A Seat At The Table - Maundy Thursday
(If you don’t subscribe to the email newsletter, I sent this out today and wanted to share as a blog post as well. If you would like to receive the 2x monthly email, click the envelope below to subscribe.
Welcome to Resurrection Weekend. There are so many ways to remember, celebrate and acknowledge the days leading up to Easter. This morning I simply want to visit a place that is dear to me - the table.
This is a weekend that began around a table on Maundy Thursday. In addition to gathering to share a meal with the Lord, his disciples experienced the true picture of a humble servant as the Christ knelt in humility to wash each of their feet. Can you imagine what they must have thought. Here was the One, the Holy One, on his knees before them washing the dirt, sweat and stench off their feet. I can only wonder what they must have been feeling and thinking: embarrassment, pride, uncomfortable, unworthy. And then, they sit and prepare to take a meal together. One of the most intimate and vulnerable times we experience is when we share a meal together. Walls come down; hearts are softened & opened. It is here that Christ explains the taking of His body and blood - the first communion, as it were. And then, 'maundy', enters. Maundy is Latin for 'command', and it was here around the table, on what we would eventually call Maundy Thursday, that Jesus gave his greatest commend: "Love one another as I have loved you..." (John 13:34) We should think of the Last Supper as a meal served with unconditional love. We should think of the foot washing as a servant’s act of grace. We should be thankful. We are loved and grace has been served to us. Jesus provided it all - unconditionally, lovingly, and willingly.
Tomorrow we come to the Hill of Golgotha and the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday. It seems so strange and uncomfortable to call the day He was murdered "Good" Friday. And then there is Saturday - a day of silence. Of sorrow. Of waiting. Of wondering if God had simply turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
But then came Sunday...
UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE!!!
I pray that in the coming 3 days you will find Jesus in the simplest of moments. in the most humble of material items, and in the beautiful love that you experience around you. May you step into humble servanthood and give from the abundance that has been given to you.
Until next time, go out and find a creative way to make someone smile!
(Please see some fun and tasty recipes below to make and bring creativity to your Easter morning table)
Be Blessed!
Stacy
Resurrection Cookies or Easter Story Cookies
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
Place pecans in a plastic baggie. Beat the nuts with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. This represents that Jesus was arrested and beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
Smell the vinegar. Talk about how Jesus was forced to drink vinegar when he was thirsty on the cross. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Read John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to bowl with vinegar. Eggs represent life and that by giving His life, Jesus gave us eternal life. Read John 10:10-11.
Give everyone a little salt in their hand and encourage them to taste it. The salt represents the salty tears that were shed by Jesus’ followers and the bitterness of our sin. Add a pinch of salt to the bowl. Read Luke 23:27.
Add 1 cup sugar. Sugar is added to show that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat the egg whites to form peaks, beat for about 5-10 minutes. The white color represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Christ. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
Fold in broken nuts or mini chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons onto a parchment covered cookie sheet. Each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was placed. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Use pieces of masking tape to seal the oven just as the tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.
NOW GO TO BED! Just as you may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight, Jesus’ followers were sad when the tomb was sealed and they had to leave his body there. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. As you take a bite you will discover that the cookies are hollow. On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9
Resurrection Rolls*
Perfect for families, but also great for adults to enjoy a simple reminder of the love of Christ at Easter Breakfast.
Ingredients
16 large marshmallows
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 (8-oz.) cans crescent roll dough
Directions
Step 1 - Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Step 2 - Unroll crescent roll dough, and separate each roll along perforations.
Step 3 - Roll marshmallows in melted butter, and then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place one coated marshmallow in the middle of an unrolled crescent dough segment, and roll the marshmallow until completely covered by the dough, pushing in sides as you go. Pinch seams on either end to seal each roll.
Step 4 - Place rolls on a jellyroll pan, and bake at 350˚ for about 12 minutes.
Step 5 - Immediately after removing rolls from the oven, brush with remaining melted butter and then sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.
*Southern Living
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash