They gathered
for dinner… in a prearranged room… for the last time...and they were all
there- as they had been everyday, for every meal, for years. Bartholomew was there; James the
Lesser too, Andrew and the brother he introduced to Christ, Simon Peter,
were there, as were the “sons of thunder”- John and James. Thomas, the twin, and Matthew, the tax collector, were there, and so was
Thaddeus (aka, Jude). Simon the Zealot and Phillip were there, and Judas Iscariot was there for
part of the meal. It may have been April 1,
33… when they gathered together for the last time. They were reclining
in a U-shape and the food before them included… wine, bread (all meals included
bread)… and possibly (we don't know)… lamb shanks or tilapia, cholent
(stewed legumes of some sort), olives, Maror (a green salad), Karpas (fresh
vegetables), and Charoset (a fruit and nut
paste).
Scholars are
divided on whether it was a Passover meal nor not, but what we do know (from the synoptic gospels) is that Jesus took the bread and gave it to
the others as his body, broken for them, and that he offered them a drink from the cup, saying that it was a new covenant, sealed with his blood, shed for the forgiveness of sin. John doesn’t
mention any of this, but he does tell us that… as the meal was in progress, Jesus grabbed a basin of
water, and a towel … and proceeded to wash his disciples’ feet, moving from
one to the other. It was a awkward thing to see and even more awkward to be part of… because having someone wash your feet is very vulnerable… and
intimate! I know because I’ve had my feet washed at a “foot-washing” service or
two. I’ve also washed feet, and I understand the servanthood involved… but the deeper surrender comes when we allow
someone else to wash our feet. It's a awkward thing... and Peter cried out, “You’ll never wash my feet,” when
Jesus approached him. He was anxious, maybe offended, embarrassed,
but Jesus said, Peter-my dear friend, if you don’t allow me to wash your
feet, you’ll never have any part of me. If you don’t allow me to carry your sin
on my back, if you don’t allow me to die for you, or cry for you… you’ll never really know me… and you won’t be able to
minister to others in my name.
And when Jesus finished, he told them that the foot-washing was an “object lesson”… so that they would know how to love one another when he was gone! Yes, he
told them that he was going to leave them… and that they would be blessed if
they showed one another the love he had shown them ...by washing one another’s
feet. The time is near for me to
leave you, he said, and before I go, I am giving you a new commandment- a
mandatum novum- that you must love one another… as I have loved you! The NEW
COMMANDMENT- that his disciples, which would be a blessing in the doing- this was John's concern. A PARTING GIFT for those who would have to
go on alone- was part of the Last Supper. Jesus went on to offer a
prayer for them, and later he gave them his Holy Spirit for insight
and strength, but on this night, he loved them enough to answer the question
that was weighing on their hearts- WHAT ARE WE TO DO NOW?
Saying “goodbye”
for the last time is a difficult thing… and the right words are hard to come
by. When I said “goodbye” to my brother, Larry, I was too nonchalant about it…
and I wish I could do it over… because we both knew that we would never see one another again. We had a
beautiful time together during my final days with him, but I should’ve said
more than “goodbye” when I left. I should’ve hugged him, told him
that I loved him, and that I always admired him… but I didn’t. It;s tough to say "goodbye"- I know it... and you know it... and the disciples learned it too. They had been with Jesus 24-7, for at least three years, must have
been overwhelmed by the the moment. What would next Monday be like
without Jesus? How could they live without him?
And so it was that on the first Maundy Thursday, our Lord told his friends that he would be with them in the breaking of the bread… and he gave them a new commandment- so that they would know how to live for him when he was gone. Wash one another’s feet, he said, and you'll be blessed. Love one another as I've loved you… he said, and the world will know that you're mine. A new commandment …but what does it mean? How can we love one another as he loved us? What would that look like? Well, if we're to love in the way he loved, we will forgive 70x7 because forgiveness is what his life and ministry were all about. If we're to love as he loved, we'll meet people where they're at… and invite all people into His wide circle of grace. We'll welcome children and listen to cries for help, whether they come from a Phoenician woman who insists on a healing for her daughter, or from the lepers who cluster on the outskirts of town. If we're to love as he loved us, we will mourn for a broken world, defend people, even prostitutes, from persecution, and we'll liberate and empower those who have been shut down, shut in, or shut out. Loving as he loved… means that we'll weep with the broken-hearted and have a bias toward those who are poor, disabled, or imprisoned.
And so it was that on the first Maundy Thursday, our Lord told his friends that he would be with them in the breaking of the bread… and he gave them a new commandment- so that they would know how to live for him when he was gone. Wash one another’s feet, he said, and you'll be blessed. Love one another as I've loved you… he said, and the world will know that you're mine. A new commandment …but what does it mean? How can we love one another as he loved us? What would that look like? Well, if we're to love in the way he loved, we will forgive 70x7 because forgiveness is what his life and ministry were all about. If we're to love as he loved, we'll meet people where they're at… and invite all people into His wide circle of grace. We'll welcome children and listen to cries for help, whether they come from a Phoenician woman who insists on a healing for her daughter, or from the lepers who cluster on the outskirts of town. If we're to love as he loved us, we will mourn for a broken world, defend people, even prostitutes, from persecution, and we'll liberate and empower those who have been shut down, shut in, or shut out. Loving as he loved… means that we'll weep with the broken-hearted and have a bias toward those who are poor, disabled, or imprisoned.
These are some
of the things that loving as he loved require, but where will the power, even the desire, come from? How can we get beyond ourselves and our own agendas… and
love others in ways that are more sacrificial that just being a little inconvenient? How can I love in that way? Well, the answer lies in surrender, in claiming our baptisms, and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Christ has left us with a new commandment, it is true, but he has also given us the power to keep it. The "secret" is to allow Christ to dwell in us and to trust enough
to dwell in him. If we are ever to wash one another’s feet in a way that goes
beyond hospitality or theatre, we will have to respond to Christ’s invitation
in our own lives. Let me close with a few of the lyrics to one of my favorite
hymns, which is called, “The Summons.” They go like this: Will you come and
follow me, if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never
be the same? Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name? Will you
care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you let the blinded see if
I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen? Will you love the you
inside if I but call your name? Will you be the faith you’ve found and reshape
the world around if I but call your name? Lord, your summons echo true when you
but call my name. Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In your
company I’ll go… where your love and footsteps show. Thus, I’ll move and live
and grow… in you and you in me. He has shown us what to do and he has equipped us for the doing. Let those who have ears, hear! Amen.
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