The Last Days

 The last days of Jesus' life, as witnessed in the Gospels, were difficult and meaningful.  Jesus, fulfiller of Law and Prophets, did just that, and out of Love, as the fullest expression of love.

Jesus held His last Seder with His disciples.  When it came to the blessing of the Matzah, Jesus said it was His Body, broken for them/us.  After the supper, the festive meal, Jesus took the Cup, the third one, the Cup of Redemption, blessed it and gave it to them saying, it was His blood of the new covenant.  In that moment, Jesus became the Sacrificial Lamb, much remembered from the Passover (see Isaiah 52:13 - 53).  His body would be broken, and His blood poured out to save the children of God, including the betrayer, denier, doubter and abandoners who sat with Him at the table.

After being wrongly accused, arrested, mocked, beaten, tortured and marched to His execution, Jesus forgave those who did all of that to Him, along with His disciples who betrayed and denied Him, abandoned Him and would doubt Him.  Jesus then died, and the Temple Curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.  God ripped apart the tapestry that separated the people from the Holy presence of God.  Nothing could then separate us from God (see Romans 8).

Jesus is Love and Grace.

Jesus took our sin to its death with Him on the Cross.

Jesus made atonement for us with God, through suffering and death.

Jesus died our death to give us His resurrection.

This is a God I can worship.  This is a Lord who I can follow all of my life.

Jesus is Love and Grace.

It makes me want to be a better person, and to live Jesus' teachings, commands and examples of how to be faithful to God through the living of Agape Love and Grace.  It makes me want to transform others' lives in the living of Jesus' Way.

Empire's poverty, injustices, inequities, false accusations, arrests, ridicule, torture and execution are commonplace.  They were then and they are now.

Jesus' death is uncommon because of what it means for all of us who are treated this way by empire.

It means that even though we die, God is still the last Word, and that Word is LIFE, LIFE ABUNDANT and LIFE FOREVER.  It does not mean that we will not suffer or die.  

We go to the Cross with Jesus, or we are not following Jesus.  Sit with that.  Don't rush through it.  Feel it.  Ponder it.  Contemplate on it and what it means for you, for us, that we have a God willing to take on our poverty, frailty, scandal, suffering and death.  That is uncommon, very uncommon.