Maundy Thursday

I wonder if he sat at the head of the table; a place of honor; a place for the esteemed.

Or perhaps it was a circular table, one different than imagined by Da Vinci in his Last Supper masterpiece.

Did he pause during the meal?

Did he maybe place his elbows on the table, circular, rectangular, square or otherwise?

Perhaps he leaned forward, surveying his disciples in an unnoticed silence, he scanned the table, the room filled with his friends of these many years.

There was Simon, the one they called Peter – his mind was elsewhere, curious, not always getting it, but when he did, he got it.

James and John sat next to each other as they tended to do; these Sons of Thunder laughed loudly and well as they shared a story with Thaddeus.

Andrew was quick, he knew Jesus right away and left the company of John the Baptist to serve his Messiah, the Messiah.

Philip always faithful, listened to the hum of the room as he picked at his meal, nodding along when spoken to.

Jesus met eyes with Bartholemew and wondered if his disciple could imagine the places he would go to share Christ’s message.

Matthew, similar to Jesus though so very different, was looking around the room as well, taking in the story of these twelve led by this man, this God.

There too was skeptical Thomas, or, rather than skeptical, he was just given to wanting proof for all the miracles he witnessed; after all, some stories are so fantastical, so beautiful, so complete that he just wanted to know that everything around him was actually happening, touchable and real.

And James was sat at that table too, was he James the Less, did his mother witness Jesus upon the cross?

Beside James was Thaddeus also known as Judas Thaddeus; Judas, yes, but not that Judas.

They spoke to one another, about usual things, humdrum things, things one speaks about over dinner with an elbow propped on the table as their opposite hand gathers food from the plate and places it in their mouths.

Simon, Jesus’ most fervent disciple, called across the table to Thomas, ribbing him about one thing or another; they were never at odds, never enemies, but Thomas and Simon had that sort of repartee.

Finally, Jesus saw Judas.

Jesus loved them all and he loved them to the end.

Still, Jesus saw Judas Iscariot partaking in the banter of the twelve and he wondered how.

How could Judas sit there so calmly knowing what he was about to do?

How could he eat.

Yes, Jesus surveyed his disciples jawing and eating and yammering away, the room was loud with talk; the talk of brothers knowing each other for so long, sharing the ground amidst starlight as they stopped from town to town.

They had walked together for three years; did they ever expect this to end?

Were they told that this time wouldn’t last?

That the Son of Man must go through many tribulations?

Yes.

But what were they to expect?

Tonight was a meal, a Passover meal, familiar to all and yet happened but once a year.

Familiar yet still foreign.

Having watched this scene of comity, the twelve together as if the twelve tribes of Israel regathered, Jesus rose.

He knew what came next and then after that.

He knew of the garden called Gethsemane and the hilltop called Golgotha.

All things had been given to him; all things were in his hands and before those things, before the next thing and the things after that, he did the first thing.

He crossed the room to a side table.

Walking, he removed his outer robe.

He picked up a towel from that table.

He wrapped it around his waist, poured water in a basin and then moved from disciple to disciple.

Maybe starting with John and then his brother James all around the room he moved toward Thomas and Bartholemew to Judas who was to soon betray Jesus, he washed their feet.

Peter saw what was going on and immediately objected.

Jesus was their Lord; he was not their servant.

Peter was adamant; Jesus would not wash his feet.

Perhaps you know the rest.

Jesus did wash Peter’s feet, but before he did, Jesus said something interesting, that Peter would not understand what he was doing then but would understand later.

And Peter did not understand and because he did not understand, he protested that which he could not comprehend.

The other disciples, they turned to face Jesus as he went from person to person to wash their feet.

They removed their sandals, lifted their robes to expose their feet, their legs, they let Jesus serve them as a servant would, yet Peter continued to protest.

Peter did not understand because he was already clean, was he not, did he not already bathe?

Yet the cleansing was not the issue, the issue was sacrifice.

