Although for most Americans, April 15 begins and ends with making sure financial matters are in order with federal and state and local governments, today is also the birthdate of perhaps one of the most influential figures in history in Leonardo da Vinci. But for many church-going individuals, his Last Supper artistic rendition may be one of the most frequently hung works of art in fellowship halls or Sunday school classrooms or some other random spot inside houses of worship.
I will not even pretend to be an expert in the full-scale impact of Leonardo da Vinci’s life, or even acting as if I have the faintest clue in the vast field of art history. Numerous sources, including reliable ones, can be found elsewhere (or to make things more dramatic/interesting, The Da Vinci Code, and the like, can be easily found as well). But it is rather fitting that this famous artwork can be brought front-and-center a few days before our First Communion celebration for seven of our youth.
Now, it’s quite possible that much about the painting may not be historically accurate, but it can still help us appreciate the original “last supper” and each time we gather for own Lord’s supper, of sorts. It is believed that Da Vinci intended to portray the moment in the meal where Jesus foretold of the betrayer in their midst (John 13:21). And so, around the table are the intrinsically detailed facial expressions of shock and sorrow and anger and bewilderment and fear and everything else in between. And in the midst of all of them, is the one, just to the right of Jesus, reaching for bread, while clenching, supposedly, to a bag of newfound financial security. Yet, Judas…even Judas, is still included…for some reason that only the full-scale impact of God’s grace can withstand.
So, yes, safe to say there’s plenty of Gospel material to work with in that story, and in Da Vinci’s masterpiece (which is often just quickly walked by and never thought of in most church buildings). There’s plenty of Gospel material to directly apply to the seven youth who partake of the Lord’s Supper, where they will have always have a spot available to take all the grace in that day.
But there’s also something else about the image that I never noticed before (until reading one of those reliable sources): the disciples are grouped in threes amidst their own trying to process the unthinkable. Besides the Trinitarian symbolism with that, it’s also comforting to consider that they’re not meant to deal with the gut-wrenching blow alone. Through the shock and sorrow and fear, they’re meant to be there for each other. Granted, they’re ultimately united by Christ, the uniter of the entire universe from the cross and out of the empty tomb soon enough, but there’s a reason why most church-goers will hear the word Communion to describe our own celebration.
Yes, we’re meant to partake of the love side-by-side, but we’re also meant to be solidified as a community of faith with that grace. We’re meant to collectively bring our shocks and sorrows and fears to that table, to that crucified and Risen Christ, and we’re meant to be re-assured that that table has more than enough room for all the human emotions and character flaws, and that Christ’s eternal hope is more than strong enough to go forth from that table with us to take on whatever the world will unleash.
Safe to say, there’s more than enough Gospel to work with still from that story, from that artistic masterpiece. There’s more than enough Gospel that gets re-enacted every time we gather for our own grace-filled masterpiece of a Lord’s supper put together for us, including for the seven precious children of God this Sunday. But may we never walk past or away from the living artistry of the Gospel without realizing that this bread of life is given for you, too. Thanks be to God, indeed!
In Christ,
Pastor Brad