Today’s scripture: Luke 22:7-13 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (David Zier):
This passage about preparation of Jesus’ last meal reminded me of the special importance of some meals I’ve prepared.
Many people at LifeJourney Church have come to our home (Pastors Jeff and David) for Christmas. Well over one hundred attend, and preparation for such a meal takes a week. During this week, Jennifer Barnes and Andrea Platt assist for many, many busy hours kneading, mixing, slicing, dicing, scooping cookie dough, cutting sugar cookies, icing gingerbread people, stirring candies in heavy aluminum pots, making pie dough and apple pies that are eight inches high. The list goes on and on. On Christmas morning, another crew of six to eight people join us in getting everything set up and the food ready for presentation.
It is a special time for us. It is a sacred time, knowing that all of our efforts are going to the people of our church community. We even have people come by who have never been to our church. All are welcome. The preparation for such an event allows us to share, laugh, taste test, snack together, plan together, and be there for each other. It can be tedious, and it is a lot of work, but it is also a time full of God’s grace. There is music playing, or maybe a football game on TV, conversation about what is going on with each of us; a chance to connect. It wouldn’t be Christmas without this ritual as we have been doing it for so many years now.
I would imagine that a lot of loving care went into that Passover meal for Jesus and his disciples. I wonder if the preparers knew it would be Jesus last meal? I wonder what the conversation was like as they prepared the meal. I wonder if they knew this meal would be recorded, its story placed in the Bible, and that we read it over and over again in a different time and age. There is something special that happens when we prepare a special meal together.
I think I take preparation for granted sometimes. It is the grunt work to get to where you want to go. This past week we were getting ready for World Missions Day, and we put together a village, a lot of information booths, and all the details. I was at the church until almost midnight one night, and as I stood back to view our progress, I realized what a sacred time it was, and I paused to pray that the church and the people we are trying to help would be blessed.
Jesus may have celebrated his last supper with his disciples and given us our communion tradition, but just think of the blessing of preparing that meal! Think of how God uses us in the moment, even in the grunt work we do. Not only are we blessed, but it can lead to bigger blessings for someone else.
Thought for the day: Instead of looking at the day-to-day tasks as mundane and tedious, think about the preparation you are making and how God is blessing you, and others through you.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.