THU • APR 2
Sacred Fellowship
Read Luke 22:7–23.
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (v.15)
This day, Thursday, is the last time the disciples are all together before Jesus’ crucifixion. It is the day that Jesus breaks bread, lifts up the cup, and says the familiar words remembered by Christians every time they also gather together with bread and wine: “Do this in remembrance of me.” I imagine it was a warm and intimate time for the disciples as they gathered there. I imagine that it might have been like some of the best dinner parties I’ve attended with close friends. A meal shared with friends bonded by a common experience is a treasure. With close friends you can dive deep and cry together, or share belly laughs and inside jokes. I wonder if the disciples joked and laughed at the Last Supper. Surely it wasn’t a serious affair the whole time, from start to finish, was it?
In the hindsight of what happened the very next day—Jesus’ arrest, torture, and crucifixion—that meal becomes even more meaningful and significant. Let us take this lesson to heart the next time we are gathered around a holy table with our closest friends. Let us take a moment to remember that these moments of sharing and eating and enjoying one another are not always permanent. Let us remember to savor the good, close times with our loved ones, to treat them with respect and not tarnish them with our petty disagreements and worries.
God of sacred fellowship, thank you for the holy meals you have given to me. Help me to honor them and keep them holy. Amen.
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These Holy Week Posts were published in the Fellowship of Prayer 2015 published annually by Chalice Press. Check out some of Chalice’s recent (and amazing) offerings such as: Sandya Rani Jha’s Pre-Post Racial America,Brian Christopher Coulter’s Be Holy, and Stephen Ingram’s Organic Student Ministry. Of course, my book Seamless Faith: Simple Practices for Daily Family Life is also published by Chalice Press in 2014.