Maundy Thursday

Ecumenical Worship with PCUSA and UMC

Readings: Exodus 12:1-14 & John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Holy Week

Back in February at the beginning of this journey toward Easter, Pastor Pam propositioned you on Ash Wednesday. We heard then about Jesus’ time in the desert/wilderness and how he resisted temptations and walked away knowing more fully WHO he was as God’s beloved child. Pastor Pam challenged us, as we walked through the desert this Lent, to journey toward self-discovery, toward wholeness, as we become more and more who God made us to be. I wonder how this journey has been for you. I wonder what you’ve learned about yourself, what temptations you’ve denied and let go of, what made you uncomfortable and what brought you peace.

         On this evening of Maundy Thursday, we remember the night Jesus made his closest friends, his disciples, uncomfortable. They had learned to follow, but they hadn’t yet faced all their temptations. As they sat around the table with Jesus for the Passover meal, Jesus took off his robes, wrapped a linen towel around his waist and knelt down to wash each one of their feet. I’m pretty positive their reaction would have been similar to ours today – resistance!

Resistance in this matter might arise for a number of reasons. Perhaps you’re one of those people who doesn’t like your feet touched or your embarrassed of your feet and don’t want anyone else to know how gross they are! Perhaps to have someone perform such a service repulses you because the intimacy of it makes you feel vulnerable. In the time of Jesus, the disciples were also resistant because they looked at Jesus as their KING, someone far superior to them. Those who are superior didn’t perform acts of service for those who were beneath them! That was unheard of!

         However, in Jesus’ act of washing their feet, he was pushing past their comfort levels to convey a message that penetrated their souls and re-wired their brains. This message was not just spoken to them, it was SHOWN to them; it was experienced somatically. Jesus was good at embodying the gospel message (that was his whole deal actually). And the message that not only touched their feet that night, but also their hearts was this: “You are sacred. You are worthy of love and care. The love and service you do for God, God reciprocates. You are not broken. You are not a burden. You are God’s beloved.”

         Their path through the desert with Jesus had led them to this place, where they became more whole, more fully themselves as they embraced their God given identities. They learned that God does not come to us to be served, but to serve. God is not above us, but beside us. God engages in give and take, like any healthy, thriving relationship. This was a message they would need to hold on to in order to withstand what was to come next.

         There are many things I love about the story of the last supper as Jesus washes feet, breaks bread, and shares the cup. But the core of it all is love – a love so unconditional, so deep and sacred that it is hard to even comprehend. As Jesus sat around the table with those whom he shared every day with for three years, he did not look around and think, ‘wow, they’re so dumb, they have such little faith, they’ll never understand.’ Nor did he look around and think, ‘wow, what a bunch of sinners. Judas sold me out and Peter, my closest friend, is about to deny THREE times he even knows me! How could I have ever trusted these people?!’ No. Jesus looked around and thought, ‘wow, I would die for these people. I love them so much I would die for them.’

         I find, for a plethora of reasons, humans (myself included) are resistant to receiving love. We might be great at giving it, but receiving love is another beast entirely. We brush off compliments, we blush, we divert with jokes, we verbally degrade ourselves in response to love as a buffer, a defense mechanism. But why is it that we need defenses against LOVE!? We can be such silly creatures. Love is the most powerful force in the world; it moves us.. it changes us. However, unlike other forces in the universe, its transformational power does not come from coercion or manipulation. Rather, its power, I think, comes from connecting with our core identity – reminding us who we are and WHOSE we are.

         If God IS love, if God made us in God’s own image, then love is the essence of our being. I think when we are faced with love, we are forced to drop all masks and see ourselves for who we really are. This is why our defenses go up, because deep down I think a lot of us believe we aren’t worthy. Society has stolen the essence of our being and put hurdle after hurdle in our way to getting it back. ‘Ope, you can’t have love unless you lose that weight, use this skin cream, never age, have the right job, the right home, the perfect family, fill in the blank here.’ Society profits on keeping us insecure and doubting our own worth.

         However, God in Christ Jesus comes to us and says,

‘I love you just the way you are, just the way I MADE YOU! Here, sit back and relax, let me wash your feet. Have

you eaten? Here, I’ve saved a seat for you and prepared a feast! Here is my body broken for you, my blood shed

for you, eat this always and remember we are ONE. Eat this always and remember you are TO DIE FOR! Eat this

always and remember to share with your neighbor, to look around at the others at the table and acknowledge

that I am within them too, that I died for them too. Love them as I have loved you. That is the commandment I

leave with you. If you remember nothing else, remember how I love you. Remember to take that love and share it.

Don’t give up on sharing this love until the whole world can feast at the table of love in peace. Until the whole

world can put down their weapons and pick up a fork.’

In the meantime, let us practice. Let us pass the bread and fill our cups as we receive the love of Christ, remember who we are and whose we are, and love one another as God first loved us. Amen.