Gathering at Table
How wonderful that Passover and Maundy Thursday overlap this year. Last night I was at the Sedar table--the table of Freedom. Tonight, I will sit at Christ's table--the table of Redemption. This year, I think I will hear the words of Christ's invitation with the echo of Passover.
So…
May we live as free people…reclining at table on pillows remembering…
May we ask and wonder, “Why is this night different from other nights?”
May we remember the tears of the slaves of Egypt and the tears of Jesus in the garden…God heard their cries.
May we recall the bitterness of the betrayal and crucifixion to come and the faithfulness of that One who will bear it all for us.
May we remember the broken matzot, broken bread, broken dreams, broken body of Jesus.
May we shout, “Diaynew!”—(It would have been enough…) and think about all the ways that God has provided for us as a people throughout history and all the ways God has provided for us in our own lives….it would have been enough and yet Jesus became enough through the ultimate act of love.
May we remember as we walk these days that there is indeed a “scary middle” on Saturday…a dark day of waiting…and yet hope is coming.
As we sit this night at the table of freedom and redemption, may this be the beginning of our own liberation from the ways we are held captive by unhealthy patterns, the grip of sin and the curse of death.
May we remember, re-appropriate and receive the gifts that our ours…all at the table tonight.
Julie
So…
May we live as free people…reclining at table on pillows remembering…
May we ask and wonder, “Why is this night different from other nights?”
May we remember the tears of the slaves of Egypt and the tears of Jesus in the garden…God heard their cries.
May we recall the bitterness of the betrayal and crucifixion to come and the faithfulness of that One who will bear it all for us.
May we remember the broken matzot, broken bread, broken dreams, broken body of Jesus.
May we shout, “Diaynew!”—(It would have been enough…) and think about all the ways that God has provided for us as a people throughout history and all the ways God has provided for us in our own lives….it would have been enough and yet Jesus became enough through the ultimate act of love.
May we remember as we walk these days that there is indeed a “scary middle” on Saturday…a dark day of waiting…and yet hope is coming.
As we sit this night at the table of freedom and redemption, may this be the beginning of our own liberation from the ways we are held captive by unhealthy patterns, the grip of sin and the curse of death.
May we remember, re-appropriate and receive the gifts that our ours…all at the table tonight.
Julie
posted by Rick at 2:53 PM
1 Comments:
Julie, I wish I had read this before last night’s service. Though I always find Maundy Thursday services among the most meaningful of the year, I might have found this year’s even more meaningful had I had your words in mind.
On the other hand, I know that the purpose of worship isn’t that I find it meaningful, it is that it render praise and thanksgiving to God who is all in all and beyond all.
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