Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a Flemish artist of the Baroque Period and considered a leader of this movement that is rich in color, vibrance, and elegant interpretation. This painting was commissioned as an altar piece for the Church of St. Rombout in Mechelen, Belguim. It can now be seen at Pinacoteca de Brera in Milan. Here we see Jesus and the disciples as Jesus lifts the loaf and blesses it at his last meal.

This is a scene of community and concern as Jesus looks upward and the disciples look to him. They lean in, straining to hear and understand what he is saying with one exception. Rubens has painted Judas in the yellow robe looking at the viewer hand to mouth with exhausted eyes. The dog beneath his feet is thought by some to represent disloyalty. He seems to already know the anguish of separation from God.

This beautiful, crowded composition asks us to imagine the drama of this meal as the disciples surround their beloved Jesus. It captures a time just before the world started to shake on its axis for them. In a few hours this scene will be shattered by what Jesus here knows and tried to convey.

Rubens hints at the clarity we find only in a backward view as our own lives are divided into before and after. We can imagine a soon to be drawn thick, black line in the consciousness of the disciples gathered here. Before and after will be the context of their remaining years.

Most of our lives are replete with such lines. All manner of events can draw them and in faith we can believe each is a call to love. Each is a call to love one another before and after and always reaching beyond all of these lines to find the next prayer to say, the next hand to hold.

We pray for all who suffer now. We hold them in love and grace.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church