A reflection for Maundy Thursday
So here it is: the day of your death.
Although you are surrounded by those that you know as friends, they do not speak words to comfort you, because they do not see the end coming. They talk of loyalty and service. Your companions feel safe and confident.
Who can touch you? Your enemies are afraid of the crowds that gather wherever you are! The authorities are scared to touch you, reluctant to confront you because you always turn their arguments over – and often against your accusers.
And, there is your power. The power you have shown, day after day, in the villages and in the capital. The astonishing and the miraculous have followed you everywhere, since you began calling people to follow you.
So all is calm.
But you know differently for yourself. If there is one thing that you have always shown in your stories and teachings it is that you know what people are really like. Inside. In their very souls.
You called these men to intimacy, knowing that one of them would ultimately betray you; turn you over for a few coins.
You know that the authorities wouldn’t let that fickle body – ‘the people’ – be your protector. Perhaps in that, at least, you and they would find agreement. You know too, that the people who crowded around you yesterday, shouting for joy, can be just as easily moved to bay for your blood.
So the way of Men comes to the fore. In the darkness; in secrecy; armed with deceit; swept along by the powers of fear, insecurity and pride; they will come.
And they will kill you. They are not interested in censure or compromise. They are not interested in debate or points of view. They want you gone. Dead. The trial will be a sham, the sentence is already decided.
A tragedy some will say. A shame. A miscarriage of justice. Inevitable, say others.
Surrounded by your loved ones then, you are the most alone. The most alone in all the world.
For this night, it is only you who knows why this is all happening. It is only you who can see where the events of your death will lead. It is only you who must find the strength to complete the task ahead of you. No-one on this earth can help you any longer.
Only you can do this. It is what you were born for. It is why you came.
Yet, you persist. You persist even now, as the last minutes pass away, in sharing with them your innermost thoughts. You continue for them in sharing your urgent message. They do not understand why you are talking this way, acting this way – talking of bread and blood, washing their feet and talking of sorrow, comfort, vines and joy.
For now, today, you are the stranger in their midst. The un-known one. The un-recognised. The condemned man at the party.
The saviour that no-one knows they need.
But they will. One day they will.
wepilgrim 