Jesus would leave this world as a servant to humanity; this was not just cleansing the feet but giving of himself for others.

And regarding that part, those parts, well, Peter must have had some greater intuition, some understanding that he was protesting not foot washing but the cross.

Peter did not wish to witness Jesus on that cross, that sacrifice that would free us all from death because Jesus would die.

Peter did not want to see Jesus die.

The other disciples perhaps understood what this cleansing act meant and even more they accepted the fact that Jesus would soon be crucified just as they accepted him washing their feet.

There was no protest from the others but Peter did not understand why his master must die.

And yet, eventually, Peter did understand, and yet, eventually, Peter’s feet were washed by Jesus.

Peter, quiet, returned to the table; the disciples turned back towards the table, perhaps murmuring and astounded at what had just taken place.

Jesus then alluded to Judas’ betrayal, then placed back on his outer robe.

He placed the towel once wrapped around him on a side table, the basin was put beside it.

Returning to the main table with the others he crossed the room, his sandals made shuffling sounds upon the wood floor dusty with sand.

Sitting down, he asked them, “Do you know what I have done for you?”

And with their feet now clean, they all perhaps knew the significance of what had occurred, that Jesus was presaging what would occur to himself, but did they understand?

Was this but a simple act of the one in charge taking on the role of servant to serve those who would usually serve him?

Was this an act of humility, or is this an allusion to something greater, that Jesus would not just serve but sacrifice all so that all would be saved?

Jesus would soon lay down his life for his disciples and the world.

And still he says he has set an example for those who so faithfully followed him throughout his years of ministry.

He has set an example and so too should they follow that example.

Just as he has laid down his life for the redemption of the world, so too must they lay down their own lives for the same.

That is our example.

Yet, I am not saying lay down our lives so that we should die; I am saying, we should give our lives in the name of Jesus.

Not laying down in the sense of death, but giving up our lives in the sense of sacrifice and taking on in the sharing of each other’s troubles.

There sits with us tonight those with many burdens, how will you carry them?

There sits with us tonight those with many burdens, how will you cleanse them from fear?

There sits with us tonight those with many burdens, how will you free them torment?

Just as your burdens weigh you down, will you allow them to be lifted from you?

Or will you protest as Peter did?

Just as your burdens weigh you down, will you allow yourself to be cleansed of them?

Or will you not understand as Peter did not understand?

Just as your burdens weigh you down, will you see freedom through the serving acts of your fellow Christian?

Will you submit yourself to giving up all that troubles you, will you be changed so that you can effect change?

This is what it comes down to, this act of foot washing is not just an act of humble service.

It is an act of giving up the parts of ourselves that distract us from feeling Christ’s love.

And we don’t always understand that.

We don’t always understand that we are loved perfectly and more importantly, we are deserving of that love.

Peter didn’t understand.

I don’t understand, and yet, we are perfectly loved.

And to understand love, we must be vulnerable to love; we must allow love to pierce our hearts, our souls, the very essence of who we are.

To understand love, we must lay down so much of our lives that are truly burdensome and give up our lives to that love we sometimes protest against or do not think ourselves deserving to receive.

And we cannot do that alone.

We do that by sacrificing to others and by allowing others to give of themselves to us.

This is not easy and, in fact, it is hard yet Jesus points us to a better way, a way found through the cross.

Know this though, while we shall find salvation through the cross, our way is not on the cross.

That was Christ’s sacrifice to make, not ours.

Our sacrifice is to each other, to all of humanity where we will give our lives to each other sharing the burdens we hold together; laying down our lives by lifting each other up.

Place yourself in that room with the disciples this night.

See through the candlelight the savior who loves you.

Lay your burdens before him and let them be eased by all of whom surrounds you.

Witness all that occurred and try to understand.

You are loved.

And you are commanded to love.

No, we are not called to die, we are called to live and we will only live when we love, with or without understanding.

Amen.