We gather together one evening, a community of believers who desire a link to the past to better understand the now.
Maundy Thursday. The "church" term used to refer to the night Jesus and his disciples met together in the upper room to celebrate the Passover. This is the night we, two thousand years later, come together to imagine that night.
What must have that been like - the eve of the betrayal that goes down in history and fulfills the many Old Testament prophecies of the One to come; the One that would save us all from eternal damnation?
The table is set. On our plates are:
Bitter Herbs - symbolizes the bitterness of suffering the Israelites spent under the Egyptians
Parsley - a symbol of springtime and a renewal of nature
Hard Boiled Egg - the oppression made them stronger just as an egg gets harder as it's boiled
Charoset - symbolizing the mortar of the bricks the Israelites were forced to make
Jesus dined with his disciples and celebrated the Passover. The Israelites knew that blood had to be shed for their sin. They knew the blood of the lamb, the spotless lamb, must be sacrificed for the forgiveness of their sins each year. Did they know that they were dining this very evening with the Lamb who would die once and for all? Could they even anticipate that all the Israelite laws that they grew up following would now be fulfilled in the God-Man sitting among them?
This is a night of teaching and learning. Questions are asked and encouraged. As the tradition follows, the "young man" asks the head of the household why we eat bitter herbs, why we have a roasted lamb, why we eat unleavened bread. And history is taught to another generation so that we never forget.
And this night we are reminded of the plight of the Israelites under the oppression of the Egyptians. We imagine their cry for deliverance for 400 years. We remember their haste in preparing the meal that would be their last in this land. And we praise God with them for their deliverance! We raise our glass of wine and share in their blessing!
Dinner is served - Leg of Lamb with Rosemary, Balsamic Roasted Potatoes, and Green Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
"Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
And our church basement gathering feasts on a lamb and savours even more the taste of forgiveness.
We wonder where the meal that night took a turn. Just as we were being taught this evening, the disciples were taught by the Master that evening too. He told them what was coming. He assured them of His plan. He promised them His presence. How confused they must have been!
That night He instituted the Lord's Supper.
He would not leave them or us alone! He was to shed his body and blood for us all. We would share in this sacrifice through this gift He was now giving us in communion. Through His sacrifice, we could now enter into the presence of the Father in Jesus' name. There was now no need for a high priest. He became our High Priest and gave us access to God Himself. Every time we take Holy Communion our faith is sustained. We fellowship as a family with a common belief. We fellowship with Jesus Himself as He gives us what we need through the shedding of His body and blood.
We are healed.
We end with the words of Jesus in the garden. We sit in a room surrounded with greenery and we imagine that garden Jesus is praying in. We hear Him, on this eve of His agony, pray for us.
He prayed for me!
His greatest concern in that moment wasn't preserving His own life.
His greatest concern in that moment was his children and preserving our lives in eternity with Him.
We leave this evening knowing what is to come.
Good Friday.
We also leave knowing what is to come.
Easter Sunday.
By His wounds we are healed.
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