3-28-24 Maundy Thursday Service – The Lord’s Last Supper
The Lord’s Last Supper
Imagine you have a piece of bread on your table. That’s all you have, and you don’t have any resources to make or buy more bread. You don’t have any juice or anything else to drink to accompany the bread, just a piece of bread and a cup of water. If you found yourself in this situation, what would you do? Perhaps, you might think, “I should buy groceries.” However, you don’t have any money or resources to buy or get more food. As you contemplate your last piece of bread and a cup of water, someone knocks the door and asks for a piece of bread. What would you do? If you’ve never experienced hunger firsthand, you might not fully grasp the significance of such a moment, or the value of that last piece of bread.
There are some stories in the Bible about individuals sharing their last piece of bread: In the Old Testament, there is a widow at Zarephath. She had only a handful of flour, which could make a single piece of bread. She was facing a dead-end in her life. She had a little son to take care of, but couldn’t find any resources for food because the whole country had been suffering from famine for three years. She decided to make their last supper, have it with her little son, and then they would die together. She believed that avoiding suffering meant embracing death. So, she gathered sticks to bake the bread. Can you imagine how this woman felt at that moment? She might have been collecting sticks wet with the tears streaming down her face.
Then, at that critical moment, a man, Elijah approached her and asked her a cup of water and a piece of bread. If you were in her shoes, what would you do? She made a piece of bread with her last bit of flour. Perhaps she mixed the flour and her tears as she kneaded the dough. However, after she offered her last supper to him, her act of generosity led her to new world, where she never had to worry about food again because her jar of flour never ran out, providing endless support to her and her family (1 King 17:1-16).
The other story in the New Testament involves a crowd of more than five thousand people who followed Jesus all day long in the desert. It was almost evening, and everyone must have been tired and hungry. The disciples suggested to Jesus that they should send the people away to find food for themselves. However, Jesus, responded “You give them food.” The disciples were taken aback, asking, “Where can we get enough food for more than five thousand people in the desert?”
When faced with a reality seemingly devoid of solutions, what would come to mind first? Your emotions might range from anger and frustration to blankness and emptiness. But then, at that moment, a boy came and said, “I have five loaves of bread and two fish. I am willing to share mine with these people.” Suddenly, your mind clears, and you feel this is nonsense. The boy’s offer seemed even more absurd than Jesus’ command to feed the crowd themselves. How could five loaves of bread possibly suffice for five thousand people? However, as the boy offered his bread, he witnessed a miracle unfold. With just five loaves of bread and two fish, more than five thousand people were fed, and there were leftovers filling twelve baskets (John 6:1-12). This story illustrates that food is not just sustenance; it embodies love and miracles that sustain life. The more you share love, the more you experience its abundance.
2000 years ago, Jesus sat around the table with his beloved disciples for his last supper. He knew that after this meal, he would face death. However, nobody understood his plan. Instead, his disciples were excited about another dream: that Jesus might become a king in Rome and Israel and they would hold higher positions next to him. Yet, Jesus may have been tearing up while sharing his last supper, saying, “this is my body, given for you for a new covenant; this is my blood, shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” However, no one paid him any attention. Jesus gave himself to his disciples at the table, not just a piece of bread. Jesus loved them with his last breath and his last tear. However, nobody understood the significance yet; nobody paid attention because the disciples were preoccupied with their own dreams. So, Jesus got up from the table, and took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with towel. He may even have washed his disciples’ feet with his tears. Finally, his disciples paid attention: “What are you doing? You can’t wash my feet!”. Jesus replied, “I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” Washing feet was considered the job of a servant in Israelite. Jesus exemplified servant leadership and asked his disciples to do the same.
Sharing food is not about having an abundance of food, but about having an abundance of love, given from God. The Lord’s last supper was about the sharing of love. Reflecting on the imagery of having just a piece of bread and a cup of water, you might have felt at that point you’d have reached a dead-end in your life. However, look at it this way: you have a piece of bread, which is enough to share with others. Jesus said, “I came into the world to serve people, not be served.” Let us therefore be humble and serve the church and the people in gratitude. Thanks be to God. Amen!