Copious Notes

I though I was just agreeing to be part of a tableau that looked something like this . . .

It seemed like an almost innocuous request: could I be a part of a “Living Lord’s Supper,” for the Maundy Thursday service at my church.

Sure, I could put on a robe and be part of a Da Vinci-esque tableau. Why not?

So, I volunteered, and the next thing I knew I got an e-mail with my monologue and a rehearsal schedule.

Monologue? Rehearsal? I need to more thoroughly vet these little requests.

Yes indeedy, the Living Lord’s Supper was more than looking like part of a masterpiece. It was actually a reenactment — key word, “act” — of Jesus’ final meal with his disciples in which Christ would announce he was going to be betrayed, and then each of the disciples stepped forward to tell their stories and insist they would not betray Jesus.

I was Philip, frankly a kind of boring disciple. Didn’t betray anyone, didn’t doubt anyone. Just saw Jesus and rolled with him. But the monologue, written by our pastor, Woody Berry, was a nice two to two-and-a-half minute — depending on how I paced it — journey of fascination and acceptance. Directing us through it was Martha “Mrs. Lincoln” Campbell.

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