{"id":5241,"date":"2019-03-01T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5241"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:40:36","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:40:36","slug":"219-the-upper-room-so-much-happened-in-so-little-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5241","title":{"rendered":"219. The Upper Room: So Much Happened in So Little Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><sup>12\u00a0<\/sup>On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, \u201cWhere do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?\u201d\u00a0<sup>13\u00a0<\/sup>So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, \u201cGo into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,\u00a0<sup>14\u00a0<\/sup>and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, \u2018The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?\u2019\u00a0<sup>15\u00a0<\/sup>He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.\u201d\u00a0<sup>16\u00a0<\/sup>So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal<\/span><\/strong>. [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Mark 14:12-16<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Upper-room-mt-zion.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5242\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Upper-room-mt-zion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"509\" height=\"339\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PC020312-Pelican-killing-herself-to-feed-chicks.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-5556\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PC020312-Pelican-killing-herself-to-feed-chicks-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"339\" height=\"339\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Upper Room at Mount Zion; Pelicans feed on their mother\u2019s blood on a column (Photo credit: Dr. LL Chan).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Undoubtedly the most important room in Christendom, the Upper Room (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12), also known as the Cenacle, is located in the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Zion, directly above the Tomb of David and just a stone\u2019s throw from the Dormition Abbey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This Cenacle room is where two major events that stood at the very origin of the Church happened: The\u00a0<strong>Last Supper<\/strong> and the descent of the<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Holy Spirit<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seetheholyland.net\/glossary\/#apostle\">apostles<\/a>. They have sustained and driven the life and mission of the Church ever since. The Last Supper was the meal Jesus shared with his apostles the night before he died. During this meal he instituted the\u00a0Eucharist which the Roman Catholic Church has doctrinally and spiritually recognized as the \u201csource and summit of the Christian life\u201d (<em>Lumen Gentium <\/em>11). The descent of the Holy Spirit at\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seetheholyland.net\/glossary\/#pentecost\">Pentecost<\/a> is recognised as marking the\u00a0birth\u00a0of the Christian Church.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The site we visited was actually built by the Crusaders between 12<sup>th<\/sup>-14th centuries, which accounts for the existing Gothic-era columns. Visitors can easily visualize that the original place of the Last Supper would have been a simple\u00a0dining hall, altogether quite different from artistic representations of a plush room with ornate decorations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A slender marble column supporting a stone canopy from among the architectural details of the Crusader period remains a stunning and attractive feature for us. It features a stone carving in the capital at the top of the column two young <strong>pelicans<\/strong> feeding on the blood their mother has drawn from her chest. This is a powerful symbol of Christ giving his blood for the salvation of humankind and is very apt for the very room where Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. This reminds us that in some churches in Europe, a statue or picture of a pelican sits in place of a sacrificial lamb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Turks who captured Jerusalem in the 16th century converted the room into a\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seetheholyland.net\/glossary\/#mosque\">mosque<\/a>\u00a0in memory of the prophet David. Its mihrab (a niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and stained-glass windows with Arabic inscriptions remain. As with many things relative to Christian holy sites in Israel, the modern situation is complicated: Above this room is a Muslim minaret, and below it is the Tomb of David.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Reflection<\/u><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Within the very walls of this rather plain, empty space with columns, crucial events happened two millennia ago, conspicuous amongst which are the Last Supper and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We need quiet and peace to reflect in that space, but the heavy tourist traffic, coupled with a charismatic prayer group from Africa conducting a pretty loud prayer-healing service during our visit to this biblical site this time round, all but emptied any desire we had to pray.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the time to reflect, as was the case ten years ago on our first visit, one could easily make the connection that at this Cenacle, the Lord Jesus had given great gifts to individuals and to the Church that he left behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jesus washed his disciples\u2019 feet<\/strong> (John 13:1-20) to demonstrate who he was (\u201cLord and Teacher\u201d) and what he intended his disciples to do (\u201cdo as I have done to you\u201d and be \u201cblessed if you do them\u201d). Jesus\u2019 words and actions symbolized for his disciples the ministry of humble and loving service by which he desired to see his disciples do. So in John\u2019s presentation of Jesus\u2019 Last Supper discourses (John 14\u201416) at the Cenacle, the concept of a loving friendship with Jesus was introduced that gave the disciples a glimpse into the beautiful prayer of Jesus, sometimes known as the \u201chigh priestly prayer\u201d in John 17.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This is where the Crucified and Risen Lord appeared twice after resurrection, first in the absence of Thomas and later in his presence, allowing Thomas\u2019 faith to emerge upon the Lord making visible his wounds for Thomas and the disciples to see and touch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here, too, the Risen Lord breathed on them the Holy Spirit \u201con the evening of that first day of the week\u201d (John 20:19).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When the apostles were in Jerusalem, they stayed at this place (Acts 1:13); it is also the place where they gathered in fear after the death of Jesus and prayed, with Mary, for the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 20:19\u201323). It is where tongues of fire appeared to them on Pentecost and \u201cthey were all filled with the Holy Spirit\u201d (Acts 2:4). That event of the descent of the Holy Spirit marks the birthday of the Church in the presence of our Blessed Mother (Acts 1:14).<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church \u2013 the community of all the faithful, that is \u2013 is so important not only for the diversity of <em>charisms<\/em> amongst the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, a legitimate God-ordained diversity which is often enough forgotten, neglected, or even blasphemously ignored. Even more importantly we must clearly see, is that we believe in the Church, as we profess every Sunday in corporate worship, because of <strong><em>the presence of the Holy Spirit<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>in the Church<\/em><\/strong>. But for the presence and the sustenance of the Holy Spirit in the Church who energises the faith of the rest of the 99.9% of the Body of Christ blasphemously identified as \u201cthe lay\u201d, the regularly terrible homilies the laity are subjected to, the colossal scandals in clerical paedophilia and financial mismanagement, and the widespread ministerial incompetence and indifference, would have long brought her down.