of Galilee was in Jerusalem on the occasion of the Passover, and since Pilate wanted to get rid of the problem he sent Jesus to his king.
The son of Herod the Great had long wanted to meet Jesus. His first reaction - Lk notes - was one of great joy, because he expected to meet a magician, a soothsayer, an expert in the occult arts. Perhaps in front of him the Nazarene would finally be convinced to perform some extraordinary gesture (one of those healings he had heard about).
The evangelist notes that Jesus did not dignify him with an answer.
On the contrary, the ruler "annihilated him" (23:11), that is, he considered him to be nothing....
He could have had no greater disappointment than to see no miracle performed.
The Message is clear: better not to look for Jesus as a miracle-worker: we will not receive an answer.
Here and there we may find what one normally looks for in religion, but the Lord does not lend Himself.
Christianity is the place of listening to the Word of life: a proposal to build according to God; not the marketplace of miracles carried out by opportunists.
That is why the Son is crucified among criminals. For the political and religious power, he was a far worse danger.
According to Luke only one reviled him; the other called Jesus by name and put his trust in him (v.42).
At the beginning of the Gospel the coming of the Lord is placed among the least of the earth.
From the very beginning he manifests himself to the world among unclean people and despised people [even those who were sure that they were to be done away with by the judge Messiah, and were therefore afraid of him] not among the righteous and holy of the Temple.
Then his whole life is spent among publicans and sinners, because he came for them.
For who does he bring back to the Father's house? Just anyone, who represents all of us - an evildoer who had committed murder - because all sins consist in taking away someone's life and joy of life.
So that murderer represents us. And Christ begins to build Family precisely with a criminal beside him, who is us: sinners recovered by his unconditional love.
The 'daughters of Jerusalem' weep because the people remain alone, caught between the violent dreams of Barabbas and the political realism of Rome. By accepting Christ's proposal, the holy city could break the chains of action and reaction, of offence-and-retaliation, of the spirit of vengeance that hangs over the world.
But on Golgotha the ultimate power of Grace - the foundation of life - is revealed over the old lines of the dead world:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (23:34): the last words of Jesus, also reported only by Lk.
The disciple of Christ does not know the language of imprecation, of cursing, of those who invoke punishment.
Even in the most dramatic moments of injustice and harassment we are called to pronounce only love: yielding, the source of new energy and inexplicable recovery.
Platform of the Church's new existence.
