Tuesday April 19, 2011

Matthew 26:17-19

"On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' He said, 'Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, "The teacher says, 'My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.'"' The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover."

I had a conversation with a Jewish friend of mine yesterday about how annoying it is when Passover and Holy Week don't line up, the way that they do this year. It's kind of embarrassing when that doesn't work out, especially since Easter is a mobile season.

Thinking about that - Passover is kind of a big production, even if you don't travel all the way to Jerusalem for it. So I wonder if the question the apostles were asking was partially along the lines of, "So...in this transitory, no-possession, no-home, just-following-a-prophet-around lifestyle...how do we handle Passover?" I suppose they had handled two before, so perhaps they were over that question and simply asking, "So, are we headed back to Martha, Mary and Lazarus's place? I'm sure they'd be delighted considering. Or is Peter's mother-in-law going to requite the healing you did on her?" And I wonder if they were surprised that the answer was, "Go here and talk to the man you see there."

There's showmanship to it, and there's trust. And even for the omnipotent God, considering free will, there's a trust of a human man, right before so many betrayed Him. He trusted that the man would answer the call, the summons, of His God. He put faith in us right before we were about to betray it.

That's quite something, though an admittedly small detail in the story of this week. If we were busily making our plans for one of the craziest times of year in our home city, further exacerbated by the procession of the Messiah (the previous day? earlier that day?), would I immediately drop my plans and make my Passover meal the place where the lamb whose blood protected the threshold of the Israelites in Egypt was spread over the whole world?

Could God trust me to choose that?

Dear Lord, help me to never stop listening for Your call and to take up Your summons whenever You have need of me. Help me to know Your will and to follow it always. Be with me, Lord, and be with everyone who died today.