When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. (Luke 22:14) Here in this meal, Christ takes simple elements of the earth, and transforms them into the bearers of the kingdom of God. The bread and wine—taken, blessed, broken, poured out, and given—they bespeak his redemptive work: his mingling with this broken Creation, his submission to it unto death, his transformation of it by his sacrifice, and his reweaving and renewing of it through his resurrection. And we are invited here to encounter this mystery—not just to observe it or ponder it—but to participate in it.