As Jesus walked, alone on the dirt road, He took to the beauty of His surroundings. The sun beginning to set, the distant buildings back lit, almost glowing. The sweet smell of the olive trees and the sound of the birds, coupled with the words of His mother, all settled His mind. He was now, ever focused on His purpose, the love of God within, sharing God's love with a multitude of people, this He would be accomplish in death. The night cool, as he neared the house where He was to meet His Apostles, He passed a man, they exchanged glances and pleasantries, He then continued on to his meeting place. Jesus was the last to arrive. When He entered the room, everyone cheered as if it were a surprise party. All the men gathered around Him excited to see Him, as though they had not seen Him in a year, though it had only been a few hours. The air, light as the men exchanged stories and sentiments. Knowing it was time, Jesus silenced the men with a simple raise of His hand, immediately, the men stopped their conversations and found their place among the table, all accept one who remained in the shadowed corner.
Jesus spoke, "tonight, my friends, we share our final meal for tonight I will be handed over that I may be brought to death."
The room set afire with disbelief and sworn protection.
"This will not be the case, master, we will not let it be so."
"You cannot stop what must be done. My brothers, we have shared faith these years; we have witnessed the wonders of life and the hauntings of death. You have become faith-filled men and I ask you to continue what you have learned, what you now live. "
"Sir, you speak with such certainty and calmness, we can change this outcome, sir, please let us change this outcome."
"I am afraid we cannot, my friends, soon I will depart, never to return."
In unison they exclaim, "No! No, rabbi we still have much to learn, do not leave us."
All, except the last apostle who sits mute in the corner.
"Worry not, my friends, you are ready, you are ready to carry out the actions, the love you witnessed, the love you felt these times together. Continue what we started, I pray you. I know the times will challenge but I also know your hearts, I know you will do as you feel you need. Come let me wash your feet..."
"Master, it is us who should wash your feet..."
"No, we are not here to be served but to be served. Come let me wash your feet that we may eat of our meal. I will do for you as you should do for others. All of my lessons have come with love, treat others with such love and you will bring my Father to them. Your actions speak loudly, listen to them, be cognizant of them for then you will see the fruit of my words, love in action, my friends, simply put, this is faith."
One by one the men came forward to have their feet washed by their master. And one by one he embraced each man and whispered into their ear.
"Peter, remember our conversation, your temper often stands in your way though your heart grand. Listen to your heart and you will bring faith to many people for you are my rock, Peter, on you I will build my Church. You will become the leader, men will look to you for direction, help them, Peter, guide them to my Father's love. But you will be tested, my friend. Tonight, in fact, you will deny our friendship three times."
"I would never, master, I would never deny knowing you, you are my trusted friend. People can say and do as they wish but I will never deny you!"
With determination and almost indignation Peter returned to the table.
The next apostle came forward, as Jesus embraced him, he spoke,
"John, my beloved, I have need of you to care for my mother. She is strong but will fall to sadness after my death. Your heart, my friend, is pure, your actions genuine and loving. Take care my mother as if she were your own."
Both men shed tears and John replied, "I promise it will be done, she will know the love of a son, for I will commit my life to her." With that he, too, returned to the table and another apostle presented himself to Jesus.
"Andrew, though your brother has a bit of a temper, his heart is in the right place. Learn from him, his faith is undeniable; he has learned to connect with my Father. Listen, learn from him and your actions will be faith filled and love center. You will be a perfect model of what we have learned together for the last three years. Fear not your future for I see your knowledge of God blossoming."
Andrew bowed, Jesus touched his head and he returned to his seat.
Philip was the next in line to have his feet washed.
"Philip, you, my friend have proved your faith. I have watched you as we wandered into village after village, you empathize with others. This empathy is your grandest trait. You will travel to vast lands to speak of your experiences for I know you have had many experiences of faith. Use these experiences to teach, bring each lesson to others, they will believe you because they will feel your love for them, they will feel your genuine concern for their well being."
Philip nodded in acceptance though he never raised his head.
