MAUNDY THURSDAY: ALSO GOOD

Maundy or Holy Thursday is today. This day in easter week gets less attention, I think. Although, I must confess that I haven't paid attention to any part of Easter week before last year. There were some pretty important events that happened on this day leading up to Good Friday and ultimately Easter. This day commemorates the Last Supper between Jesus and the Apostles, the washing of the Apostles feet, Jesus' mental struggles in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Judas. They are all very important aspects of the last week of Jesus' life and ultimately very important to us as Christians.
The instructions of remembering Jesus through a meal is something that is done by Christians today. Jesus' servant leadership of washing feet sets the bar high for His followers as we strive to be the people we were created to be.
The scene of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane gives us a glance of how human and divine Jesus was while on earth. His human nature wanted to be protected from the sacrifice he must make for us. However, his devotion to God the Father gives us the example of following God's will, even when it hurts.
The most tragic event of this day is the betrayal of Jesus. Judas Iscariot's love of money should be a warning to us that earthly temptation is out there and can cause us to turn our back of Jesus. If an Apostle, a man who was with Jesus daily can be seduced, so can we. Tragically, Judas could not forgive himself and ended his life after realizing the wrong he had committed.
I think Holy Thursday is a day worth spending some time meditating on. It is a huge part of the narrative of God.

Left-Handed Man

Who needs Batman or Superman when we have biblical superheros like Ehud? Erin was doing her daily bible reading in Judges last night and we started talking about Ehud and the graphic story he stars in. Ehud's nemisis was Eglon King of Moab who was a fat man according to the text. I am picturing a Jabba the Hut type enemy. So Ehud used his Jedi-type skills to get Eglon to meet with him privately. Then Ehud used his sword on Eglon, he pushed it right into his belly with his left-hand, Eglon's belly was so big Ehud lost his weapon inside him. I think the next part is the comic relief of the story. Since Ehud locked the doors of the room he met the King in the followers of the fallen King could not get in. I find it hilarious that their first line of logic is to assume he is "relieving himself" (NIV). It was not until they "waited to the point of embarassment" when they went to check on him. I wish they recorded what the point of embarassment is. Ehud then went and took down ten thousand Moabites, his rallying cry being the LORD has taken down Moab. I can envision a "Lord of the Rings" moment here, but the cool thing is-this really happened!