The bonding around tables is hard to find sitting in pews. Last night, 56 people gathered in six different homes to share a simple meal, to pray, to sing (and some even danced!) and to hear again the Bible story.   We learned more about each other.  We learned what others are celebrating and what others are concerned about.  We shared our belief in Jesus who lives among us.  This is what identifies us as a community of believers in Christ.

Agape is the Greek word for unconditional love (not brotherly love or sexual love).  It is the love God has for us, and the love Jesus calls us to have for one another, not just on Maundy Thursday, but on any Thursday or Saturday or Tuesday.

As we remember the death of our Lord on this gray, rainy day, we recognize the ways we have felt abandoned in our lives, either by other people or by God.  (Check out Psalm 22 today. Jesus quotes the first line as he was dying.)  And in the midst of it all, the agape of God stands firm.  May you be encouraged in the real life demonstration of that agape in our shared community as the body of Christ.