Day 8: Words and Pictures: The Last Supper
One of the world’s most famous murals- Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498, tempera and oil on plaster (Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan)
Today is Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of Jesus celebrating the Passover feast with His disciples. At the gathering He washes His disciples’ feet in an act of humility and asks that His disciples do likewise. He uses the items from the Seder as new symbols of remembrance: the cup and bread. He also tells them, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
It is interesting that in Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of the last supper, he chooses to draw the scene when Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray Him. He also does not add halos to any of their heads. He is letting their human emotion and commonness be viewed.
While I do not believe Leonardo was a theologian (and neither am I), I like the idea that he doesn’t add any sainthood to those seated at the table. While Jesus would certainly deserve the halo and I do believe (while I may not completely understand it) that Jesus is fully man and fully God, Leonardo’s depiction of Jesus without the halo speaks to His human nature: He was resigned to the plans His father had given Him- to be the Savior for the world. As we know from the writings of His time on the Mount of Olives, Jesus did not enter into His death blithely. His human side wanted the cup (symbolism of his death) to pass over Him but He was obedient to the will of God.
While we are not perfect like Christ, we can be obedient to God’s direction of loving one another. Certainly we can get it wrong. All twelve of those depicted there got it wrong at one point or another. Yet Jesus did not hold it against them (da Vinci depicts a serenity on Christ’s face) for He forgives them and loves them even knowing that they will not be obedient at times and will betray Him in large and small ways. It could only be God who could forgive like that. This last supper, this time to impart His final words to His disciples are also words for each one of us. He knows that we will betray Him in large and small ways yet He loves us unconditionally.
On this day, a day of remembrance, what can we learn from Jesus’ behavior? Are we obedient in loving our neighbors, even when we may be frightened about our individual safety? Are we willing to share our resources so that others might live? If you were partaking in your last supper, what words would you impart to your guests? For what would you want to be remembered?
The Tongerlo Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci and his studio. Courtesy of the Sheen Center. “Second copy” of his work. While it is thought not to be a true copy, it does give an idea of what the original might have looked like in 1498.