Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday, which according to the liturgical calendar falls on the Thursday before Easter and commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

At the Corridor we celebrate the Eucharist (communion) every week, but today we pay special attention to it in the specific context of the events that lead up to the death and then the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is why Karrie and I have invited our church community over to our home this evening to share in the communion meal together.

All year we have been talking about the incarnation of Jesus Christ, how God has met us in our humanity and is truly "with us" in Jesus Christ. Communion itself reminds us of this, as Jesus points to the bread and wine as his human body and blood. Through communion, Jesus asks us to partake in his humanity, as God in Christ partakes in our humanity. The incarnational God in Christ Jesus meets us even in human suffering and death. The bread is broken and the wine is spilled out.

As we enter into to the story of the final days of Jesus' incarnational life (though we will be reminded on Easter that his life goes on) we will be reminded that Jesus shared some of the darkest of human experiences leading up to and including his death on the cross.

Looking at this painting by the Russian painter Simon Ushakov of the mid to late 1600's you may notice that one of the twelve is not given that majestic hallo as the rest. This represents the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. Although, to be fair all the disciples would "fall away" and Jesus would experience of the betrayal and abandonment of his loved ones. Even this is incarnational as God enters the world as a human Jesus and experiences the sins of humanity that that is common to us all, as we turn on each other and both betray and abandon one another (and God) in our humanity.

In the course of the next hours and days of the these events Jesus will also meet us where such abandonment and betrayal turns into outright injustice. An innocent man, Jesus, is tortured and put to death by the corruptness of the religious, those in political power, and even by the outcry of the masses that embraced him just a few days ago as a king. Truly Jesus is God with us even in the sins of all of humanity and he meets us in death that is common to us all.

Jesus said, "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." And so tonight we will remember as we come to the table and we wait for Jesus to come; embracing the hope of his resurrection that we will soon celebrate. Jesus truly is new life for humanity.