"James, son of Zebedee, I commission you to walk the lands and act as you do, with humility and sincerity. Let people see who you are and they will see your connection to my Father. This is a trait which most do not possess. You have taken our experiences and internalized their meaning and this had lead you to my Father. He had shown you love, shown you peace that you did not know existed. Take this love, take this peace and share it with others; help them to share in your tender experiences and you, too, will bring many to my Father. Your humility will draw people to their own faith so be not afraid to teach, people want to learn and they will learn of faith from you."
A tear fell down his cheek, Jesus wiped away his tear and kissed his check. Distraught, James returned to his place among the table.
"Bartholomew, our time together has been precious. We have spoken many a star lit night about who you are, what talents you possess. You will be great among the nations for you will travel from city to city to speak about God's love to those who have forgotten. Times they will challenge, people will forget, emperors will threaten but you will speak, you will be the voice of their heart and they will listen. I know you speak not now, I know your silence makes you feel secure; but I tell you this, you will break free from this silence and speak to many believers, your faith will be the reason many turn back to my Father. Your eyes doubt me, but look into my eyes and see the truth, feel the conviction with which I speak. Bartholomew, this is you, you are an amazing person with strong faith; fear not this person who longs to surface. Listen to your heart, it will be your compass to a genuine life of love, a life filled with faith, shared with thousands."
Bartholomew left Jesus perplexed by the conversation but not put off by the idea.
"Thomas, dear Thomas. You often speak before you listen. My friend, slow down, trust. I know your past, I know you have been scorned many a time but with God, you need not worry, He will never lie to you, he will never abandon you. Do. It be so quick to judge, listen to the stories of others, listen not with your ears but with your heart and you will see, you will feel the truth. Many will come across your path with which you must trust, all you must do is look into their eyes and you will see the truth, my friend, please slow down and feel. Do not over think everything for this will make you mad. Know the presence of God within you, let this be your centering call. There will come a time where you will realize that these men here are your family, they are to be trusted completely, though you will doubt their words."
Thomas left Jesus perplexed for trust had never been his strong point, and not he is being told that these men he could fully trust. "When will I doubt?" He became fixed on this circumstance.
"Matthew, you come to me with such baggage. You are not liked among many group for your occupation sets you apart and lends itself to hatred. You have changed your ways, you see that faith can carry, that you are not alone in this world though any of this world abandoned you. I have special need of you, you must find the lost, those who feel disowned by their families and abandoned by God. Tell them your story, share with them your feelings, invite them into your heart that they may feel what you now feel, love. You, Matthew, are to take care of my outcast, you will be the link to family for them, let your heart shine that that may feel the warmth of my Father's love."
With a smile on his face, Matthew returned to his place among the table for at this very moment he felt welcomed and needed.
"James, son of Alphaeus, you confidence your greatest gift. You will walk to many lands, you will speak to many people and all will feel your confidence, they will not doubt your words. God will strengthen your hand and you mind will be silence that you may exude the confident of your faith and others will follow. James, be who you are, celebrate the God in others."
James, too, returned to his place among the apostles with a huge grin.
"Thaddeus, you have walked these three years in wonderment, you have been astonished at our accomplishments; with each blind that saw and each lame that walked your faith began to soar. Now, you need not see to believe, you feel the presence my Father among you, you know His call and you answer. Take these experiences and walk among the people. You need not perform miracles for them to believe, they will believe because you say it is so. Talk to them, get to know them, gain their trust through love. Show them compassion for compassion is who you are, compassion is your heart. Share your heart with others and many will come to know my Father, many will come to follow His word under your direction."
Thaddeus walked back to the table, sat in silence and contemplated on the words of Jesus.
"Simon, I know your mind is on the fight. I know you want to overthrow Rome. The zealots, they are not many, but their mindset the same, fight and conquer. Hearts speak lousy yet the mind even louder. Your job, Simon, is to help people temper the fire of hatred and listen to the call of my Father. Love is who we are, Simon, love is what we are called to do. We cannot partake in violent actions and love. We cannot call a fight a loving action and much worse in the name of my Father. Love, my dear Simon, let this love I speak of penetrate the mind and crack the casing around your heart. I need you, my friend, to show people that violence is not the answer though, at present, it is our way of life. Simon, when you doubt, when you fall back into the notion that only fighting, only violence will render the situation, I want you to remember the days to come and I believe you will see things differently, you will begin to call all to a life of love."
With his return to the table, Simon anxiously ponder what was to come.
The last of the apostles, Judas Iscariot, was to come forward to have his feet washed but he lingered in the shadows, he never rose to his feet. Jesus did not man a scene about the last apostle, rather HS spoke to the group with wisdom and love. Jesus joined the men around the table and he spoke,
"We have gathered tonight as family. Father, you permit us this food to nourish our bodies, nourish, too, our souls for often we become weary and faint of heart. Your plan, Father, never too great for us for you know our gifts, our hearts leap for joy with your love. Look into our hearts, Father, and grant us peace as we remember the cry of our people so long ago. You know our hearts, Father..."
With this the 12th apostle stands, tears stream down his cheeks and his hands trembling.
"Go, Judas, do what you must. I know your heart is weary, you worry, you fear what is to become of you and all because of me. Go, Judas, men await you. Go."
Judas attempts to leave the room but Simon Peter stands in his way.
"Simon Peter, let him go, he must do as his mind wishes. Step aside and let him leave."
Simon Peter does as he is told and Judas quickly exits the room. The men begin to question, "what is he doing? Where is he going? What do you mean he fears what is to become of him? We do not understand, master, help us to understand." Their minds raced as they saw a man who had traveled with them disrespect their teacher and leave the group on this such a momentous night.
Jesus motioned for them to all return to their seats and then He again spoke,
"My friends, you will soon understand all that has happened here tonight. To each I have shared my heart, to each I share my love. Tonight is unlike any cedar meal you have shared, tonight will mark the start of something new, something bigger than man itself, tonight you will truly feel the Divine. Come, let us center ourselves in silence that we may feel the presence of my Father."
The men all fell silent as if in a trance. They held out their arms and offered themselves to the Father, offered their trials, their doubts that they, too may be overcome with the peace they felt, the love they experienced with their moment with Jesus.
Jesus picked up the bread, he broke it and said, "Take this and eat of it, it is my body which will be broken for you." He took the break and ceremoniously broke it and passed it to the apostles who did the same thing. They all ate of the bread and were full.
Then Jesus picked up the cup and said, "This is my blood, the blood of the ever lasting covenant, it will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." Again, he took the cup, drank of it and passed it to the Apostles who did likewise.
The meal continued, they prayed the solemn Scriptures yet no one dared ask of the addition of the initial portion of the meal. Feeling their wonderment yet valuing their respect, Jesus began to explain his actions.
"Brothers, you will remember this day for you will recreate this day each time you gather with the faithful. The bread, this my body, which will be broken tomorrow."
They began to rumble about His death but He simply held up his hand and they immediately fell silent.
"Yes, tomorrow will come and tomorrow my human life will end, my body broken, my blood poured out. Though you will not have me to walk among you, I will forever in your hearts, listen for me, I will be the constant speech you need. This night you will share with others, you will break bread and drink of wine and my spirit will be among you. Forget not of tonight's events for in rough and difficult times, it will bring you comfort. I have reminded you each of your purpose, your special call of my Father. Fear not this call for I am always with you, I will never leave you. Your talents they are many and with such diversity will bring many more to my Father for people trust what they know. You will make me, make my Father proud with your gifts and talents, just remember to always listen and follow your heart for this is the dwelling place of God. Love I have shared with you for three years, unconditional love I will show you tomorrow. I know each of you personally and spiritually I could as for none better to continue my work, to continue what I started, the love I have shared. Yes, flaws and all you are the perfect ones for the job for your hearts know of the Father. Go, live, be the love you have experienced, be the love you have learned. I love you."
With that, the men rose from their seats and exited the building.
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