English

Z današnjim bogoslužjem vstopamo v velikonočno tridnevje in se vračamo k temu, kar ponavljamo vsako leto na popolnoma enak način. Nič čudnega, saj je v drugi Mojzesovi knjigi zapisano: Ta dan vam bodi v spomin in praznujte ga kot praznik Jahvejev; od roda do roda ga praznujte kot večno ustanovo! (2Mz 12,14). Vsako leto znova, od roda do rod, vse do nas danes. Sveti Avguštin je dejal: Nova zaveza je v stari zakrita, stara pa je v novi razkrita. Oglejmo si monumentalno besedilo iz druge Mojzesove knjige in se z njim nahranimo. Namreč, kako nas praznovanje zadnje večerje v Egiptu pripelje do ustanovitve evharistije.

V središču današnjih besedil je ena sama beseda: pasha. V besedilu se uporablja kot Gospodova pasha. To besedo smo slišali v 2Mz 12,11, kjer Gospod proti koncu besedila navede razlog za praznovanje zadnje večerje v Egiptu: to je Gospodov mimohod. Ta mimohod, ki se je zgodil med zadnjo večerjo, je na koncu postal vsebina praznovanja, ki se zato imenuje pasha. Zato je logično, da pojemo Psalm: Kelih zveličanja bom dvignil in bom klical Gospodovo ime (Ps 116,13), saj govori prav o tem praznovanju. Pavel ne omenja pashe, vendar številne njegove besede kažejo nanjo: a) kruh in vino, ki spominjata na opresnike in kri; b) vidik spomina; c) stalno ponavljanje praznovanja. Janezov evangelij pa poglavje uvaja z besedami: Pred velikonočnim praznikom (Jn 13,1). V ozadju je glagol preiti, ki v svojem izvoru ne vsebuje nič posebnega. Označuje prehod, na primer iz starega v novo leto. Zadnja večerja je bila umeščena prav v ta prehod v novo leto.

Kaj je torej najpomembnejše pri pashi?

I. Bog, ki hrani ljudstvo

Ta mesec vam bodi začetek mesecev, bodi vam prvi med meseci v letu! (2 Mz 12,2) Dejstvo, da je praznik v središču prvega meseca, ima seveda tudi/predvsem duhovno komponento: praznovanje naj bi bilo za ljudi izkušnja, da je vsak nov začetek mogoč le v Gospodu in da navsezadnje vse, ampak res vse, prihaja od njega.

Pri tem mislim na začetek Svetega pisma: V začetku je Bog ustvaril nebo in zemljo (1 Mz 1,1). Vse, kar obstaja, prihaja od Boga. Natanko tako je Janez zasnoval svoj evangelij: V začetku je bila Beseda … vse je nastalo po njej in brez nje ni nastalo nič, kar je nastalo (Jn 1,1.3). Ko govorimo o pashi, ne gre v prvi vrsti za praznovanje fizičnega stvarjenja vesolja, temveč za duhovno stvarjenje. Božje obljube Abrahamu, Izaku, Jakobu, Jožefu… se uresničujejo na vedno bolj konkretne načine. Bog oblikuje ljudstvo, s katerim želi živeti v posebno intimnem odnosu. Ljudstvo, ki od Boga dobi vse, kar potrebuje za življenje. Ljudstvo, ki se veseli svojega odnosa z Bogom in ga tudi praznujejo.

II. Bog deluje tukaj in zdaj ter resnično osvobaja človeka

V skladu z zapovedjo: Ta dan vam bodi v spomin in praznujte ga kot praznik Jahvejev; od roda do roda ga praznujte kot večno ustanovo! (2 Mz 12,14), postane zadnja večerja ob prelomu leta letna večerja. S tem prehodom se je uveljavilo tudi ime te praznične večerje: pasha. Pridobi dve pomembni razsežnosti: a) Spominjanje, ki ga je zapovedal Gospod, ne pomeni miselnega vračanja v preteklost, ampak slavljenje Gospoda, ker deluje tukaj in zdaj. b) Odrešitev iz Egipta je bila politična in geografska, vendar se praznovanje razširi na vsako osvoboditev, še posebej pa na osvoboditev iz suženjstva greha.

