Gospel Readings:
Matthew 26:1-16
Matthew 26:17-35
Matthew 26:36-46
Devotion 1
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.
Read: Matthew 26:1-16
Today’s reading presents two scenes played out in the settings of the palace of the high priest Caiaphas and the lowly home of Simon the leper. In the first setting, Jerusalem’s elite figures, the elders and chief priests, plot to kill Jesus. They have wrestled with Jesus over who carries authority from God, and have been unable to best him. Their anxiety is testimony to the fact that they realise that, in the eyes of the people, it is Jesus who has authority from God, while their authority is being exposed as fake—upheld only by the power of coercion. Moreover, they have seen that if Jesus’ vision of what is good—that is, communities living according to God’s inclusive, generous and just reign—wins the day, then they have a lot to lose.
When Judas comes to them with an offer to turn Jesus in, the wheels are set in motion. That he is “one of the twelve”, and sells his devotion to Jesus off for thirty pieces of silver—a sum considered a “pittance”1 — highlights the sordid nature of what is going on.
In contrast to this scene of treachery and betrayal, Jesus is found in the home of Simon the leper. We’re not told who Simon is, but the mention of leprosy, whether a past or still current condition, labels him as marginal. Even more marginal, however, is an unnamed woman who approaches Jesus with perfume worth “a large sum”. Such perfume was used for various purposes: to cover odour, sacred, sexual, to display opulence, and to anoint the dead.2 Matthew doesn’t initially tell us the purpose that the woman intends, but we can imagine that it raised the eyebrows of the disciples. They deride her act, perhaps with good intention, but completely miss the significance of the moment. The woman is entering deeply into the Jesus story. Whether or not she is aware of Jesus’ impending fate we don’t know, but this marginal woman has found an inexpressible value in the acceptance which Jesus has offered. Hers is the extravagant, awkward act of one who must express the value of what she has found. For Jesus, it is an act of care and dignity-giving. He receives it as one who is vulnerable—who knows he will soon be dead. He will be utterly disgraced in death—killed as a criminal by the powers. But this woman has given him dignity in the face of such disgrace. It is profound moment they share. And the disciples are oblivious.
Reflect
- Imagine you are in the palace of Caiaphas as the chief priests and elders meet. What do you see and hear? What do you feel?
- Imagine you are at the home of Simon the leper. How do you feel about what is happening? Who do you identify with in the room?
- In what ways is God’s Spirit inviting you to live out today’s reading?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
1 David E. Garland, Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2001), 254.
2 Warren Carter, Matthew and the Margins, A Sociopolitical Reading (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2000), 502.
Devotion 2
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, aware of God’s presence in a broken world.
Read: Matthew 26:17-35
With the plot to kill Jesus now underway, the scene shifts to the Passover celebration. The contrast is poignant. While Jesus and his disciples observe a meal in remembrance of Israel’s liberation from Egyptian slavery, Israel’s elite, who have aligned themselves with another world-dominating empire, seek to do away with him. The narration of the meal itself is framed by Jesus’ predictions of the disciples’ betrayal and abandonment.
During the meal, Israel’s liberation tradition looms large. Jesus’ words spoken as he takes the cup recall the covenant which Yahweh makes with the people at Sinai (Exodus 24). Having brought the people out of Egypt, Yahweh initiated a covenant relationship with the people based on communal relations of social and economic justice (Ex 20-13:19). In Babylonian exile, it was the break in this covenant relationship through the failure of Israel’s people—especially its leaders—to fulfil the just social conditions of the covenant which was seen by the prophets to be the cause of the exile. The prophets then spoke of a renewed covenant, whereby the hearts of stone whose failure to enact social justice had led to exile, would be transformed into hearts of flesh.3
For Israel in exile, forgiveness of sins meant that God was lifting the consequences of the break in covenant relations. Or, as N.T. Wright puts it, “Forgiveness of sins is another way of saying ‘return from exile’.4 Now, six hundred years after the Babylonian exile, Israel is still in exile—exiled in their own land by a foreign dominating power (It is worth remembering, though, that Matthew is telling his story to those who actually have been exiled from their land!).
At the beginning of Matthew’s narrative, the angel, speaking to Joseph, declared that Jesus “will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Now, Jesus proclaims this same word. God is acting to liberate captive Israel. Of course, military and military liberation from Rome wouldn’t come for centuries, and when it did, it would only lead to domination by another power. But for those communities who sought to live out Jesus radical inclusion and generosity on the underside, challenging injustice and daring to not be threatened by the Roman cross, liberation was truly at hand.
Reflect
- Imagine you are a part of Matthew’s community. What do you think would stand out to you in today’s reading?
- Take a moment to prayerfully reflect on the world around you. How do you think Jesus’ words speak into that world?
- In what ways do you sense God’s Spirit inviting you to live out today’s story?
Pray for one another.
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
3 Ezekiel 36; See also Jeremiah 31:31-37
4 N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2 (London: SPCK, 1996), Kindle loc. 5829. Emphasis in original.
Devotion 3
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.
Read: Matthew 26:36-46
Here in the garden of Gethsemane we see what the Lord’s Prayer is all about. As Jesus prays, “yet not what I want but what you want” and “your will be done”, we see that God’s will is that we might be faithful no matter the consequences. That we might live out God’s way of nonviolent resistance and in this way expose evil and see a new world birthed.
As Jesus exhorts his disciples to pray that they “may not come into the time of trial” we might see that even in the heat of confrontation with unjust powers, God provides strength and a way to be faithful.
Reflect
- Imagine that you are in the garden with Jesus and the disciples. What are some of the things you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell?
- How is God’s Spirit inviting you to respond to today’s reading?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
Devotion 4
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of gratitude together, giving thanks for the ways you’ve experienced God’s loving kindness.
This week’s Common Value: Generosity
Read: Philippians 4:10-20
Ask
- How might we practice the express God’s generosity this week?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer