Apr 05 2007
To serve, to give, to live, to love(Maundy Thursday in Four Parts)
A clamor courses through the room,
Voices rise & fall,
As cups & plates
Are emptied & filled
Again & again.
The family is together,
Though they are all (except One) unaware
That it is their last hurrah.
Their friend, leader, teacher, rabbi stands.
He asks to humble Himself,
To wash their feet,
To serve them.
They blanche at such a suggestion.
They resist such a request
For He is Messiah.
He is Christ.
He is Jesus.
Yet, He responds, saying,
This is exactly Who I am,
Exactly why I came,
And exactly who I want you to become:
A servant for all.
Then, even though they still do not understand,
He bends down to wash, to bless, to serve,
So that they and we might learn from Him.
The loaf and the libation
Held aloft,
Proclaiming His identity
Setting forth a precedent
Hoping once again that they will listen, watch, and follow.
The family is together,
Sharing and living this new covenant.
Loud, questioning, plaintive, impassioned cries
Pierce the dark silence of this intimate garden.
Alone, yet surrounded by slumbering, supposed students.
Crimson sweat flows
In anticipation
Of what is to come,
For what is to be done on behalf of us all.
APN.
04/05/2007
