The homeland of Jesus

-17- Through the Homeland of Jesus Fr John Kappil The Cenacle Venue of Jesus' Last Supper

We are meditatively passing through the holy places in Jerusalem, the city which bore witness to the chief salvific events towards the close of Jesus' life. We have now reached the most sublime moments of our pilgrimage.

When the "hour" appointed by the Father for the fulfillment of Jesus' mission through the sacrifice of the Cross had come, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to carry out his mandate. On Palm Sunday he entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession. The citizens of Jerusalem and the pilgrims, who had come to celebrate the feast of the Pasch, together gave Jesus a royal welcome. In the last issue we accompanied Jesus in this jubilant procession and entry into the city of Jerusalem.

On the evening of Palm Sunday, Jesus went to Bethany and stayed there. Then on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he went daily to the Temple, gave his teaching to the people who gathered around him. St Luke says, "Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple"(Lk 21:37-38).

As the days drew nearer for the feast of the Passover, the number of the pilgrims increased. The crowds thronged around Jesus in the Temple. The important precepts and counsels Jesus taught during these days are recorded by St Mathew in his Gospel in chapters 21-25. The other evangelists also record these teachings.

While all the people enthusiastically crowded around Jesus to listen to his words and instructions, his opponents began to question him, trying to ensnare him by his own words, find fault with him, seize him and devise plans to destroy him ."Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard"(Lk 19:47-48).

The enemies of Jesus gathered in the palace of the chief priest Caiaphas, explored the means whereby they could trap him and put him to death (cf Mt 26:3-5). Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the chief priests and asked them "'What will you give me if I betray him to you?' They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him'"(Mat 26:14-16).

It is against this background that we enter Holy Thursday. The holy place we are going to visit in this issue is the Cenacle or the Upper Room where the events of Holy Thursday took place.

The Cenacle is one of the most holy places that is charged with many emotional overtones. Let us enter this room along with Jesus. Let us prayerfully enter into the feelings of his heart at this moment.

This is how the narrative of Holy Thursday begins in the Gospel. "On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, 'Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?' So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.' So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal."(Mk 14:12-16).

The feast of the Passover is, for every Jew, the most important of all their feasts. For days preceding the feast there are preparations both material and spiritual, for individuals and for their families. On the day of the feast there is an atmosphere of celebration everywhere. In the afternoon all the heads of families arrive at the temple with the paschal lamb kept ready for each family. At about 2.30 pm the priests begin to sacrifice the paschal lambs in the temple. They accept the lambs brought by the head of the family, chop off their heads, collect their blood in particular vessels and pour it out on the altar and all around it. In the blood is life; and life belongs to God. That is why the blood of the lamb is poured out on the altar that symbolises God. After all the blood has been squeezed out, the lifeless lamb, is returned to those who brought them. The heads of families, return home with the lambs killed and sacrificed in the temple, roast it on the fire and prepare it for the paschal supper. Among the numerous delicacies of the paschal meal, the place of honour is accorded to the paschal lamb. When all is ready the family members gather round the dining table all dressed up in their finery. The meal is then begun according to prescribed customs and traditions.

The Cenacle is the holy place which, as per instruction from Jesus, the paschal meal was prepared by the apostles. This was the second storey of a house situated within the high city walls to the west of Jerusalem as it existed then. This elevated western side of the city was known as Sion. Since it was the upper room of a house in this place, it takes its name after the name of the place.

The residents of Jerusalem with great joy did all they could to provide conveniences for their fellow-Jews come from distant places on pilgrimage to take part in the Passover celebration. They did their best to accommodate in their houses as many people as possible during this festival.

On Holy Thursday, Jesus came to Jerusalem from Bethany. See the route Jesus took from Bethany to the upper room marked as (2) in the map. Jesus set out from Bethany, crossed the Kedron valley lying to the east of the city of Jerusalem, entered the gate on the south of the city, reached the Cenacle perched on an elevated spot in the city where the apostles had prepared the paschal meal. He sat down at table with his beloved apostles. This house and its top storey were near by the palace of the chief priest Caiaphas.

It is only with a heart overflowing with tender emotions that any Christian can visit the Upper Room. Today visitors are taken to see a hall in the upper storey of a moderately large two-storeyed house. It is about 50 feet in length and 30 feet in breadth. Today this dining hall has arches built in Gothic style and pillars to support them.

This upper room is called the Cenacle derived from the Latin "Coenaculum". It means "dining hall". Since quite a number of significant events of salvation history took place here, it is for every pilgrim one of the most important holy places in Jerusalem. Here Jesus had his last supper with his beloved apostles. Here he instituted the Holy Eucharist. Making himself the servant of servants, Jesus washed and wiped the feet of his apostles. This is the holy place where he raised all his apostles to the priesthood. It was here that he bade farewell to them and gave them his last discourse. Besides the events of Holy Thursday, it was here that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of fiery tongues after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. After the resurrection Jesus appeared to the apostles in this very room. In this hallowed spot where the Church was founded , the first community of Christians was formed. The Cenacle is thus the place which was a witness to the cluster of highly significant events that took place during Jesus' life and after his death. The Cenacle also has the unparalleled distinction of being the first Christian Church.

We shall close this issue with a brief sketch of the history of the Cenacle from those times till date. The Christian tradition of this holy place is very ancient. Epiphanius, one of the early fathers of the Church, who died in 403 AD, writes that emperor Titus, who destroyed the city and temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD, was succeeded by emperor Adrian. On a visit to Palestine, emperor Adrian came across a small church that survived the destruction of the city in the place where the apostles received the Holy Spirit. St Epiphanius has given some indications that this church is the Cenacle where Jesus ate the last supper with his disciples and instituted the Holy Eucharist. Several other contemporary Christian authors and "Ejaria", who visited Palestine as a pilgrim, have made a reference to the same effect. In the 4th century AD this church was renovated by John II, the Bishop of Jerusalem and was named "Holy Sion". In 614 AD it was completely destroyed by the Persian invaders. Some years later, it was reconstructed by a monk named Modestus. It was again razed to the ground by the Muslims. Later the Crusaders recovered this place and constructed a huge basilica in its stead. After the Crusades, the Christians took it under their care and continued offering the sacrifice of the Mass there .From 1333 onwards Franciscan monks took charge of it. In 1552 the Turks captured Jerusalem, banished the Christians and turned the church into a mosque. They built their "minar" and "miharab" and banned the entry of Christians. After 1948 Christians were allowed only to visit and pray therein. But the Celebration of Mass is not permitted even today. Under the dominion and ownership of Muslims, the Cenacle can be visited; while there we can read the Bible and spend time praying. It still remains as one of those sacred places in Palestine which are not under the authority of the Christians. When we enter the Cenacle today, we find ourselves weighed down heavily by painful emotions because on this hallowed spot, where took place some of the crucial events of Christ's life, we cannot offer the sacrifice of the Mass or conduct any prayer service.

Very close to the Cenacle is a Franciscan monastery and a chapel modelled on the structures of the old Cenacle. The only thing we can do today is to celebrate Mass in this chapel facing the Cenacle.

We read in St John's Gospel, chapters 13 to 17, the farewell discourse of Jesus given to the apostles during the paschal meal-a lengthy and touching discourse.

After the Last Supper, Jesus left the city along with his apostles, entered the Kedron valley and headed towards the garden of Gethsemane lying at the foot of the mount of Olives, in order to pray. This journey is marked (3) in the map.

In the next issue we shall spend some time with Jesus in Gethsemane.