The Last Supper

A quick search on the internet about “family fights at the holidays” reveals any number of pages like 15 articles on how to avoid them, and so on. It seems not to be a stretch of the imagination to think that we have all experienced family trauma at holiday events. Holidays, after all, can be stressful, larger groups of people than normal crammed together for a few days is bound to reveal some conflict.

My family was not extraordinary in this regard. I will not do them the embarrassment of recounting any of the number of tales of such events. It is sufficient to say that we had our arguments and, well, let’s just say I come by my loud voice naturally.

We have a very nostalgic view of the ‘Last Supper’. We get that hazy, longing look in our eyes and try to imagine what it would have been like to be there, to share Jesus last meal with him. We often imagine the event as a peaceful, serene meal Jesus shares with his closest friends before he goes quietly and peacefully to his death.

However, the Bible describes the meal (Passover, depending upon which gospel you reference) as fraught with anxiety, frustration, argument, sadness, news of betrayal and denial, and words of woe. Indeed, the gospel writers use words like, “distressed”, “grieved”, and “disputed” to describe the meal. Luke tells about an argument between the disciples about who is the greatest. Judas leaves the table. Peter argues with Jesus (twice in John’s gospel).

Rather than being one last moment of peace, it seems more like a big family fight at Thanksgiving, an argument in the middle of a celebration. Is it any wonder why Jesus needed to draw away to pray by himself? This is, after all, the beginning of the story of human beings at their worst and most cruel.

So, while Jesus asks Peter, James and John to stay awake with him while he prays, it is really we that need to pray, “Stay with us, O Lord Jesus Christ, night soon will fall. Then stay with us, O Lord Jesus Christ, light in our darkness.”

As we continue through this Holy Week and conclude our season of disciplined reflection it is my prayer for all of us that God will strengthen us in these days, as we pass from light into darkness with Jesus that our hearts and our wills will remain faithful, and that we will be found with those who keep watch that we might greet the morning of the resurrection and know the joy of Easter.

Shalom Y'all!

Pondering Through Lent

The season of Lent is a time for considering life and death as it has been transformed by God’s covenant with us. Our destination, Easter Sunday, sets the context for our whole journey. Each of our stops along the way are tempered and shaped by that destination as are our ponderings. How are our lives shaped by that destination right now? How do we understand our own sinfulness and live in response to the new possibilities of life God has laid before us?

While, I do hope that our ponderings will shape how we live, I also believe it is necessary for us to put to words what we believe and how what we believe affects our actions. Living the Christian Life, remember, has 3 aspects: believing, trusting, and doing.

So, here are some of the things I am pondering as I journey through Lent this year:

First, I am a witness to the resurrection. Obviously I wasn’t there on the first Resurrection Sunday, nonetheless I am a witness. Aside from being a recipient of the story I have also been in a few places of death and found life. Because I am a Christian, I know that life is stronger than death and that death does not have the final say on my destiny, or the destiny of the universe. I can love life and not fear death.

Another pondering is that even at my deepest moments of pain and in my darkest night there is a love for me that is stronger than even my self-loathing or the loathing of others. I am created in the image of God and loved by the creator of everything around me. I can face those moments of pain and darkness with hope; when all is lost, nothing is lost. God does not want me to suffer and even hurts with me (even if my suffering is by my own hand).

I am also challenged by that very notion, by my faith. If I am created in the image so also is my neighbor and my enemy. God does not desire their suffering either. When others are in pain I am called by the author of the universe to help. God has created us to be in relationships with each other and creation – we are designed to help each other.

I encourage you to carry your passports with you throughout the week. Put them in your purse or in the fold of your wallet, in your pocket with your car keys or another place where your hand might brush up against it. When you notice it, continue your pondering. Take it out; see where you have been thus far on the journey to Easter Sunday. See also where we have yet to go together. This week, think about those other voices that vie for our attention. Are there voices that we listen to (remember the connection between listening and obeying) that draw us away from Jesus? How can we listen more fully to Jesus to better live the Christian life?

Shalom Y'all!