A Very Special Night

Today is known in the Christian tradition as Maundy Thursday. It is also called Holy Thursday. As a rule, Maundy Thursday coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover, and I agree with those who speculate that The Last Supper of Christianity originated with the Seder meal at which Jesus and his disciples sat. At one point in the Seder, the question is asked, "What makes this night different than all others?" Born and raised in the church, I came to see that no question is more germane to the celebration of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. In the Gospel accounts of what is supposed to have happened this night two-thousand years ago, Jesus glorifies God by revealing the power of Love. Jesus was not a warrior. Jesus was not an emperor (although the legalization of Christianity by Constantine in the Fourth Century C.E. effectively turned him into one). Jesus was the incarnation of God's love and revealed to the world its indomitable power. Jesus did not fight. Jesus did not retaliate. Jesus joined his loved ones to celebrate the gift of life and its Creator, to exemplify that our relationship to God is the very sustenance of our lives. Jesus exemplified that communion with God endures all things and cannot be destroyed. That night so long ago was different than any other because Jesus understood that God is love and demonstrated that even death cannot destroy this Truth.