Maundy Thursday
March 29, 2018
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Sermon “Just As I Have Loved You”
On “Maundy Thursday” we gather to remember “the Last Supper,” we gather to remember “the night in which Jesus was betrayed;” we gather to remember “the moment in history when the “Passover Meal” is transformed into the meal of the “New Covenant;” we gather to remember “bread broken” (the body of Christ) and “wine poured out” (the blood of Christ) given and shed for you, for me, for all of us; but ultimately, we gather to be reminded once again, that it’s all about love. In the Gospel of John, Jesus concludes this holy meal, the Passover meal, his Last Supper with his disciples, with these words about love, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, - you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, - if you have love for one another."
“Just as I have loved you.” The Gospel of John is unique when it comes to this night. Unlike the other Gospels in John there is no mention of “Take, eat, this is my body;” there is no mention of a cup, “my blood of the covenant;” there is no exhortation, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Instead John tells a different story, one that begins with Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. “And during supper Jesus, … got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.”
The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin word meaning “commandment,” so it is that on “Maundy Thursday” we gather to be reminded of “the love of God in Christ Jesus,” and Jesus’ command that we “love one another” - “Just as I have loved you.” And to make sure we know what that means, what it means to love, what it means to love as God loves, Jesus acts out this “holy love” in the simple and humble act of washing the disciple’s feet. God’s love is demonstrated and measured out in concrete actions that turn the world upside down and inside out.
And when this love is directed at us, (and it is directed at each of us!) - it is a wonderful thing, it is our life and our salvation. “Thanks be to God!” And when we experience such “holy love” it is a powerful and transformative event in our life, one that touches us deeply, one that moves us, one that changes us; and “our spirit” responds, and we want nothing more than “to pass it on,” to share it, “to love as we have been loved.” That’s how true love works!
Yet, alas, it’s not always that easy to practice such real love. To “love as Christ loved” is scary, it’s challenging, it’s seems unrealistic and impossible. And we become afraid to risk that kind of love, and fear instills doubt, and doubt and fear together have a way of shutting us down. We may even experience despair. It’s really hard to love as we have been loved. Consequently, we struggle with the “Maundy,” the new commandment, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
I’d like to conclude by sharing a song with you that I wrote a few years back, it’s called “The Table.” This song comes out of my own personal struggle to love, to authentically live in, - and out of, - the true and holy love of God that I have experienced in my life.
I often feel overwhelmed by the pain and suffering I come across in the world, by the lack of love in so many situations, and I can become really frustrated by the lack of real, concrete, love that I have to offer in response. And that often leads to a kind of hopeless-ness and helpless-ness that leaves me “stuck.” So, this is a song about being stuck and getting unstuck.
“The Table” (I Fell Into Love)
I was feeling kind of empty; When I saw her standing there
Living on the street; And no one seemed to care
My heart grew heavy; I began to fade away
Then I was gone; Nothing to say
I was feeling kind of weak; When a man came up to me
Can you spare some change; I pretended not to see
My heart grew heavy; I began to fade away
Then I was gone; Nothing to say
I was feeling kind of broken; Just trying to survive
Uncomfortably numb; I sat down and I cried
My heart grew heavy; I began to fade away
Then I was gone; Nothing to say
Someone tapped my shoulder; Invited me inside
Brought me to a table; A feast for my poor eyes
This is my body; This is my blood
Arms opened wide; I fell into love
She was still out on the street; And I was feeling kind of strong
He still needed some change; And I was singing this song
I opened up my heart; I gave what I could give
Arms opened wide; I began to live
The song turns “unstuck” when we are invited to a table, where the host is Christ, and where true and holy love is shared and experienced. For it is only in being totally and unconditionally loved that we can begin to reach out and love others.
Tonight, you are invited to such a table. Such love awaits you. The powerful drama of “Maundy Thursday” is about to unfold. Christ is present in bread and wine and in the community re-membered; Christ is present in love; for you, for me, for all of us. May we all be strengthened in our faith and made alive in our service. May we all be set free to love as we have been loved. Amen.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." 12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
31 Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."