III. Bog, ki osvobaja od smrti

Kajti to noč pojdem skoz egiptovsko deželo in udarim vse prvorojence v egiptovski deželi od človeka do živine in izvršim sodbo nad vsemi egiptovskimi bogovi: jaz, GOSPOD (2 Mz 12,12). Besedilo je dramatično, vendar z namenom. Prava drama suženjstva in pravi cilj eksodusa sploh nista politična, nasprotno: gre za osvoboditev od bogov, ki prinašajo le smrt … če smo v njihovem območju moči. Božansko čaščenje stvari ali bitja na koncu prinese smrt. Pasha torej ni nič drugega kot Gospodova osvoboditev iz kraljestva smrti. Ker me vsak greh, ki ga storim, nekje ubije.

Ti trije se nanašajo na pasho. Ker pa vem, da je nova zaveza skrita v stari, lahko rečem: ustanovitev evharistije je skrita v pashalni večerji, pashalna večerja pa je razodeta v evharistiji.

Ko je bil Jezus z apostoli za mizo, so praznovali pasho. Pri Pavlu je to izraženo v stavku: Prav tako je po večerji vzel kelih (1 Kor 11,25). Pri velikonočni večerji so bili različni trenutki, ko se je iz keliha pilo vino. Zbrani okoli mize so peli po psalmu: Kelih odrešenja bom dvignil in klical Gospodovo ime (116,13). Le, da je Jezus predčasno končal zadnjo večerjo, ker ni dvignil zadnjega keliha. Ko so odpeli hvalnico, so odšli proti Oljski gori (Mt 26,30) Pričakovani potek pashe pa bi bil naslednji: Ko so odpeli hvalnico, so so dvignili še zadnji kelih. Kar je prav neverjetno, saj je imel praznik zelo natančen potek, ki ga nihče ni mogel tako zlahka spremeniti … oz. sploh ne. Praznik je zahteval natančne korake, ki jih ni bilo mogoče spremeniti. Toda Jezus je storil prav to: izpustil je zadnji korak pashe. Brez nje preprosto ni pashe.

Toda ne, če vemo, da je Jezus predvidel, da bo na križu spil svoj zadnji kelih: Oče, če hočeš, daj, da gre ta kelih mimo mene, toda ne moja volja, ampak tvoja naj se zgodi (Lk 22,42). Jezusova agonija seveda ni povezana s čašo kot tako, temveč z dejstvom, da je na kocki njegovo življenje. Ko je visel na križu, je izpil vino. To je bil manjkajoči, zadnji kelih pashalnega praznika. Tako je Jezus združil praznik in svojo smrt na križu v en sam praznik. Njegovo trpljenje se je torej začelo pri zadnji večerji, končalo pa se je z njegovo smrtjo. Malo pred tem, ko je rekel: Dopolnjeno je (Jn 19,30), je dopolnil pasho z njeno zadnjo vsebino: s samim seboj. Jezus je tako postal nova/naša Pasha.

V evharistiji me hrani z vsem, kar potrebujem.

Njegova Pasha je prisotna v evharistiji tukaj in zdaj, da bi me osvobodila samo zanj.

Uživanje evharistije pomeni tudi delež pri večnem življenju.

English

Some notes on Holy Thursday

With today’s liturgy, we enter the three days of Easter, and we return to what we repeat every year in exactly the same way. No wonder, because the Book of Exodus commands: This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations. (Ex 12:14) Tonight we turn our gaze to the institution of the Holy Eucharist. St. Augustine famously said: The New Testament is in the Old concealed, but the Old is in the New revealed. Let us look at the monumental text of the Book of Exodus and let it nourish us. Namely, how the celebration of the Last Supper in Egypt leads us to the institution of the Eucharist.

