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We come together this evening to recall in our hearts and minds the events that occurred on Thursday of what we as Christians know as Holy Week, the last week of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s life.
The disciples gathered with Jesus in what we know as the Upper Room. As they gathered they participated in what we know as a Seder Meal, which was one of the highlights of the Passover Week. In the Book of Exodus, Exodus 11-12, we learn that the Lord told Moses every household must put the blood of a lamb on their doorpost and if they do the Lord will Passover that house and not take their firstborn male child. The Passover Week celebrates the time when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt. King Pharaoh then let his people go and they were free.
In the Upper Room the Seder Meal was symbolic in reminding the Jews of the sufferings of their forefathers and the power of God’s deliverance. Apple Sauce was eaten to remind them of brick mortar and the fact that they were forced to make bricks with no straw. A bitter herb was eaten to remind them of the bitterness of their captivity. It was the symbolic Seder Meal that the disciples were eating that night in the Upper Room.
The Upper Room that artist Leonardo da Vinci painted on the end wall of the rectory of the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria del Grazie (Our Lady Of Grace) in Milan, Italy, which depicts the Last Supper where Jesus at the conclusion of the Seder Meal added two more symbols with the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine. The symbols of Jesus body; which would be broken on the cross and His blood, which would be shed for the forgiveness of the sins of many as the blood of the New Covenant.
I wonder this evening as we look at the table, can we can you and I, see ourselves in those who were gathered that evening in the Upper Room with Jesus?
As you look in the mirror are you Bartholomew (perhaps also known as Nathaniel) who was one of Jesus’ original Disciples and asked the famous question in the Book of John 1: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Do you look at things at face value and ask what value it could have considered where it comes from and or what it represents?
As you look in the mirror, are you Jesus’ stepbrother James? Are you always living in the shadow of someone who is known for his or her name and you are never recognized for whom you are?
As you look in the mirror are you Andrew, brother of Simon Peter,
one of Jesus first four Disciples? A simple man who was a fisherman and who was inquisitive asking Jesus about the end of time and perceptive as he told Jesus about the boy who had five barley loaves of bread and two fish that Jesus used to feed the 5000.
As you look in the mirror are you Judas? Out to make a buck no matter what the cost of injury unto another? What are your priorities?
Friendship and loyalty are important to you or is your own self-interest important to you?
As you look into the mirror are you Peter also known as Simon (Simon: God has heard)? Married and full of high energy, speaking out and acting out without regard to the consequences of your actions, as some would say; a bull in a china closet? Peter, who when out in a boat during a storm walked on water when Jesus called him; a storm which represents the troubled times in our life and trusting in Jesus to walk with us so that we will not sink and or die.
When you look in the mirror are you John who with his brother James and father Zebedee were fishermen? John who became known as Jesus’ “beloved Disciple,” who was one of Jesus “inner circle” and who Jesus entrusted with the care of His mother and then later John became one of the leaders of the early church.
When you look in the mirror do you think you are Jesus?
When you look in the mirror do you think you are Thomas? Are you a doubter until you can look the hand in your face or do you take what you are told at face value and believe?
When you look in the mirror do you think you are James living in the shadow of someone bigger than you like your brother John the Baptist and your cousin Jesus Christ King of Kings, Lord of Lord? Wondering what is my worth for I cannot begin to compare to anyone in my family.
When you look in the mirror are you Philip being trusted and tested by Jesus so that you may grow in your faith by knowing you are not in charge?
When you look in the mirror are you Matthew, who had a brilliant analytical mind but originally used it to benefit self instead of God.
Matthew was a tax collector with a mind like an adding machine and his god was a dollar mark. Matthew who reminds us of how far we can go to better ourselves but how much better we can be when we turn it all over to serve Jesus and not ourselves or this world that we call home.
When you look in the mirror are you Thaddeus (Judas, son of James) mistaken for someone else (Judas the betrayer) and never given a chance to be recognized for who you are and what you know?
When you look into the mirror do you see Simon the Zealot, the eleventh apostle chosen by Simon Peter? With material mindedness, a fiery agitator who speaks often without thinking, and having an inspirational loyalty when you believe in someone or a cause while being a great debater, lost in despair without Jesus in your life?
So many Disciples with so many descriptions just like each and every one of us. Each one, as you and I, a sinner who Jesus loves as His own even when we look in the mirror and are honest about who we are that only Jesus and our self may truly know the truth about. Maybe it’s because we become so comfortable with whom we are? Maybe it’s because we would be embarrassed if the world knew who we really are?
Could that be why the Disciples of Jesus asked the question, when Jesus told them that one who is sitting at this table shall betray me?
Is it I? Is it I?
Either way God knows who we truly are and still loves us just as we are.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost and now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.
On the night of Jesus’ betrayal as He sat in the Upper Room with His Disciples Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and blessed the bread saying, take, eat, this is my body given for you. Eat this often in remembrance of me. After supper Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and said, take, drink, this is my blood of the New Covenant shed for the forgiveness of the sins of many. Drink this often in remembrance of me.
The table of the Lord has been set and all are welcomed to come and receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As you come to celebrate in this meal look in the mirror and see who is looking back at you.
Is it I? Is it I?
Sometimes in life being honest about who we are, bearing our soul, to the world leaves everything looking barren, empty, and sad.
Sometimes in life it isn’t until everything is stripped away that new life can begin to grow and we can become stronger because of the adversity that we experience.
In the wisdom of Hugh Miller, “Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them”
Let us enter into an attitude of prayer.
Father God on this Maundy Thursday as we prepare for Jesus to be hung on the cross at Golgotha may we remember the crown of thorns that will be placed on Jesus head and the nails that will be beaten through and break His skin as His blood is shed for our salvation. From adversity may we grow stronger in our walk with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Grow stronger while not focusing on our flaws but focusing on how we can use where we have been, and currently are, to serve God. Amen
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