#TBT Throw-back Thursday -- Holy Thursday

It almost seems disrespectful to title my blog “Holy Thursday” AND “Throw-back Thursday” – but isn’t that what today is to us? It is remembering how Jesus shared a Passover meal with His disciples, and that meal invoked Holy Communion (Luke 22:19-20). We hear His words: "As often as you do this, you do it in memory of Me!" And, we do REMEMBER!

Getting new Easter clothes, expecting Easter surprises along with an Easter egg hunt that followed Easter Sunday church services is a sweet memory each year. As precious as those memories are, they pale in comparison to the memories of what Christ taught us during this Holy Week. Today is Holy Thursday of Holy Week when we recall the Last Supper – the night that Jesus set the greatest example of what it is to be a Servant Leader. Jesus -- the greatest of ALL, was the servant of ALL, as He washed His disciples’ feet. He, with the towel and basin, is KING of the universe. The same hands that shaped the earth, the stars, and the moon, washed away grime and filth. He wanted his disciples to know how much He loved them. Jesus knew they were about to betray and deny Him, yet He loved and SERVED them. Such extravagant love – such excessive SERVICE. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34. That's a tall order, isn't it? But that ORDER (Command) is one that can change everything in our own lives AND the world if we would take that COMMAND and act on it.

Christ certainly didn't just talk the TALK -- He walked the WALK. He led by example. Jesus prepared His disciples to carry on. I think that’s Jesus’ message to you and me, too. Surely there are those that cause irritation in our lives. In fact, like Jesus, they may have denied us, deceived us, rejected us, spoke evil against us, and completely disappointed us. Doesn’t it cause us to have a great sense of awareness that He Who was perfect and knew no sin, could set the example for us on how to deal with those honorary folks in our lives?

It certainly makes me pause to ask the question: "Am I a devoted follower of Christ, even to the cross to bear witness of Him and His love for me?" I pray the same words of Peter to Jesus: "Lord, wash me, cleanse me, purify me so that I too may be presented as a vessel of honor to You." What an incredible flow of mercy, love, forgiveness, servitude, and sacrifice that flowed from Jesus then, and continues to flow to us today. Oh Lord, may we be your servants today -- to follow, serve and love You, and others, as You served and loved.

The Meal I Served……Was Satisfying & Nourishing

Still in the season of Easter for a couple more weeks until we recognize the time when Jesus ascended to heaven, I am still pondering His great love for us. After I had served Holy Communion yesterday morning at church, I heard in my heart “You just served Jesus.” Yes, I did, but then I thought about two connotations of those words. We say “I served Jesus by feeding the hungry at the local food pantry”, or “I served Jesus when I gave to the poor”, or in yesterday’s setting, “I served Jesus as I served Holy Communion.” That’s what we do when we take on the servant nature of Jesus in loving, giving, serving others. Jesus gave the greatest example of servitude when He fed the hungry, healed the sick, cared for those in need, washed His disciples’ feet, AND gave them to eat and drink His body and blood in the bread and the wine, and then gave them the command to continue doing the same.

Matthew 26:26-18 “Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Luke 22:19 “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

I am always overwhelmed in those moments with how much I want to help feed hope and pour love into the souls of those dear people. It's a diverse crowd – culturally, ethnically, young and old -- who make their way up the aisle to the “distribution center” to receive a meal of Jesus. Each one comes with a look of gratitude to receive nourishment again of He Who said “As often as you do this, you are remembering me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25). I see faces of joy and wonder and sometimes faces with deep furrows of sadness, and I offer up a silent prayer for them to be healed of whatever it is that is troubling them, and at the same time, I am offering to them God -- the ONE Who yielded Himself to become one of us and to be sacrificed as a lamb on the altar, but this one and last time became the sacrifice that takes care of all our failures and shortcomings from now through eternity.

I am always overwhelmed in those moments with how much I want to help feed hope and pour love into the souls of those dear people. It's a diverse crowd – culturally, ethnically, young and old -- make their way up the aisle to the “distribution center” to receive a meal of Jesus. Each one comes with a look of gratitude to receive nourishment again of He Who said “As often as you do this, you are remembering me.” I see faces of joy and faces of wonder and sometimes faces with deep furrows of sadness, and I offer up a silent prayer for them to be healed of whatever it is that is troubling them, and at the same time, I am offering to them God -- the ONE Who yielded Himself to become one of us and to be sacrificed as a lamb on the altar, but this one and last time became the sacrifice that takes care of all our failures and shortcomings from now through eternity.

This meal is satisfying, nourishing and never serves up indigestion or heart burn. Well, on the other hand, maybe there is a little heart burn, as when the two disciples said, “"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Luke 24:32. Please, Lord, may my heart burn with passion for You as Your heart burned with passion for me enough to give me YOU!

Holy Thursday – Maundy Thursday

Maundy comes from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning mandated or commandment. How appropriate for our Lord’s mandate tonight: “A new command (mandate) I give you: ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another’" John 13:34.

