The Last Supper

The Last Supper...

Well it certainly was the 'Last Supper' for Jesus and his disciples and He used this moment to give them (and us) a couple of HUGE directives for living the faith. 

Jesus institutes the Eucharistic Feast in that moment.  With Bread, blessed and broke and wine shared, He calls us to 'do this in memory' of Him. It is the new covenant that He establishes for us with His Father. 
We are called to do this often...
like regularly, you know... 
on Sundays or Saturday nights, or any day really.  

When they had finished eating, Jesus got up from the table and washed the feet of the disciples. No doubt this was not the way of things in that time but after he had washed their feet, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?  If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you." 

But what do these two things mean for us???


With the church doors closed these days and our usual celebrations of Holy Thursday dramatically affected, I can't help but think... 
The meals we share with those we love, when we gather around the table, sharing food, stories, struggles and love are our daily, lived out, small scale holy days.  
And, Jesus called everyone to the table. He didn't say we had to be perfect to be at the table...
He said, ''Just be there and remember, I am with you always!" 

If we all viewed the gathering of family and friends as a moment of sacred time together, we might, in fact, treat each other with greater care and tenderness. Maybe, in those moments, we would see that those who shopped for the groceries, prepared the food, set the table, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned up after, took out the garbage, cared for family members, and went to work to pay for the groceries, were doing it with the heart of a servant. And that, my friends, is the example that Jesus Gave us! Come together and be of service when you get there!

With all that has been happening in the world these days, with physical distancing and self-isolation, we have come to discover a whole new appreciation for being 'together', as an entire family, as friends and as community. 
We feel the loss of time spent with those we love and we really just want to be together again. And even if we have to do all the dishes by hand, we long to be in communion with one another again.

This is how Jesus feels about us... He just wants to be with us. So on this unusual Holy Thursday, let us pray that we accept the invitation to the table and the invitation to serve one another.