Be not afraid

“Now comes the mystery!

          Henry Ward Beecher

I’m bored with it all

          Winston Churchill

I never should have switched from Scotch to Martinis

          Humphry Bogart

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last moments

last words

whenever an end is coming

we want to have the last word

and the upper room

was Jesus last “word”

it wasn’t exactly a last “word”

as a close and final encounter

of a spiritual kind

and I have to wonder

why Jesus chose the lessons he chose

I mean there was so much that could be said

Should be said

so why did he do what he did

and say what he said?

Take the meal!

Take eat, this is my body

Take drink, this is the cup of the new covenant

What did Jesus know about his disciples

About us?

That we have a pain expertise in forgetting

Sacred Presence

And need to be reminded again

And again

And again

And again

The we can partake of Sacred presence

That we can eat

Chew

Savor

And assimilated God/ Jesus / Sacred

And so gave us a meal of remembrance

Remember

Remember

Remember

And the foot washing

Did he know how much we love power

And domination?

Did he know that we, who are so quick to

Grab power

Use power

Abuse power

Needed to be taught in an unmistakable way

That Jesus way is about service, and generosity

Not dominion and wealth

That lovely teaching about the vine and the branches

Did he know how lazy we get spiritually,

and how we neglect that connection that feeds us?

Did he know that we would all to often, become distant

And end up dry and brittle

Did he know how tempted we are

To think it is all about us

Our gifts

Our talents

Our energy

And so introduce the Spirit

The Paraclete

Comforter

Guide

Over and over and over again

Did he know how frightened we get

How quickly we fall into to fear

And so echo the words of the angels

Be not afraid

Be not afraid

Ah yes

That is the thing about Jesus

He knows us so well

He knows our forgetful

Striving

Fearful

Grasping souls so well

And so in his last words

He reminded us

To remember

To rest in him

To be humble

And to be not afraid

Not bad things to grab hold of

And hang onto

As we peer forth uncertainly

Into the dark