Lent: day 37 devotion
Jesus is sitting with the disciples for his last supper.
Can you tell the story?
Can you write the story?
Mark 14:12-26 / Matthew 26:17-30 / Luke 22:7-23 / John 13
Think about all the things you’ve done at a table. You’ve told stories that are full of laughter or tears. You’ve heard stories full of tears and laughter. You’ve probably had hard conversations across a table. You’ve attended meetings, done homework, signed contracts, written papers, and reports at a table. You’ve shared meals and eaten alone.
You can stand, sit, or recline at a table. On Maundy Thursday Christians around the world remember the last time Jesus gathered with his followers, friends, and family around a table. At this table you don’t need a reservation. You just pull up a chair. And what are Christians remembering or celebrating at the table? Well, it means different things to each person.
Some think you have to say special words to incarnate the Christ in bread and wine. Christ isn’t Jesus’ surname, but it is something more than a nickname. Claiming Jesus as Christ, or Messiah, or Lord is a faith statement. It is steeped in embedded theology. I say this is Jesus whom I/we claim as Christ.
Christian tradition and scripture tells us that the last meal Jesus ate was during Passover. This is a time when Jewish people remember their escape from slavery in Egypt. He shared the meal with followers, friends, and family around a table. At this special meal there were common foods on their table. During the meal Jesus picked up bread and offered a blessing. He broke it and gave it to his disciples. As they broke a piece of bread and passed it around Jesus said, “When you gather at a table share bread and remember me.”
While they ate the bread, looking as confused as we do from time to time, Jesus took a cup from the table and filled it. He gave a blessing for it and handed the cup to a disciple. He said, “When you gather at a table and share bread, share a cup and remember me. Remember the way I lived and the things I’ve taught.” The disciples drank from the cup as it was passed to them and Jesus said, “Do these things in remembrance of me.”
Each time a Christian is at a table, to celebrate the Lord’s supper, or for prayer, or for a meeting, it is a table of remembrance even when there are no elements, symbols, or Eucharistic prayer. We incarnate God’s image daily in our living just like Jesus did in his. What does your life and living portray about God? The table is set. Let’s eat, drink, and remember.
That’s the story as I know it, attempt to live it consistently, and have been known by it. May the Holy One, by whatever name you call the Holy, bless you this day and the next.