The Living Last Supper

When I was a little girl, during communion, I heard the pastor say that Jesus "blessed the bread and broke it" - and I wished I could know the words He prayed, just like we know the wording of The Lord's Prayer. I thought it would be so meaningful to say His "blessing" before a meal. But, what did He say?

That question stayed with me for years.

Inspiration from my Minister of Music

At Christ Church United Methodist in Birmingham, Alabama, the minister of music, Terry Davis, wanted to present a living last supper for Holy Week. He asked me if I had any songs that might work.

Our discussions inspired me to write a dramatic musical built around the scene depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting. When Jesus announces to the twelve disciples that one of them will betray Him, each one responds with incredulity and a unique emotion: Peter's fierce loyalty. Thomas's doubt. John's devotion. Judas's hidden motivation. Their monologues express their shock and innermost thoughts - creating high drama, emotional impact, and a connection to this pivotal event.

As part of my research for the drama portion, I studied the gospels and read books about the apostles. This helped me create personas for the disciples that were believable and individualized, and provided historical perspective. The monologues explore the range of thoughts and emotions that perhaps we ourselves feel.

Each set of monologues sets the stage for the next song, creating an integrated work. Yet each song is designed to be used individually, throughout the Lenten season, for example King Triumphant for Palm Sunday.

Twelve Disciples, One Question

The musical opens with the choir singing How Great His Love while Jesus breaks the bread and hides half beneath the table - the first quiet act of a Passover that will unfold throughout the evening.

Then, one by one, the disciples stand and speak. Each monologue ends with the same question asked directly to Jesus: "Is it I?" The choir's songs between the speakers carry the weight forward - the song Is It I? gives voice to their shared dread.

King Triumphant celebrates the Triumphal Entry even as betrayal looms.

Thaddaeus gazes at Jesus' hands and marvels at what they've done - and that sets up a song that means the world to me.

The Impact of the Fall

His Hands opens with the line: "His hands took the impact of the fall ... " When the listener hears this phrase, they might be thinking about when Jesus' hands were nailed to the cross, how they took the impact of the fall of humanity that happened in the Garden of Eden so long ago. But another meaning is embedded in the rest of that statement: "His hands took the impact of the fall - when He stumbled as a Child."

Very little is said about Jesus' childhood in Scripture - His miraculous birth, and then at twelve, astounding Jewish scholars with His knowledge of God’s Word. But to be fully human, I imagine He must have experienced all the awkward stages any child goes through: growth spurts, toothless grins, tripping over His own feet. He stumbled. And as is instinctual, His hands reached out to break the fall - and took its impact.

The song pictures what else those hands did - feeling the texture and grain of the wood as He apprenticed in carpentry, improving His skill set for the career He was being trained for. Then as He took up His ministry - the miracles those hands performed! Turning water into wine, multiplying the bread and fish to feed thousands, healing the sick with a mere touch, raising Lazarus from the dead. Then the practical act of washing the dusty feet of His friends in an example of humility and service. And finally, bearing the scars that deserve to be on my hands.

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by what Jesus has done for me. I can't fathom a love so pure, so selfless, so complete. That love, that mercy and grace is in every deed His hands performed.

And then... Judas

After His Hands, in the upper room, the drama reaches its highest intensity. John, the beloved disciple, speaks of a love so deep that Jesus would give His life. Thomas voices the doubt and confusion that everyone is feeling. And then Judas stands - not with regret, but with impatience. He doesn't want a servant king. He wants a political revolution. He picks up the pouch of coins and leaves Jesus and the disciples behind.

The room goes quiet. And into that silence comes the song that answers the question I'd been carrying since I was a little girl.

Jesus, the Bread of Life

As I immersed myself in research about the Last Supper and the Passover tradition, I discovered something remarkable: we can know what Jesus prayed when He blessed the bread.¹ The prayers of the Passover Supper have been recited for centuries. The words are ancient and unchanged.

It was a special moment for me to weave that discovery into the music. In the chorus of You Are the Bread, when the sopranos sing that phrase, the other voices chant the actual prayer Jesus spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who bringest forth bread from the earth." This is such a beautiful way to express God's provision for us with the growth and harvesting of grain, and all that we need to make life-sustaining bread.

But there's another, deeper meaning in the phrase "bringest forth bread from the earth" - this foreshadows that God would raise Jesus from the dead, and bring Him - the Bread of Life - forth from the earth as well.

The musical ends with a reprise of How Great His Love, which is a perfect ending for Maundy Thursday. Some churches have used this cantata on Easter Sunday, adding either an Easter anthem or Handel's Hallelujah Chorus to tell the completed story.

The People Who Come Back

At one of the churches where I first conducted the musical, the pastor agreed to play Jesus. His ten-year-old son was so proud of his dad that he wanted to portray one of the disciples. The church repeated the musical year after year, and the son continued in that same role. The congregation watched that young man grow up as a disciple - the photos from each year's presentation tell the story.

Something special happens when churches return to this work year after year. A cast forms - not professional actors, but church members, friends, neighbors. People from all walks of life and all ages come together to tell this story. They rehearse, they joke with each other, and then the music starts and they become the disciples. Many of these people say it's unlike anything else in their church life - a way of stepping physically into a biblical story. Some have come back to their role for five, ten, fifteen years running. That kind of bond, and that kind of faithfulness to a work, is deeply humbling.

The Living Last Supper was designed so that no church would feel it was beyond their reach. Thirteen actors or just a narrator or two. A full orchestral ensemble or simply a piano - every instrumental part is optional.

A Living Communion

One of the most powerful things that has come from this work is when churches combine it with the serving of communion.

At a church I visited, the disciples lined up in their positions in front of the table to offer the bread to members of the congregation. The actor portraying Jesus was in the center with the cup.

As a young girl approached, "Jesus" leaned down so that she could reach to dip her bread in the cup he was holding. It was such a beautiful, poignant moment - Jesus, Humble Savior, became so real in that instant.

Unforgettable.

Larry Pugh, then the Senior Editor with Lorenz, was in town on business and came to my home office to read through and edit this work. Editors almost always work remotely, so having Larry looking over my shoulder as we sang through the work together is a unique and precious memory.

Editors often bring great ideas to a work. Larry provided the excellent suggestion that the disciples and "Jesus" serve communion as part of the program. He understood my vision of creating a chamber orchestration designed not for the studio, but for church musicians; one that would be musical and beautiful, but not difficult, using instruments that would not overwhelm a small choir.

Larry passed away in 2025, and I will miss him dearly. His loss has been felt deeply by the Lorenz team and the choral music community.

Larry played a key role in reviewing and accepting the two dramatic musicals that followed - The Living Light, a Christmas cantata that builds the Nativity Scene and portrays eyewitness accounts, and The Living Last Words based on the seven last words of Christ from the cross. These three musicals are my heart and soul on paper.

Lloyd Larson edited The Living Last Supper. Lloyd is a kind and gracious man as well as being a fabulous composer, arranger, and conductor. Working closely with him was another joy and highlight of my career.

¹ There are some who assert that the Last Supper was not a traditional Seder dinner, but this is the most likely scenario of His last meal with His disciples. In Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22, He is described as performing many of the rituals included in the Passover Supper, which would imply He acted as head of household and recited the traditional prayers. ↩