Opening Prayer: Lord, I come. I come with my baggage that
includes fears, worries, concerns, and sins. I thank you that you already know
this and still welcome me. Your arms that are always open for me gather me in
and make me rest. Help me to accept my place in your arms. Help me to be
uplifted by the warmth of your ready smile. Amen.
Scripture(s): * Exodus 12:1-4,
(5-10), 11-14; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The scriptures
are long so I will ask you to read them on your own.
Message: There are two traditions commonly practiced by
Christians on the Thursday of Holy Week. The two, what is now called the Eucharist,
and washing feet are outlined in our reading from John. This devotion focuses
on the Eucharist. Regardless of the number of people at the table, sharing a
meal is an intimate and communal affair. It doesn’t matter if the meal was prepared
from scratch and cooked for hours, or if it came out of the freezer, is thawed
and then microwaved. There is some amount of human care that accompanies the preparation
and serving of a meal. Whether you then sit down to plates, cups, and
silverware, or eat out of the pot standing up at the kitchen island, there is
an amount of care that accompanies placing food in your mouth, chewing or
drinking, and swallowing. These well-practiced daily rituals, if you will, define
us a human and part of the larger human family.
In order for something to be intimate, there must be some mutual agreement
of sharing. It is because of this that I have never understood why many first
dates take place over meals. You are, in my opinion really vulnerable at meals.
For those suffering from eating disorders, this vulnerability of eating with
others causes a great deal of fear and anxiety. They are concerned about how
people will look at what they choose to eat, how much they choose to eat, and
how they look eating.
Eating is intimate and communal. One must at some level choose to
be vulnerable and to enter in a trust agreement that will create community. According
to Gillian Crowther, Canadian anthropologist, sharing a meal is found to be a universal
manifestation of sociality.[1]
It provides a connection. At the same time, my Jewish friends were celebrating Passover
last night we Christians were celebrating our Eucharist. Imagine that. The last
meal Jesus ate before his resurrection united us! Christians to our Jewish family
and all of us to our shared ancestry.
In Exodus, the first Passover celebration is outlined. The
preparation for the meal and the celebration is outlined. People are to shelter
in their homes. They are to obtain an unblemished lamb that was to be eaten in
its entirety that evening. Interestingly, there is also a provision for creating
a community beyond one household. Exodus 12:4
“If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest
neighbor in obtaining one…” The lamb could be an actual lamb or it could
be a goat. The poor and the rich could participate in this celebration.
Traditions also cite that there were cases in which richer families provided
lambs to poorer families. The practice of preparation is communal. Provisions
are made so that community can be created through the preparation. The blood on
the doorposts is a type of public profession. The household has faith in YHWH.
The cooking and
the eating of the sacrifice is also prescribed. Exodus: 12:11 “This is how you
shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your
hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord.” The sacrifice
is taken into the body. Our body as a symbol of what is happening in our hearts,
minds, and spirits are to be girded, our feet are shod, our walking stick is in
our hand, and we eat in haste. We are spiritually ready to do hard work and to
travel where we are led. We have a staff to help us over the rough terrain. New
scholars of the Hebrew bible have corrected our typical understanding of the word
translated, “hurriedly” or “in haste.” They argue the real meaning is not that
God as requiring people to choke down the food, but that the sacrifice must be
eaten with a sense of urgency. This makes a lot of sense! Eating is also a
preparation, preparation for the journey ahead.
Understanding
this has made me wonder what it would be like to participate in our Eucharist
in the same way. What if instead of standing in a line, we spent time in our
pews preparing? What if we spiritually put on the full armor of God (Ephesians
6:11) and we ate our sacrifice of body and blood with urgency?
Closing Prayer: Lord thank you for calling us to the Eucharist. You,
the unblemished Paschal Lamb gave his life so that our sins may be forgiven and
forgotten, not just passed over. What a gift! Remind me to prepare for this
with at least as much care as when you prepared the way to your heavenly
kingdom.
[1] Bardon,
Ester. “How Sharing a Meal Is About Sharing a Culture.” UT Blog, University
of Tartu, 23 Dec. 2015, blog.ut.ee/how-sharing-a-meal-is-about-sharing-a-culture/.
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