Partnership With God

Matthew 26:19 – And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

The Passover meal was held in remembrance of the night that the Israelites in Egypt had been instructed to put blood on the lintels of their homes. When the angel of the Lord came to kill the firstborn of every Egyptian human and animal as punishment for Pharaoh’s hardheartedness, they would “pass over” the homes of the Israelites and spare their firstborn. The disciples who spoke with Jesus were in charge of preparing (cooking?) the feast for Jesus and his twelve disciples. The Last Supper. This meal of lamb also looks forward to Jesus as the Paschal Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

However, in keeping with my thinking about power, I would like to focus on the word translated as ‘had directed them.’ It’s unexpected, because the word, syntasso, literally means arranged with or ordered with. There’s a sense of shared leadership and goals. The disciples were partners as well as students! And you know what that means? We are partners with Jesus, too! I don’t know about you, but that idea gives me great joy!

I honestly have never thought about partnership with God before. I have thought about God in terms of familial relationships – God as Father, Jesus as our brother, etc. But this idea of partnership with God is new to me. The Ancient Israelites had covenants with God: Noah and the rainbow, Abraham made four covenants with God, Isaac and Jacob inherited the Covenant. While that was a partnership, it was not an equal partnership. God promised to take care of the Israelites on the condition that they obey him. The important thing about covenant is that God assured the Israelites God would always be with them and love them. However, God was the more powerful partner in the relationship.

But here, in Jesus arranging with his disciples, they are becoming partners if they’re not partners already. And if Jesus and the disciples were partners, that makes us partners as well. Maybe even more so, because Jesus uses our bodies – minds, hands, feet, mouths – to bring his message and to love his people. That sounds a bit possessiony, but I have to admit Jesus has a way of getting into our hearts and minds and working his magic. I mean, we always have the option of saying no to Jesus, so it’s not as though our lives are being taken over. Jesus’s physical body is no more, so Jesus uses our bodies – actions, words – to spread his message of love for all people.

Like a covenant, a partnership imposes duties and responsibilities on each party. Which means that going to church on Sunday and maybe giving money might not be enough. More might be required of us. I learned yesterday that Alan Boesak, a South African clergyman who was a leading spokesperson against apartheid, has said that his greatest fear is getting to heaven and Jesus asking where his scars are. Jesus wants us to use our lives, every aspect of our lives, to spread his mission of love to the whole world. Following Jesus might cost us more than we think we have. I have found, though, that as I become more willing to give, the more I have to give. In the moment, it doesn’t seem like a sacrifice; it just seems like the next right thing.

Granted, there are many people whose bodies, time, and/or financial resources are limited. That’s okay, Jesus uses whatever we offer. We just have to open ourselves up to doing so, because Jesus doesn’t take. He only wants what we can freely and joyfully give.

Partnership also requires listening and communication. Now I know that many people don’t think that God still speaks or that they’d be able to hear her if she did. But I think God is always talking – broadcasting if you will. But our minds are always as busy as our lives, and it’s hard to hear unless we slow down and listen. Lots of people pray, but I suspect (and I could be wrong) that fewer of us listen. In Al-Anon and other 12-step groups, they call this conscious contact; praying and meditating in order to discern God’s will for us. I got nowhere in my understanding of God and what was required of me until I learned to listen.

How are we doing as Jesus’s partners? Where are our scars?

B