Jesus was up to His own mandate today. His time had come. His disciples were sent to prepare a Passover Meal for them. Little did the disciples know what that Passover Meal would lead to. I can only imagine, after their Passover Meal together, the shock that Jesus’ disciples had when they saw Jesus take up the basin and towel, kneel in front of them and one by one, washed their feet, calluses and all. He was their Master, not their slave.
In those days, it was the servant’s role to wash the feet of their owner’s guests. Those feet were dry, dirty, calloused and cracked because they had walked for miles in their sandals. To wash someone’s feet was truly an act of servitude and humility.

When When finished, Jesus explained, “I’m setting an example for you. You should do what I have done to you.” I wonder if the disciples finally understood. They had been hand-selected by Jesus from the crowds, so they were special. But Jesus didn’t call them so that they would enjoy an “elite” status. He called them to serve, to carry on His ministry of loving and caring for people.

At our Holy Thursday service tonight, there will be foot washing of 12 pre-selected individuals and then we will proclaim our own commitment of service to one another. We will remember Christ's love for us as we celebrate His Last Supper, where Jesus invoked the very first Holy Communion. After the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples made a short journey to the Garden of Gethsemane where His agony would begin. Tonight, we will process to our chapel to pray.

I knew Holy Thursday would take on special meaning to me as I recall my trip in June to Israel when I visited the Garden of Gethsemane. There were mixed feelings by our travel pilgrims, inspired by the beauty of the garden and trees that dated back to Jesus’ times, but in the Sanctuary of Gethsemane was the site of the massive rock where Jesus had prayed. It was incredibly humbling to kneel and place my hand on it and realize this was where Christ prayed in agony and His sweat became great drops of blood: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; NEVERTHELESS, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:37. To say our group was overcome with emotion, puts it mildly because many of us had arrived at that word, NEVERTHELESS, in some of our own experiences. To be willing to pray, “Lord let this situation, circumstance, pain, fear, agony – pass from me, NEVERTHELESS, not my will but Yours be done." The photos here are of two of our men, embracing each other as they could not contain the emotion of knowing what Christ had done for them. The other photos are of the garden and the rock.

Jesus watched the soldiers as they marched toward him with torches in hand. He could have called on 10,000 angels for back-up or He could flee at any time, but He was resolved -- His time had come. He waited for them to arrest Him. He would suffer illegal trials, torture, and death because of His love for you and me. He considers our eternal life with Him is worth His death. Jesus prepared His disciples to carry on. I think that’s His message to you and me, too. Today, we are the ones standing in front of people from all cultures and backgrounds, who are all suffering from their own brokenness and in need of a Savior. What an incredible flow of mercy, love, forgiveness, servitude and sacrifice that flowed from Jesus then, and continues to flow to us today. Oh Lord, please make us your servants today -- to follow, serve and love You and others, as You served and loved.

Do You Have a "Quirky" Food Favorite?

Everyone has their favorite “quirky” food favorite. We were making a quick lunch for ourselves at Mom’s home in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago, and my brother-in-law asked for a peanut butter and pickle sandwich! Argh!!! That brought back the memory of my husband, as a teenager at 14, working for his uncles' construction company. His favorite lunch kit meal? Banana and butter sandwiches. He told me about the kids at school wondering what that smell was coming from his locker. Long after we were married, he still loved banana sandwiches.

Some of my fondest memories are those mayonnaise sandwiches (yes, just mayo and bread) and for an added treat, Fritos dipped in mayo – served, as a child, while spending time at my cousin’s home. Her Mom, Aunt Marie, made those yummy sandwiches. I love that memory and I loved my precious aunt who was a true servant/server. She ALWAYS made way more food than was needed, because Uncle Dewaine (her husband), wanted to always have “more than enough”.

And, I remember my loving and devoted mom who was my hero in every aspect of life -- eating pickled pigs’ feet and a glass full of cornbread and milk – which is still one of my favorites. In fact, I had a glass full of cornbread and milk when I had some Cracker Barrel cornbread while at Mom’s. I always think of my Mama when I enjoy my own cornbread doused in milk. I ate the pigs’ feet right along with her years ago, but now when I see them….I think…..”What was I thinking?”

Today, salt and vinegar potato chips are sold everywhere, but I remember when my husband took me to his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada and McDonald’s serving vinegar packets along with their ketchup packets for their French fries. My husband always loved dousing his French fries with vinegar.

One of my favorite memories, though, is shown in this photo that has been passed on to my granddaughter. Papa, my sweet husband, loved to put sugar on tortilla chips and eat them for his dessert. I'll never forget my daughter's hockey player boyfriend, in total exasperation, when he saw Ron eating the tortillas and, what he thought was a pile of salt instead of sugar. He said, "Well, we might as well get a body bag and zip you up in it, if you keep eating salt like that!" LOL!

