Nervous on Maundy Thursday

One night, a long time ago, the Israelites were told to prepare to leave.  But first, they should stop and have a special meal. It would necessitate certain foods, and would be prepared, consumed and left in a certain way. The people were to take a single lamb per household, or to share one with neighbors. It was to be slaughtered, then roasted and served with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  They were to spread its blood on the door posts of their houses. They were instructed to eat the meal with their traveling clothes and shoes on. They would be leaving soon after the meal. Leaving for good.

In the background of the meal loomed Pharaoh, and the people of Egypt, who had been hounded by relentless plagues and catastrophes brought on by God. Moses said that the blood spread on the doors would protect the Israelites from the Angel of Death, who would sweep over the city that night, taking all first born children with it. The situation was unsettled, tense, and confusing.

Years later, at the birth of a movement, Jesus met with his 12 disciples, representing those 12 tribes of Israel, and instructed them to eat that Passover meal with him in his last hours. They were told that he would be with them only a short while longer, and that where he was going, they could not come. The meal was simple, but Jesus tied the bread to his broken body, and the wine to his blood, which would be poured out as the sign of a new covenant with God. He also told them that one of the 12 would betray him, though he would not say who.

In the background of this meal was the first Passover meal, that frightful night of escape and deliverance. Now, where was the deliverance? What would it look like? Also in the background of the disciples' meal were the events earlier in the week, when they entered Jerusalem with Jesus and were greeted by a crowd of joyous onlookers. And there were the antagonized Jewish leaders in the city, who the disciples knew were plotting Jesus' death. What was about to happen? What would become of Jesus? What would become of them? Just how dangerous was this situation?

Unsettled. The early Israelites are unsettled on the eve of their perilous escape from Egypt. The disciples are unsettled on the eve of Jesus' confrontation with the Jerusalem leaders. And we too live in an unsettled world, in unsettled lives, strewn with unsettled circumstances and situations. Unsettled is how you and I are invited to see our own situation, but with one caveat. Easter is on the horizon.

Whatever your unsettled situation, however it is that you relate to these unsettled circumstances, Jesus' calm actions, his focus, his understanding of his imminent betrayal and death as somehow transformative, as fulfilling something God-given, and his modeling of the role of a servant when he washed his disciples' feet, all testify to God's will for Jesus and us. They show us hope, faith, and the courage to hang in there, through the unsettledness. This is hard work, this following the king of life through all the unsettledness of our world. This is scary work, uncomfortable work. But we know now, it is also Easter work. God's richest blessings to you as you enter these holy 3 days.