Jesus's Last Sabbath - Lent Journal (33/40)

What would you do if you knew you were going to die in one week? As we enter into Holy Week, we get to retrace Jesus's last steps - the final days of his life, as he entered into the mystery of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

But we're not there yet. Tonight is Jesus's last Sabbath. His final day of rest. His final opportunity to simply enjoy his Father's Creation.

I bet he spent it in Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - with dear friends, steeling himself for the whirlwind of his entry into Jerusalem. I bet they knew what he was about to do, and spent the evening comforting him. Maybe Lazarus even reminded Jesus that he, too, would be raised - just as he had been.

How was the Jewish Sabbath celebrated in the first century? Did he break bread and bless wine, thinking already of what he would do in six nights? Did he sing hymns and make joyful noise, or was he silent as he kept all these things, and pondered them in his heart, the way his mother did at his birth?

Speaking of Mary ... was she with him for a final family meal, Mother and Son eating together for the last time? Were there tears, hugs, kisses? Long goodbyes and toasts in commemoration for what was about to take place? Reminders to stay faithful and trust the Father's will even in the total darkness that was to come?

Did they read the Torah? Did they step through the creation story in Genesis, while Jesus reminded them that he was there bringing about creation? Did they look at Exodus and the manna in the desert, as Jesus showed them how he would be fulfilling the prototype in the Eucharist? Did they read the prophecies of the Suffering Servant and the Messianic promises in Isaiah, as Jesus told them yet again how it would be brought about?

Do you think Jesus slept at all that night? Do you think Jesus would have suffered from insomnia or racing thoughts? Did every moment seem to race by - far too quickly - as they brought him one heartbeat closer to Calvary?

I don't know. If it was me, I wouldn't have slept at all that night. I'd have been wide awake with a mind that wouldn't stop thinking about all the moments that got me to that point. I'd be revisiting conversations that had long since ended. I would be second-guessing because I haven't yet learned to abandon myself to Divine Providence.

Lord, thank you so much for your last Sabbath. Thank you for giving us this coming week. Give us hearts that draw nearer to you and long to see, and touch, and smell. Give us minds that come to life in contemplating your words and deeds, inspired to comprehend just a bit more of the mystery. Give us feet that will draw us after you in walking the Via Dolorosa, carrying our own Crosses. Give us redemption, resurrection, and waves of unending mercy. Give us yourself, poured out and always on offer for us to receive.