SERMON Maundy Thursday April 21, 2011

Transcription

1 SERMON Maundy Thursday April 21, 2011 Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] Psalm 116:1-2, Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen. During the American Revolution, a story was told of a man on a horse in civilian clothes riding past a group of soldiers who were repairing a small defense barrier. Their leader was standing there shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them out. The stranger on the horse asked the man why he was not helping his men. The leader responded; Sir, I am a Corporal! The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. After they had finished the job, the stranger turned to the Corporal and said, Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your Commander-in-Chief, and I will come and help you again. The stranger was none other than President George Washington. I wonder if this Corporal had known who the stranger was, he would have acted differently. He probably would have said; Oh no, Mr. President, you stay on your horse, I will help these men. In our Gospel story this evening, Jesus took the form of a servant; washing the feet of his disciples and serving them a meal that would come to be known as his Last Supper.

2 After his glorious ride into Jerusalem amidst the cries of Hosanna, we would imagine just the opposite. We would expect to see the disciples dressing Jesus in a red velvet robe, putting a jeweled crown on his head, and kissing his hands and feet. After all, this was the customary way to treat a king. But instead, we have Jesus removing his robe, tying a towel around his waist, and washing the feet of his disciples. What is going on? Imagine the confusion of the disciples. Even though it was obvious that no one understood what Jesus was doing, Peter was the only one to say something. Poor Peter always sticking his foot in his mouth. He has good intentions, but always seems to say the wrong thing. Maybe some of you feel like that from time to time. Doesn t it seem like there are times when we have the best intentions, but we just say the wrong thing. Remember when Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to have to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die? Peter said; God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you. Jesus responded by saying to Peter; Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. Oops! In this evening s Gospel story, Peter again goes against what Jesus was intending to do. When Jesus said that he was going to wash Peter s feet, Peter said to him; You will never wash my feet. No doubt, he soon realized that he had just put his foot in his mouth again. And this is before Jesus had washed it! But Jesus said; Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. I tried to come up with an example in our day that this might compare to, but could not. The creator and Lord of the universe taking the role of a slave and washing the dirty, smelly feet of his followers!

3 What in this world can that be compared to? You see, by washing his disciple s feet, Jesus enters into an intimate relationship with the disciples that mirrors the intimacy of his relationship with God the Father. This foot washing is Jesus offer of himself in love. Just as God offered himself in the person of Jesus Christ, Jesus offers himself as a servant to all. But this is hard to accept, isn t it? We, like Peter would protest saying; This is not the way it is supposed to be. It always amazes me how reluctant people are to be served, myself included. Perhaps it is because of our heritage or our upbringing. Some of us would rather suffer than accept the graciousness of others. Why is that? Of course there are those few who go the other way and live off of the generosity of others never extending a helping hand themselves. But the majority of us do not like to impose on others. Perhaps we feel that accepting help is a sign of weakness for those of us who were always taught that we should be able to make it on our own. You know the familiar saying; God helps those who help themselves. I would like you all to go home this evening and look up that passage in your bibles. It might take you a while since that saying is not contained in Scripture. It was actually coined by Benjamin Franklin. We ve heard other sayings like; When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or if you re down and out you need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. So why is this? Perhaps we have a bad self-image and feel that we do not deserve to be served by others. Or it could be that we believe it s just not right to accept help from others. We do not accept charity in this house! we sometimes hear. Could it have to do with pride? Well, we know what Jesus said about those who were proud.

4 But think about this. If everyone refused to accept help from others, then how would we be able to fulfill what Jesus had commanded us to do that is to serve one another? Remember this the next time you refuse the help of someone who is trying to live out their faith in service to others. At any rate, Peter too, was very uncomfortable with the idea of allowing Jesus to wash his feet. Then again, Jesus was and is known for making people uncomfortable. When Jesus had finished washing the feet of his disciples, he said; If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. Here, Jesus is calling his disciples to service. Serving others, demonstrating our love in tangible ways is of first importance to Jesus. This is the message he left his disciples with before he went to his death. I give you a new commandment, he said, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. In 1989, Mother Teresa visited Phoenix, Arizona to open a home for the poor. During that brief visit, she was interviewed by KTAR, the largest radio station in town. In a private moment, the announcer asked Mother Teresa if there was anything he could do for her. He was expecting her to request a contribution or media attention to help raise money for the new home for the poor in Phoenix. Instead, she replied; Yes there is. Find someone nobody else loves, and love them. Find someone nobody else loves, and love them. Today on this Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus serving as host at a meal. We call it Holy Communion. Notice that the word Communion and Community come from the same root word.

5 It gives us the image of sharing, serving, celebrating, remembering. It means coming together with a common purpose or mission. During communion we will have those who serve and those being served. The word Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum. We have the word mandate in our language which is similar. It refers to the new commandment the mandate that Jesus spoke about which is to love one another. To love one another. As you come to the table this day, you will be served bread and wine which is indeed the body and blood of our Lord given and shed for you. Graciously accept this gift that it may strengthen you to go forth in service to others. For Jesus said; I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Jesus has shown us the way. Jesus is the way. Following this holy meal, we will strip the altar. We will not again eat of this bread or drink from this cup until we do so three days from now when we celebrate the greatest gift of all the Resurrection of Our Lord. But in the mean time, we must continue our journey with Jesus as he suffers and dies. For it is only out of remembering his suffering and death on Friday that we can experience the joy of his resurrection on Sunday. Amen. May the peace that passes all understanding be with you now and for life everlasting. Amen.