Sandra Jenkins, St. Paul's Student Minister's Sermon, Maundy Thursday, April 8, 2004

This evening we come to commemorate Maundy Thursday. What is Maundy Thursday? The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines it this way:

“Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday before Good Friday, when Jesus commanded his disciples to follow his example of service in the washing of feet.” It was also the day when Communion was instituted and the day Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Okay. “What’s that got to do with me?” you ask? That’s a valid question.

Let’s look at that for a while.

It was just an ordinary day in the life of the disciples. They may have awakened that morning remembering the excitement of the past Sunday, (later to become known as Palm Sunday.) Or wondering what lessons they would learn from the Master today. Or they may have been waiting for the weekend. We don’t know. One thing we do know, from our point in time is that it was anything but an ordinary day. Yes, the sun set and the sun rose. People went about their activities, but we know that this day was important in relation to all the days and events that would follow.

John 13:1 tells us

“he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

What would he show them that they didn’t already know? The text tells us that Jesus knew that he was returning to God, so before he departed, he modeled godly loving behavior for the disciples. Imagine this.

It’s time for the meal and Jesus gets up, takes off his clothes, wraps a towel around himself, pours water in a basin, stoops down or kneels, then begins washing the disciples feet. What’s going on here with this foot-washing? First of all, the host was without clothing. The removal of his outer garments and tying a towel around himself underscores the humiliation of his action. No clothing = no dignity = humiliation. Can you imagine yourself in front of the gathering serving others without clothing?

Imagine the nervous eyes darting away from you. The uneasiness of the situation. Embarrassing, huh? The disciples were probably confused, embarrassed, stunned and didn’t know what to think of this. What was the Master doing? This was a serious breach of the protocol of the day. Jesus had just been heralded as king and now this??? He wasn’t supposed to do this. Although it was the custom in those days to wash the feet of guests when they arrived as a show of hospitality, it certainly wasn’t the job of the host! Especially not the Master! Not the Teacher! Not…Jesus! This was a job for Gentile slaves, for wives, for children. What was Jesus doing?

As the activity continued…I imagine in silence…Jesus reached Simon Peter. Peter said, “NO!” I wonder if Jesus looked up into the eyes of Peter as he said,

“Unless I wash you, you have no part of me.”

Peter submits and says,

“Then Lord, not just my feet
but my hands and my head as well!”

Peter failed to recognize what the Lord was doing. Truthfully, how was he to fully understand what was happening? He still didn’t realize, after all the time he had spent with Jesus that when one receives a touch from Jesus that is all that is needed. It can be a woman touching the hem of his garment and being made well, or Jesus merely calling the name of a dead man named Lazarus and the man getting up from the grave, or speaking to a paralyzed man and the man gets up and walks, or touching a man with leprosy and curing him, or a mere touch, taking away the fever of Peter’s own mother-in-law.

Jesus didn’t need to wash Peter from head to toe but Peter thought that if he had a little, more would be even better. That small amount of water on his feet served the purpose of symbolically taking Peter into the event of the cross… but he didn’t know about that. One must be washed by Jesus to have a part of him. Foot washing was also a model of service for the disciples. It prepared them for their task of servant leadership.

Jesus washed the feet of all who were present. All of them ... even Judas. Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him. He knew. How could he know this yet still wash the feet of Judas? How? It’s all about love. That’s a hard concept for us to grasp…isn’t it?

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”

Jesus asks the disciples. There was no recorded reply. This was happening in real time for them! How could the disciples have understood what was happening? By and by, they would understand and see the fulfillment of scripture and the fulfilled words of Jesus.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”

Jesus asked. I don’t think that question could be answered on that Thursday evening.

Our reading goes on to speak about the glorifying of Jesus and God though this selfless act and a new commandment. The new commandment that says,

“Love one another.
As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.
It’s all about love.
By this all men will know
that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.”

We weren’t asked to do what wasn’t first modeled for us. Did they understand? Do we understand? Sure.

I love all my family and friends, we say. Oh, really? Jesus loved at all times.

He loved the disciples despite their shortcomings. LOVE. That most powerful of four letter words! Do we know what it means to truly love?

We use that word very loosely, you know. I love that show! I love these shoes! I love that car! I love you…I love you…until…you do something that I find utterly despicable and there’s no one on earth who can find any right in what you’ve done to me. I’ve got to get away from you! I’m gone!

I’m glad Jesus doesn’t love me like that! remember…Jesus washed Judas’ feet.

That’s a lot to digest over an evening meal! The Teacher had broken every rule of social convention and now he’s talking about love. Love each other as I have loved you. It’s no longer a “thou shalt not” but an open-ended “thou shall”. Is there ever an end to this thing? “Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart; Lord I want to be more loving in my heart; Lord I want to be like Jesus in my heart.” That’s hard to do!

1 John 4:10 tells us what love is,

“This is love:
not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son
as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Jesus modeled a loving attitude and behavior that we sing about it but, it’s hard to live a Christ-like, Christ-inspired love. It’s hard. Think about that person who cut you off while driving and your heart almost leapt out of your throat. Think about that person who hurt your feelings at work or school by what they did, or didn’t do or said or didn’t say. Think about that person who gossiped about you. Think about those who slighted you or made you feel left out. Think about that ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend or ex-spouse. Think about that money you loaned and was never repaid though promised. Think about that relative or “friend” from whom you are estranged and haven’t spoken to in how many years? Now turn it around to when you did these things to others.

I was watching Good Morning America recently when a story was presented about a woman who had been held prisoner by her husband in their home for 10 years. The woman looked okay and was able to handle herself in the interview. I noticed a cross around her neck. Oh, she’s a Christian, I thought. Her holding onto Christ must have gotten her through that ordeal, I thought. Maybe she prayed her way through and I’m about to hear a testimony about God’s steadfast love and mercy through extremely difficult times. Charlie Gibson asked her, “Do you think he loved you?”

“No, he hated me,” she said. “But he doesn’t hate me anymore than I hate him.” 1 John 4:8 says,

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

We were commanded by Jesus to love Hate? No! It’s all about love, a Christ-inspired love. But it’s not easy. That’s why we lean and depend on Jesus for strength to love as he loved.

What does all this have to do with you, me, us? Everything if we are the Christians we claim we are. Christian. What is a Christian? Christian is a name used to designate those who believe in Jesus Christ and seek to live in the ways he taught. Christian is a designation for a community joined together through their love for one another. We’re not in this thing alone. Christianity is not an individualistic movement…it’s a community. 1 John 4:11 tells us,

“Dear friends,
since God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another."

It’s a cyclical thing. It goes around and around from me to you.

He showed us how and the Word tells us all about love. Ephesians 5:1-2,

“Be imitators of God, therefore,
as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Loving is not easy. Life shows that daily, but with God’s grace, we can put our trust and seek help from the Son.

Do we know what love is? Do we understand what this is all about?

Jesus wants us to restore a right relationship with God. He did all that he could to affect this. His sacrifice was done from a spirit of true love… a love that surpasses the understanding of men and women.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”
(2 Corinthians 5:21).

It’s Thursday and we have to wait to see what comes Friday. Somehow, I think this is a foretaste of what is to come. What lies ahead is a day away but whatever awaits us, we know that it’s all about love. Does that have anything to do with you? If you’re a Christian it does!