Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Jesus and his disciples share a Last Supper

Study for The Last Supper
by Becki Jayne Harrelson

A queer version of Christ’s Passion is running in daily installments this week from Palm Sunday (3/16/08) through Easter (3/23/08). Each daily post features a queer Christian painting and an excerpt from the novel Jesus in Love: At the Cross by Kittredge Cherry.


All of them, male and female, were seated around the table. They smiled at me eagerly when I took my seat. The air was filled with the inviting aroma of fresh-baked bread. John was on one side of me and Judas on the other. My disciples had been chatting and nibbling on olives and other appetizers, but now they all stopped in anticipation of the official start of the meal. …

I tore the bread in half with my human hands. In my mind I ripped a chunk out of my own divine heart. A spark of sacred energy exploded into infinity when the two pieces of my heart separated. It hurt! I was bleeding red light. Shafts of pink and scarlet now pierced the white light that poured from me.

“This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me,” I said. When I passed the bread to my friends, I also offered them chunks of my divine heart….

I took a sip of the wine. It was dry and delicious, mixed with just the right amount of water. I prepared to pass this cup of blessing around the table according to our Jewish custom, but first I said something that was not part of the standard ritual.

“Drink, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

… I handed the cup to John. He looked in it warily and saw his own reflection on the surface of the liquid.

“Go ahead, drink up.” I touched his shoulder gently.

He sipped. The Holy Spirit sighed. Inside John’s soul, a piece of my divine heart started beating. Somehow it was able to receive the red light that was bleeding from the wound in my heart.

(Please come back tomorrow for the next daily installment in the Holy Week/Easter series at the Jesus in Love Blog.)

Detail from Study for The Last Supper

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