The Jesus Connection

Its amazing how many different versions there are of Da Vinci's Last Supper. There's The Simpsons version with Homer surrounded by patrons at Moe's bar. There are at least two Star Wars versions, one with Darth Vader at the center and another with Luke Skywalker.  There's HBO's The Soprano's with Tony Soprano and South Park with Kyle Broflovski; The Expendables with Sylvester Stallone and Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay.  Just to mention a few.

There are a couple of reason's for posting Hyatt Moore's version of the Last Supper.  It illustrates how God's love reaches out to every people group, community and culture.  That 1950's VBS song continues to ring true: "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight."  Let's learn it, sing it, and live it!

A more important reason for posting Moore's version of the Last Supper it that it illustrates how people groups, communities and cultures can become one body, committed to a common purpose when Jesus is the central focus.  Wherever 2 or 3 gather in his name, Jesus is powerfully present.  

Yale historian Jeroslav Pelikan wrote, "Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost 20 centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?"

The early Christian movement was under-financed and had limited material resources.  Their leaders was under-educated and lacked celebrity or political influence.  It is likely that they would have become little more than a brief "flash mob" except for on thing.  They were devoted to Jesus.  John offered this simple summary of their mission, "We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy."