thursday’s god has far to go…

That supper was the end of the innocence. That’s how I remember it. Yes, I believed things were changing when he got on that beast and the pilgrims cheered, but even then there was still the ‘follow me’ that hung in the air, we were still the little boys dressed in new, chasing after the piper. But after that table we knew there would be no more laughter, no more singing, the fifes had grown still. His was a dusky show-and-tell, a command of how we must dress for the grisly hours that followed, and beyond. Jesus gave us hand-me-downs, blackened shrouds of love for one another, the rags of a true disciple.

As I leaned into him I felt the maundy pulse and it chilled me. What we all-too-soon experienced was an appalling succession of bleak and bare, a way filled with thorns of a seemingly eternal winter. What we witnessed that evening was Thursday’s God becoming Friday’s clown. And he still had so far to go.

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12 Comments

  1. Sandra Heska King on April 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    Thinking of that pulse that stilled and love that spilled when the sword pierced. And the beat goes on.

    Powerful reflection, John.

  2. consolationofmirth on April 5, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Right after reading this, I needed to put on a sweater. So good.
    -Heather

    • thebeautifuldue on April 5, 2012 at 1:57 pm

      Heather, I’m grateful you’re following along this week, sweater and all.

  3. dukeslee on April 5, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    Stunning. Moved deeply by this.

  4. Connie Mace (@ConnieMace) on April 5, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    “Thursday’s God becoming Friday’s clown.” Oh how this tears the heart…

    • thebeautifuldue on April 5, 2012 at 4:13 pm

      Thanks for taking a moment to comment, Connie…yes, there is something rending about that line.

  5. Bonnie Grove on April 5, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    I want to wear those rags, and follow the clown, but I’m afraid.

  6. patriciaspreng on April 6, 2012 at 6:30 am

    “seemingly” …
    such a very important word.
    God’s tender blessings to you and your family this Easter.

    • thebeautifuldue on April 6, 2012 at 11:52 am

      Yes, Patricia, a most important word…may your Easter be rich as well.

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