At the center of today’s text is a single word: Passover. It is used in the text as the Lord’s Passover. We heard this word in Ex 12:11, where toward the end of the text, the Lord gives the reason for the celebration of the last supper in Egypt: It is the Passover of the Lord. This Passover, which happened during the last supper, has finally become the content of the celebration, called the Passover.

It is, therefore, logical that we sang the words of the Psalm: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (Ps 116:13) because it speaks precisely of this celebration. Paul does not mention the Passover, but many of his words point to it: a) the bread and wine, which recall the unleavened bread and blood; b) the aspect of remembrance; c) the constant repetition of the celebration. Finally, John’s Gospel introduces the chapter with the words before the festival of the Passover (Jn 13:1).

In the background is the verb to pass over, which contains nothing special in its origin. It denotes a transition, for example, from the old to the new year. The last supper was placed precisely in this transition to the new year.

So what is the most important at the Passover?

I. God who nourishes his people

This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you (Ex 12:2). The feast is at the center of the first month and has, of course, also/above all, a spiritual component. The celebration is meant to be the experience for the people that every new beginning is possible only in the Lord. Ultimately, everything, but really everything, comes from Him.

I am thinking of the beginning of the Bible: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gn 1:1). Everything that exists comes from God. This is precisely how John conceived his Gospel: In the beginning, was the Word … All things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being. What has come into being (Jn 1:1.3). When Passover is spoken of, it is not primarily a celebration of the physical creation of the universe but of the spiritual creation. God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph … are being fulfilled in more concrete ways. God is forming a people with whom he wants to live a particularly intimate relationship. A people that receives everything it needs to live from God. A people that rejoice in their relationship with God and also celebrate it.

II. God working here and now, truly liberating

According to the commandment, This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations, you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance (Ex 12:14). The last supper becomes the annual supper at the turn of the year. And with this passing, the name of this festive supper is also established: the Passover. It acquires two essential dimensions: a) The commemoration commanded by the Lord does not mean to go mentally into the past; but rather to praise the Lord because he is active here and now. b) The liberation from Egypt was political and geographical, but the celebration has extended to every liberation, especially to the liberation from the slavery of sin.

III God liberating from death

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord (Ex 12:12). The tone of this text is dramatic but with a purpose. The real drama of slavery and the real goal of the Exodus is not political at all; on the contrary, it is about liberation from gods that bring nothing but death … in case we are in their sphere of power. The divine worship of a thing or a being ultimately brings death. The Passover, then, is nothing less than the liberation of the Lord from the realm of death. Because every sin I commit somehow kills me.

Those three apply to Passover. Knowing that the new covenant is concealed in the old, I can say that the institution of the Eucharist is hidden in the Passover meal, but the Passover meal is revealed in the Eucharist.

When Jesus was at the table with the apostles, they celebrated the Passover meal. In Paul, this is expressed in his phrase: Likewise, after the meal, he took the cup (1Cor 11:25). At the Passover meal, there were different moments when wine was drunk from the cup. Those gathered around the table sang according to the Psalm: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (116:13). Except that Jesus ended the last supper prematurely since He did not raise the last cup. When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Mt 26:30), and the expected course of the Passover would have been: When they had sung the hymn, he lifted up the last cup. This is pretty incredible because the feast had an exact course that no one could easily change … or at all. The feast required precise steps that could not be changed. But Jesus did just that: He left out the last stage of the Passover. Without it, there simply is no Passover. But not if we know that Jesus foresaw that he would drink his last cup on the cross: Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done (Lk 22:42). Jesus’ agony, of course, is not connected to the cup as such but to the fact that his life is at stake. Hanging on the cross, he drank the wine. This was the missing final cup of the Passover feast. So Jesus combined the feast and his death on the cross into one feast. His suffering, therefore, began at the last supper, and this indeed ended with his death. A moment before he had said: It is finished (Jn 19:30), he completed the Passover with its last content: with himself. Jesus has thus become the new/our Passover.

In the Eucharist, he nourishes me with everything I need.

His Passover is present in the Eucharist here and now to free me for Him alone.

Eating the Eucharist also means sharing in eternal life.