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then, one can note with excitement that it is from the Upper Room that the apostles first went forth with boldness sharing the Good News. Which in part explains why, in teaching Christology, we have chosen as our favourite point of departure St Peter\u2019s spirited Pentecostal speech to \u201cdevout men from every nation under heaven\u201d (Acts 2:8) gathered in Jerusalem:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c<strong>This Jesus whom you crucified, God has raised him up and made him both Lord and Christ<\/strong>\u201d (Acts 2:36).\u00a0At the Resurrection, the man Jesus of Nazareth was made Lord and Christ.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So important is this room to Christians that it is quite unthinkable that it is not within our control. And yet, the reality is that, with the Jews and the Muslims also claiming the Cenacle\u2019s great significance for their religions, it is, as are many things and places in the Holy Land, caught at the center of political controversy. Under Israeli control since 1948, normally only \u201cvisits\u201d are allowed to this place. On some occasions, Mass could be celebrated in the Upper Room, but it is not common and is done only with permission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">During his Holy Land Pilgrimage, Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist at the Upper Room on 26 May 2014. In his homily, the Pope highlighted three major events that took place in that sacred space:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cHere, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles; where, after his resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy Spirit descended with power upon Mary and the disciples, here the Church was born, and she was born\u00a0<em>to go forth<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And he stressed the fruitfulness of Jesus&#8217; love that flowed from that Room:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cHow much love and goodness has flowed from the Upper Room! How much charity has gone forth from here, like a river from its source, beginning as a stream and then expanding and becoming a great torrent. All the saints drew from this source; and hence the great river of the Church\u2019s holiness continues to flow: from the heart of Christ, from the Eucharist and from the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So much of the life of the Church today flows from the power unleashed in the Upper Room. Indeed, the events that took place there continue to ferment and stir at the heart of our faith today, bearing significant and grace-filled personal effects on every baptized Christian. Whenever we do take the time to speak and listen to Christ, we can experience his life-giving, sacramental, and transformative presence in the Upper Room. The graces that originated in the events within that sacred space continue to transform us through the life of the Church today, creating for us a spiritual home where souls may be welcomed and nurtured. In particular, we spotlight three points, amongst myriad other points, for reflection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>First, the Upper Room exposes our weak humanity and the Lord\u2019s patient love. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Cenacle is so much more than a simple room in Jerusalem. To this very place the apostles had retreated from the world to be with Jesus at an excruciating and critical time of his life. It is here they must have listened with captivated attention, for they would later pass on for generations and generations to our time the mysteries revealed by the Lord. Above all, it was here that they were equipped to carry out the kingdom-building mission for which they had been called. But first, we need to pause and face their, and thus our own, human weaknesses. Having spent so much time with the Lord in that holy place, the apostles\u2019 various personalities were exposed for our instructions, particularly at the Last Supper. For it was here that Jesus predicted Judas\u2019s betrayal and Peter\u2019s denial (John 13:21\u201330, 36\u201338) and exposed Thomas\u2019s doubt (John 20:24\u2013 29). And it was to this place that they ran and hid themselves from the religious authorities after Jesus was arrested, tortured, and killed. Do we not resonate with their cowardice so embarrassingly displayed for our education in the Gospels? Does their very humanity displayed in the Upper Room not give us a glimpse into our own hearts and nature? And yet, through all that colossal failure, the grace of God prevailed. While our faithfulness, constantly under challenge, often comes up short, the unrelenting love of Jesus Christ for his followers remains ever steadfast. He forgives and forgives. He came back after the resurrection to bring peace and courage to the very same disciples who betrayed him. He left again, but only to send forth the Holy Spirit who will not let us fail completely.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Second, the Upper Room teaches us apostolic zeal.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Spirit that descended at Pentecost in that Upper Room came to ignite the whole world. From this room, filled with the Holy Spirit, the early disciples would leave to change the world with the Gospel of love. The Holy Spirit has certainly sustained the missionary zeal of the Church to the present day. As Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the Gospel to the Gentiles: \u201cFor so the Lord has commanded us, \u2018I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth\u2019\u201d (Acts 13:47). We cannot just receive the Holy Spirit at baptism, renewed at confirmation, and refuse to be salt of the earth and light for the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Third, the Upper Room reminds us of our call to humble service.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At the washing of feet on Holy Thursday, we catch a glimpse of the \u201cservant leadership\u201d Christ taught his disciples to practise. \u201cIf I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another\u2019s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master\u201d (John 13:14-16). For he has earlier taught them not to behave as the rulers do to the Gentiles, by lording it over them. \u201cRather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave\u201d (Matthew 20:25\u201327).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With Ash Wednesday coming up on the 6<sup>th<\/sup> of March this year, we have scheduled the next few posts to tie in with the season of Lent and Easter. While we all hope to journey closely with the Lord this season, we also look for and thank you for your spiritual company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, March 2019. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are most welcome to respond to this post. Email your comments to <strong><u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/u><\/strong> You can also be dialogue partners in this <em>Ephphatha Coffee-Corner Ministry<\/em> by sending us questions for discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>12\u00a0On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, \u201cWhere do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?\u201d\u00a013\u00a0So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, \u201cGo into the city, and a man carrying a jar of <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5241\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"12\u00a0On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, \u201cWhere do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?\u201d\u00a013\u00a0So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, \u201cGo into the city, and a man carrying a jar of&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5241"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6718,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions\/6718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}