Serving to the last - Maundy Thursday

John 13: 1-17, 31-35

And so this afternoon we draw ever closer to the Passion of our Lord. As the time of his death draws near, Jesus shares in one last meal with his followers. One more time, they will experience his acceptance in the sharing of table fellowship.

Yet first there is something else to be done. Jesus and his friends have been on the road in a land in which the roads would have been muddy in wet times and dusty in dry times. The normal footwear gave precious little protection against either of these possibilities. And so, at the door of any house there would be waterpots with a servant to attend to the washing and drying of feet - not the sort of job you dream of at school!

Within a group in which nobody was assigned the role of servant, one might expect this task to be shared. But this night, there are no volunteers amongst the 12. Perhaps, they have become so competitive that they all feel such a role to be beneath them. And yet, a volunteer emerges. But in a radical role reversal, the volunteer is the Rabbi, the leader of the pack, Jesus. Jesus takes on the role of servant. But why?

Well, I guess one reason is that it reveals something about his relationship with humanity. Too often we talk of god in terms of domination. However, Jesus is in this world not to dominate us but to be alongside us, even sharing in the lowliest of acts of service. And as he washes the feet of the disciples, on his knees unable to see their faces, he shows us his commitment to every single person whether we be high and mighty or the down and out. In washing feet, he is in effect whispering a message of acceptance and value to each of us. Truly, he is our Immanuel, God with us. And as he serves us, he institutes a new order of the world in which we are called to share in the path of service.

But this is not any meal it is a last one. Soon, the path of love that Jesus has trod will take him to a cross. For there are those who cannot accept a message of unconditional love for all. After all, it threatens their man made barriers. But Jesus cannot compromise that love and for that love he is prepared to share in the worst of human suffering and pain even to the point of sharing our death, so that he can bring us through death to life in him. It is not about a vengeful God demanding a price to be paid but it is about a God who is so loving that he gives all that we might live.

So this Jesus is the One who draws alongside us in our sufferings. He is God who is truly for us.

And yet, he leaves one more instruction. He, who has loved to the ultimate, tells us to love as he has loved. This means to love without reserve, to love all manner of peoples and to love in a way that tears down walls rather than erect them. What a difference such love can make to our world today! And yet, we have seen such love in the Christ who for us was faithful, even unto death on a cross.

So as we share in the Holy Communion, we encounter the mystery of Divine love shown in he who emptied himself of all but love and bled for Adam’s race. We cannot explain it but this Easter we can experience it.

This sermon was preached on Maundy Thursday 2007 at Bideford