His life conquers all death!

The events of Holy Thursday night occurred once in time. They were real. They were real joy and real sorrow. They were a real sharing between friends and a real betraying of friends.

Sometimes we forget,however, that the events of that one day are eternal. The actions and words of that day echo throughout all of time. What Jesus did that day comes down through all of time and takes in everyone and everything. When it says that Jesus loved His own in the world (John 13:1-15), it does not mean only those people who were alive then, only those people who were close by Jesus. Certainly it does mean them, but all the people in the world who belonged to Jesus at that time, in the time before Jesus was born and in the time after Jesus walked the earth. That is what an action in eternity means. What happens then fills up all of time.

Jesus loved each of us then. He loved us into the love of the Father. He loved us into salvation. The love Jesus shows is limited neither by time or space - it cannot be, because that love is Eternal even though it appeared on Earth in a moment of time. Time and eternity came together on that night - time and eternity were sandwiched together in the events of Holy Week. His love knows no boundaries.

As these last few days of Holy Week unfold for us once again, we are drawn into the silence of the Upper Room, where Jesus speaks carefully chosen words to His chosen friends.  In view of the events to follow on Good Friday, He teaches them (us) to look after one another by washing their feet.  Then He offers them a gift—a gift that is at the same time both ancient and completely new.  He celebrates this meal with them, recalling the ancient covenant which gave the Jewish people their identity as the “chosen.”  But now He infuses this ritual with new life and mysterious meaning:  Over the chalice He says, “This is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22: 14-20)

To His hearers, the words “blood” and “covenant” would have had a familiar ring.  The Jewish mind was trained to know that “where there is blood, there is life.”  But here Jesus shapes the meaning of this ancient connection so that this blood communicates His life, divine life; no longer the blood of goats and calves (Heb. 9, 12), but His own blood, the fruit of His sacrificial love, given as the New Covenant.

We want to allow ourselves to be drawn by the awe of hearing those words from the altar, day after day.  Jesus’ blood, His sacrificial love, offered again and again.  We are invited to place in the cup all that threatens to divide us from this Holy Communion:  our fears, our desire to live life on our own terms, our unforgiveness, our doubts.  His death means death to all that separates us from Him; His life conquers all death.  Drink, be cleansed, and be renewed!  In this blood, there is new life!

This is purported to be the actual chalice Our Lord used on Holy Thursday in the upper room. (just the top "cup" part).  Read more about it here