Remembering some quirky food favorites was a joy for me in this post, but REMEMBERING my absolute favorite is the dearest to me. I segue to what may seem like a strange food favorite to those who DON'T understand – and that is when we step up to receive Holy Communion -- the greatest expression of God’s love for His people. It may seem "quirky" to some folks who don't get it, but we do, as it always evokes the memory of the price Jesus Christ paid for us in His death, burial and resurrection. On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus ate His last supper with His disciples. And knowing what He would accomplish through His sacrifice, He instituted Holy Communion.

His loving instruction is that we are to REMEMBER Him as we partake of His body and blood in Holy Communion. Jesus wanted us conscious of how His body was broken for our wholeness, and His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. And whenever we partake, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). "We do this in remembrance of Him." That's just not a quirky tradition -- but one that gives us life-changing memories, and it's a feast where we aren’t “secret” believers. We are in the Family of God. We celebrate with other believers, and we communicate to Him saying "Lord, I belong to YOU and YOU belong to me."

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26

Today is the Ultimate #Throwback Thursday

#TBT -- Today is the ultimate #throwbackthursday.

This photo is one of the world's most famous paintings. It is the 15th Century mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ and His Twelve Disciples. You can see how aghast they were at Jesus' announcement that one of them would betray Him.

Today is Holy Thursday when we remember more than a painting. It is the day before Jesus' crucifixion when He shared a Passover meal with His disciples. That meal invoked what we know as Holy Communion (Luke 22:19-20) where we hear His words: "As often as you do this, you do it in memory of Me!" That night, Jesus, the One celebrated as a King just days before, became a Servant when He washed His disciples’ feet as an act of humility and service. "No," Peter protested, "you will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me." He set an example for us -- that we should love and serve one another.(John 13:3-17). At church tonight, we will not only remember and receive His love in Holy Communion, but there wil be a foot-washing ceremony in commemoration of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.

For 3-1/2 years Jesus had poured His life into these men. After all the miracles they had seen, the tender and merciful acts of kindness and love He had shown, the many times He had said, "Do not be afraid" to them, somehow they still just didn't "get it". Only John would be standing off to the side of the cross tomorrow. The rest of them were too afraid to stand with Him. What if we had been there? Would we, too, have cowered in fear?

It certainly gives me pause for who I am today. Am I a devoted follower of Christ....even to the cross to bear witness of Him and His love for me? During this season of Lent (which ends this week) we've endeavored to spend quality time in the Holy Spirit's Wash-A-Teria, purposefully desiring cleansing and purifying to draw closer to our Lord and to be vessels that He can use. I continue to take these words to heart today. "Lord, wash me, cleanse me, purify me so that I too may be presented as a vessel of honor to you. I've said it before, I say it again "The purer the vessel the greater the flow". What an incredible flow of mercy, love, forgiveness, servitude and sacrifice that flowed from Jesus then, and continues to flow to us today. Oh Lord, may we be your servants today -- to follow, serve and love You, and others, as You served and loved.

May this beautiful song, "Make Me Your Servant" be your and my prayer today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rznoe3zKxM

Do You Have Some Quirky Food Favorites?

Do you have some quirky food favorites that remind you of someone special? I'll never forget, as a child, spending time at my cousin's house and her Mom, my Aunt Marie, made us Miracle Whip sandwiches (yes, just mayo and bread). I still love that and I loved my precious aunt who was a true servant/server, and my dearest cousin, Myra Wheat Lewis who could giggle with me for hours on end. In fact, even today, when we get together....we still giggle like school girls.

And, I remember my devoted and amazing mom who was my hero in every aspect of life -- eating a glass full of cornbread and milk -- still one of my favorites -- in fact, I had a glass full of cornbread and milk last night -- and I thought about her.

And I remember my darling husband, as a youngster at 14, working for his uncles' construction company. His favorite lunch kit meal? Banana and butter sandwiches. Long after we were married, he still loved banana sandwiches.

One of my favorite memories, though, is shown in this photo that has been passed on to my granddaughter. Papa, my sweet husband, loved to put sugar on tortilla chips and eat them for his dessert. I'll never forget my daughter's hockey player, boy friend, in total exasperation, when he saw Ron eating the tortillas and, what he thought was a pile of salt instead of sugar. He said, "Well, we might as well get a body bag and zip you up in it, if you keep eating salt like that!" LOL!

Of all seemingly strange food favorites -- at least to those who DON'T understand -- are when we step up to receive Holy Communion. Some folks don't get it, but we do, as it always evokes the memory of the price Jesus Christ paid for us in His death, burial and resurrection. "We do this in remembrance of Him." That's just not a quirky tradition -- but one that gives us life-changing memories,and it's a feast where we can't be secret believers. We are in the Family of God. We celebrate with other believers, and we communicate to Him saying "Lord, I belong to YOU!"