As far as we know, the last supper really happened. According to Luke, Mark, and Matthew’s gospel it was the annual Jewish Seder meal celebrating the escape of the Children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage about 1300 years before. John’s gospel did not agree that it was a Seder meal. It happened at Passover time and the meal celebrated the angel of death “passing-over” the homes with the blood of a lamb painted on their door posts. Without the blood on the door posts, the first born in the house, and the animals connected to that home, would be dead by the morning. Our Jewish brothers and sisters continue to celebrate this event annually. Now just a word about the Passover meal and the Last Supper. The greatest injustice ever done to the Christian chronicles was Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting! In Jesus’ day, people ate from a lounging position on the floor supported by their elbows and cushions. The table was low with short legs. They were U-shaped, with the open end available for the food servers to place the food on the table. The host of the feast (Jesus) sat second from the top of the U on the right. The guest of honour (Judas) sat beside the host at the top of the U on the right. The person with the least status, and charged with washing the feet of all guests was Peter, who sat at the top of the U on the left. Between Jesus and Peter sat the rest of the men in order of their status as denoted by the host (see Luke 14:10 or Luke 17: 7-11). Peter was ticked at being relegated to foot washer, the lowest status position at the meal. It would have been embarrassing for him in front of his friends and other disciples, and he refused to comply with Jesus. So, Jesus being Jesus, and against the status of the day, embarrassed Peter by washing his guests’ feet himself. Foot washing was important at mealtime as there were no sewers - waste was simply dumped in the street and sat there until the next rain washed it away. The Seder meal was a family meal where men, women and children were linked together in food, fellowship, and tradition. I strongly suspect women and children joined in when Jesus hosted the Last Supper. Men and boys over 13 would have eaten at one table and the women, girls and young boys at another. The Seder was an educational time and a time to remember. Jewish families all over the world celebrate this time together. I can see no reason it should have been any different in Jesus’ time. What was on the menu? There were traditional foods which were intended to remind the participants of the journey from slavery to freedom. Haroset was a paste made from fruit and nuts and it symbolized the mortar used in their slavery chores. Mar’or was a bitter herb (like horseradish) to remind them of the bitterness of slavery. Karpas was a green vegetable (usually parsley) representing spring. There was a bowl of salt water to remind them of their tears. Other foods were served, and often local traditions dictated what they were. So here we find Jesus hosting the Seder meal, perhaps in the year 28CE. He adds to it with the Eucharist wine and bread, the food of Christian remembering for 2000 plus years. Our Roman Catholic friends celebrate this by ringing a bell to indicate when the host and wine have become human. Protestants do it quite differently; we celebrate Communion during the year but not necessarily each week. All denominations develop their own strategies and theologies. Today in Christian communities, if we practice the last supper it is done on the Thursday prior to Easter Sunday. This day is called Maundy Thursday. Interesting that the word “maundy” means the ceremony of “washing feet” and has nothing to do with the meal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm Rev. Dr. Pirie Mitchell and I live in Ontario, Canada. Archives
May 2023
Categories |
Home |
About |
Contact |
Copyright © 2023 Ask the Preacher