At the prison, we started the “Journey to Resurrection” series of stories in late January. This theme will run more or less from Epiphany through Lent and into Easter Season. All but the last story are from Mark 14-16. So the first story was “The Anointing” at Bethany, and last Friday we engaged a piece of the Last Supper story: “Bread and Wine.”
The talking piece I brought for this story was a candle my youngest daughter gave me some 15 years ago. I think she was still in high school. It was such a special candle, I could not bring myself to light it. One time several years after she gave it to me she saw it and was quite distressed that I hadn’t burned it yet. Somehow that seemed a bit sacrilegious; on the other hand, that was it’s purpose, wasn’t it?
About the third time I led Circles focused on the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus I remembered that candle. What a perfect talking piece for the story of the last supper (or any portion thereof). Now I knew its true purpose. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way one of the disciples lost his head. I have glued it back, but it just keeps falling off.
So I told the women about my daughter’s gift to me, and how she was distressed when she saw it hadn’t been burned, and how I now use it as a talking piece, and how one of the heads broke off. I pointed out the headless disciple. Then one of them said, “That’s Judas!” and we all had a very good laugh.
Funny, even silly, as that was, there actually was a serious narrative connection between my damaged candle and the story. It was an important thing to notice that Judas was among those to whom Jesus gave bread and wine. Judas was included in the “all” when Jesus gave the cup to his disciples and “they ALL drank from it.” Judas was included in the “many” when Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for MANY.”
Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him. That’s been established already in the story of the last supper. And yet, Jesus offered grace to even this most terrible enemy—a close friend and student who would betray him.
It was good to have laughter during the learning of this story. It is a hard one to internalize–not because it’s hard to remember, but because it is loaded with difficult emotional connections. And the stories of Mark 14-16 only get harder from here on out, at least for the next few sessions.