The View from the West Mesa

The resurrection of Jesus confused just about everybody. The women who came first to the tomb were perplexed, the apostles and the rest of the disciples thought their story was made up, and these two are pondering just what could have happened in Jerusalem over the past three days. They're on their way home and Jesus meets up with them and teaches them just what they should have understood from Scripture about him and about the last three days. It gets late in the day and the y invite Jesus to eat with them, which he does. When he (why he's taking charge here, we aren't told) breaks the bread, their eyes are opened and they recognize him. Now, "breaking bread" is understood in a number of faith communities to be an allusion to the Lord's Supper, communion, or the Eucharist and this is a shadow of that. When Jesus ate the Passover with the disciples, he explained the imagery - what the elements had represented from the beginning of that feast and what t...

Maundy Thursday is perhaps most popularly known as the day that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and washed the feet of his disciples. Sometimes we remember that it is also the night of his betrayal and arrest in the garden. Less often do we associate the day with what occurs between those last two. After the meal, Jesus takes his disciples to the garden where at least three of his closest friends nap on and off. Jesus though prays. We don't have a record of all that he prayed waiting for his arrest. We do know that even as he has emptied himself to set the example of feet washing, here he does two things - he says two things. The first is that he would not have to drink this cup - of crucifixion, of mocking, of torture. Having emptied himself, he would rather not empty himself further in this way. And yet the second thing he says is instructive for us and tells us why Paul can tell us that Jesus is the Second Adam. This second is that while he would rather not go through ...