maundy thursday, 2013

"peter"

mixed media collage (found papers, vintage papers, acrylic paint, markers, glue) on stretched canvas

march 2013

gregory a. milinovich

today is maundy thursday, and so i thought i would share with you my final lenten collage for this year. tonight as we remember Jesus' last supper with his disciples, and the way he demonstrated that humility and service were the calling card of his kingdom, we will think of Peter, and his misguided attempts to try and realize that kingdom. he was zealous, that's for sure. there was no question about his passion. but he didn't quite get it. he wanted Jesus to claim power and victory, rather than humiliation and death. but Jesus knew the road he had to travel. and he also knew the road peter had to travel: a road marked by charcoal fires, rooster crows, and unbearable shame.

it took traveling that road, i think, and seeing that the resurrection not only meant that Jesus was alive but that Jesus would forgive him, that ultimately helped Peter grasp the kind of Kingdom that was Jesus' realm.

the question, though, remains for us, who have the benefit of history and scripture. do we get it? do we understand that the kingdom isn't about how much money we have or how awesome our church building is? do we count it all as loss compared to the unsurpassable riches of knowing Jesus and his resurrection? do we really understand what it means to be called to be a servant of all? are we really willing to follow a Savior and Lord who will lead us to foot washing, margin-living and tough-loving?

that is the kingdom. the kingdom of God. i'm trying to learn to be a part of it.

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