The Last Last Supper by Anne O'Day Background

I realize this stuff may be more than you really want to know, but as a former English Lit Major, I still feel the need to dissect a story from time to time!

My journey for this story started with the question of "What could be that big?"  So big that a town could be changed, or so big that "nothing was ever the same again after that."  According to Christian mythology, Jesus’s coming would certainly be that big. It would affect not only a little town, but all of humanity.

So then I needed some events to happen in the house before his arrival. I thought it delightful to imagine the 12 apostles as ghosts doomed to repeat the last supper every year for thousands of years. The last supper would be somewhat modernized with food from a convenience store, but also the ghosts getting sick of each other, and sick of the rituals, reducing it to a duty that they must perform, without feeling or enjoyment.

1. John – Since ghosts can traditionally come and go, there was no good reason for John to open the door, other than it seemed like a good way to introduce the fact that he was a ghost, and others would be joining him. I didn’t describe how he broke the hasp, just that he destroyed it. I actually envision that he wafted in thru the door, and broke the hasp from the inside. His fellow ghosts could have come and gone the same way, right thru the door. 2. Matthew – was at one time a tax collector. So I thought it would be good for him to bring a receipt and want to keep track of finances. In the story, he brings “a bag of nacho chips,” and “a receipt.” Originally I wrote chips and salsa, with their receipt. But then I thought about a ghost being able to carry food and make a purchase at a convenience store. So instead, I envision that he was actually bringing literally a bag and a receipt, both of things he found in his travels to the house. 3. Thomas – this is of course the doubting Thomas. Hence the reason his arms were folded across his chest, the classic body language for disbelief. Later, he makes it clear that he doubts Jesus would ever come. And after Judas’s announcement, he demands proof. 4. Bartholomew – St. Bartholomew as he is now known is responsible or miracles of weight change, such as a statue made of silver seeming to weigh only a few ounces when threatened to be melted down by the Nazis. So Bartholomew was able to bring in a large bag of vegetables and fruits, then shrug and say “Light as a feather!” 5. Philip – not much about him, so had him travelling with Bartholomew 6. Jude – St. Jude is now associated with the sick. St. Jude’s children’s hospital is a fairly well known institution. So he comes to the party bearing balloons (again, something light), and the balloons have “Get Well Soon” on them. I guess that's my warped sense of humor showing thru, to think that this saintly ghost is going around stealing balloons from sick children. 7. Simon – Also known as Simon the Zealot. Not the most well-known apostle, but based on the title “Zealot,” I made him out to be the party beast, bearing illegal substances. 8. Peter – Known as the fisher of men. So he comes to the party with three others in tow. I was needing a good way to keep the story short anyway, so it was convenient to have several show up without having to give characteristics to each one. I had him mention that the townsfolk couldn’t give them directions just to make it very clear these were all ghosts. I thought it had been obvious as I wrote the story, but the more I tried to read it with fresh eyes, I wasn’t so sure. Originally, I had him say that they might as well try threading a needle with a camel, but I thought I needed to be more direct than that. 9. Andrew 10. James the Less 11. James the Greater 12. Judas Iscariot – I like to think of Judas as being some sort of John Wayne type. He’s tall and lanky, and would have commanded the room’s attention even if he had not tried so hard to grab it. Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus, so here he has the opportunity to do so again, telling the group of his coming even tho he had been sworn to secrecy. In the third paragraph from the end, I name him as “Judas Iscariot.” This was for the benefit of the reader who hadn’t quite figured out yet that it was the twelve apostles waiting for Jesus. I don’t know if it was completely necessary, but I thought the name should hopefully grab someone’s attention who hadn’t managed to follow that line of thinking just yet.

John 3:16 reference – John 3:16 is the sign that is often held up at sporting events. It speaks of eternal life, which I thought especially appropriate for a bunch of ghosts hanging around. And I also hoped that a listener of the story would pick up on “John 3:16” to clue in to the fact that these are the 12 apostles.

The receipt – This started with just the idea of Matthew having been a tax collector, and likely to be a little obsessed with money. But I also liked the fact that it lent a little bit of human neurosis to the story, poor Matthew being tortured by the fact that no one else was bringing a receipt. And later it becomes a symbol of Christians waiting for something, and staring at a worthless piece of trash as they bide their time. While I don’t say it directly in the story, I figure the ghost picked this receipt up from the ground somewhere in his travels, since he couldn’t legitimately make a purchase at a convenience store. Toward the end of the story, the receipt is stolen by a breeze. I liked the idea of it just vanishing right before Jesus’s arrival.

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