Get Outside (Your Expectations): A Maundy Thursday Meditation

Moss and other natural items collected for an artistic event - nest sculptures.

Group Submission by: Betsy McCray, Holly Smith, and Val Kling

Invited for a Passover supper, the first disciples of Jesus had a prescribed set of expectations for the celebration.  When they stepped into the evening with their Master, however, He led them through and beyond and even away from their expectations. 

The disciples may have expected to have their feet washed by a servant upon arrival.  Jesus blew through such cultural assumptions by bowing to do it Himself.  Jesus reshaped the expectations they might have had for themselves by commanding the disciples to love humbly, likewise.

The disciples came together expecting to feed their own bodies.  Jesus surprised them by offering what He called His body, His blood to feed their souls. Their hope for unity and power were turned upside down as Jesus foretold betrayal, persecution and death.

What might be ways that God is calling us, too, to get outside of our assumptions and perspectives?  How can we stretch ourselves creatively to open space for God to speak?

On retreat in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, one church found a way last fall. 

Offered the opportunity to lead an “art activity” with a multi-age group, Holly Smith, Betsy McCray and Val Kling designed an outdoor art experience that prompted participants to immerse themselves in the natural world. Inspired by the work of environmental artist, Andy Goldsworthy, the leaders encouraged the adults, teens and children to look carefully at the natural surroundings, and then to gather twigs and sticks, vines and acorns–really, any found objects–and weave them together into nest-like sculptures.

Participants could choose to work individually or to collaborate. The crisp fall day was sunny and dry, and both young and old showed up to enjoy nature and the art of making new beauty from it.

At first, the assignment fell flat.  The landscape of uninteresting brown material offered little inspiration and felt disappointing.  Participants wondered if they should have chosen a different activity.

But then God began to lift the veil from eyes.  Here under the shade of an old oak was a moss bed, oh–here was a branch with dried flowers, and over there near the pond was a cattail!  The participants got outside their initial disappointment and got excited about looking more closely.  They found beauty, interest and surprising life–and one discovery energized another.

Getting outside is its own reward.  Getting outside our expectations can be another gift from God.