GO | COMMUNION

Two weeks before Lent started five weeks ago we (mostly me) were convinced of our own creative brilliance. It was a Tuesday, like this one, and the staff was gathered for our weekly meeting when we take ourselves as seriously as possible for as long as we can. 

This particular Tuesday, most of our time was spent finalizing our plans for Lent/Easter. That's right, we were talking about Easter Sunday two months before it would happen. My tendency is to wait until right before it's too late to do everything in my own life, but the Church needs and has people on staff thinking and acting two months in advance. 

It was right then, when we were almost done, that I had an idea. It was all mine and I was proud of it because it was different. It was a combination of two old things that looked new when you put them together. And we had two months to make the combo work. 

Feel free to laugh or gasp when you read that the good idea was to turn the solemn occasion of Maundy Thursday into a wine tasting. On the night before Jesus met up with suffering and death, we were going to deconstruct the dinner Jesus had with his disciples and just keep the part about the wine. It was going to be a party, the day before Good Friday.

For some reason, seven weeks ago, this sounded like a good idea.

Then time passes and not every good idea stays that way.

On the eve of Holy Week, it began to feel like the reduction of Maundy Thursday to just the wine, leaving behind the dark sense that things were about to change, and the sadness that is particular to moments when you know you can't trust anyone, because almost the whole world, including God, is about to desert you. 

It didn't seem right to lift a glass and raise a toast to that.

The Details

Date: Thursday, March 29th
Time: 5:30-7 pm
Location: The Spot on Blanding (1415 Blanding Street, Suite 6)