I am deep into the readings for my theology class at the Angelicum. One of the ideas that has completely transformed me is presented by Fr. Roch Kereszty in his book, Wedding Feast of the Lamb. He refers to the Last Supper, when Christ establishes a new Covenant, replacing the Old Covenant of Mt. Sinai. In so doing, it would have been appropriate for Jesus to have sprinkled the apostles with the blood, as Moses sprinkled the Israelites with the blood of the bull of that sacrifice. But instead, Jesus tells the apostles to drink it. Fr., Roch writes:
"In this way, Jesus does not only make us beneficiaries of his atoning death; in a Jewish context sprinkling blood would have expressed this purpose more appropriately. Rather, he shares with us his blood, his life, indeed the very source of atonement; he wants to let his blood speak in us "more eloquently than the blood of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24) and thus atone for sins within us and through us. In other words, it seems that, by giving us what is most exclusively his own, Jesus calls us to join him in his atoning work" (p. 42).
That is such a huge idea, that Jesus not only atones for our sins, but invites us to share in his atoning work. We are to share in this mission with him. My head spins at this new way of seeing the Last Supper. I think it was worth moving to Italy just to read this passage.
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