Maundy Thursday Sermon
Sermon
Location St. Luke – Date 4/9/2009
Maundy Thursday– Year B
Primary Text: John 13: 1-17, 31-35
Calvin is sitting in the tub with Hobbes his tiger next to it. Calvin complains holding up a piece of paper, “Look at this Hobbes, I added it up and figured out that I spend an average of 4 days a year taking baths! Four full days – morning, noon and night, just sitting in the stupid bathtub, what could possibly be a bigger waste of time than that?!” Hobbes looks at Calvin’s sheet of calculations, thinks a little bit and says. “How long did it take you to add this all up?”
Today we celebrate Maundy Thursday filled with washing and a mandate to love. From the mandate or commandment to love in our text, we get the term Maundy. Christ shows this mandate through his service and love to the disciples in the washing of their feet.
Jesus removes his robe, girds himself with a towel, and fills a washbasin to wash the disciples’ feet. Given the state of the roads in Jerusalem and the dirt and dust in the area, the disciples’ feet would be on the dirty and callused side. Even if they were the neatest and most cared for feet in the world, I still doubt that anyone would describe cleaning feet as either something they would want to do or even something that is worth doing. Once feet are clean, they quickly get dirty again. That is the nature of feet, they are trod upon, stepped on, dirt covered calloused, often ugly, things.
This makes Jesus’ action that much more compelling. When he fills the washbasin, he knows that this is not going to be water that will be slightly gray towards the last foot, but water that will be brackish and grimy after the first toe. This act of service is not the most pleasant of tasks. Nevertheless, Jesus sets to it, insisting on washing all of their feet, showing us how we too may serve.
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” By placing this after Jesus’ service, John compares Jesus’ act of service to Jesus’ act of love. Christ’s love is shown through the act of service. Or more precisely the act of service is part of the act of love. Jesus shows the true meaning of love here. He is willing to touch and clean the disciples’ road weary feet, he gives comfort to the part of them in greatest need. Jesus says that if they are bathed they do not need to be cleaned except the feet. In the ancient Middle East, your feet, no matter the person or time, are going to get dirty. Those who are truly dirty and down trodden are the ones who we need to reach towards, and clean. Not through telling them that they are dirty, they most likely already know that. We need to follow Christ’s example, reaching them through love. Christ does not remark at how dirty their feet are, he simply washes them. In that washing he shows his love, and lets them know that they matter.
Just as Jesus’ washbasin was brackish and grimy, so ours may be as well. We serve knowing that we may end up with our hands in that grimy washbasin. In fact, we should seek to find the place where a washbasin is in the greatest need. In a world of tennis shoes, stilettos, and work boots, slippers and gel pads, easy access to food and shelter, health care and basic medical supplies, we forget that there are those who continue to have their feet trod upon, stepped on and dirt covered. It is these feet that we are called to wash. Foot washing is not about getting your hands in gray water towards the end. Foot washing is about getting right in the brackish and grimy water of people’s lives. Foot washing is about helping those in need despite the dirt. Foot washing is about getting in the dirt with someone and getting dirty, no matter who they are.
In our text, we have two occasions where Judas is specifically mentioned. Judas the betrayer, the one to hand Jesus over to the Chief priests is at the meal with Jesus, eats and drinks with Jesus. This friend of Jesus has already been gripped by the devil and yet, Jesus washes his feet. Despite singling Judas out, Jesus does not exclude him from this act of love. How many times do we single people out and exclude them. We may not do it as individuals, but we may do it as large group or as a culture. We excluded blacks, Asians, and other ethnicities in the past and still do in many cases. We exclude Muslims and Homosexuals, convicts and drug users, the handicapped and the abused. Christ calls us, instead of excluding, to reach to these specifically.
In another Calvin and Hobbes panel, Calvin is getting ready for another bath, he exclaims to Hobbes, “Wow, look at the grass stains on my skin. I say if your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously reexamine your life.”
Just as Calvin gets dirty during a day of play, we too get dirty during the day. It may be from our service to others or it may be just from the normal routine of the day, but regardless of where the dirt in our life comes from Christ will wash it away. That is the promise of Christ, we are called to love each other, because Christ loved us to the end. Christ’s act of love shown in service in the foot washing is just beginning of the showing of that love. As we leave here tonight, we look forward to Good Friday and Christ’s ultimate act of service knowing that it is because of that ultimate act of love that we serve and through it we are truly made clean.
Let us pray,
Lord of service,
We ask you to call us to service, be with us during all of our days and hold us in your love. We ask you to be with those whose feet are dirty and stepped upon. Bring them your peace and love, wash their feet and guard them from trouble. In all of this we remember that you love all in this world, we ask you to help us to see your love for everyone, so that we may begin to love all, even those who we may see as enemies or betrayers.
In your name,
Amen
Location St. Luke – Date 4/9/2009
Maundy Thursday– Year B
Primary Text: John 13: 1-17, 31-35
Calvin is sitting in the tub with Hobbes his tiger next to it. Calvin complains holding up a piece of paper, “Look at this Hobbes, I added it up and figured out that I spend an average of 4 days a year taking baths! Four full days – morning, noon and night, just sitting in the stupid bathtub, what could possibly be a bigger waste of time than that?!” Hobbes looks at Calvin’s sheet of calculations, thinks a little bit and says. “How long did it take you to add this all up?”
Today we celebrate Maundy Thursday filled with washing and a mandate to love. From the mandate or commandment to love in our text, we get the term Maundy. Christ shows this mandate through his service and love to the disciples in the washing of their feet.
Jesus removes his robe, girds himself with a towel, and fills a washbasin to wash the disciples’ feet. Given the state of the roads in Jerusalem and the dirt and dust in the area, the disciples’ feet would be on the dirty and callused side. Even if they were the neatest and most cared for feet in the world, I still doubt that anyone would describe cleaning feet as either something they would want to do or even something that is worth doing. Once feet are clean, they quickly get dirty again. That is the nature of feet, they are trod upon, stepped on, dirt covered calloused, often ugly, things.
This makes Jesus’ action that much more compelling. When he fills the washbasin, he knows that this is not going to be water that will be slightly gray towards the last foot, but water that will be brackish and grimy after the first toe. This act of service is not the most pleasant of tasks. Nevertheless, Jesus sets to it, insisting on washing all of their feet, showing us how we too may serve.
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” By placing this after Jesus’ service, John compares Jesus’ act of service to Jesus’ act of love. Christ’s love is shown through the act of service. Or more precisely the act of service is part of the act of love. Jesus shows the true meaning of love here. He is willing to touch and clean the disciples’ road weary feet, he gives comfort to the part of them in greatest need. Jesus says that if they are bathed they do not need to be cleaned except the feet. In the ancient Middle East, your feet, no matter the person or time, are going to get dirty. Those who are truly dirty and down trodden are the ones who we need to reach towards, and clean. Not through telling them that they are dirty, they most likely already know that. We need to follow Christ’s example, reaching them through love. Christ does not remark at how dirty their feet are, he simply washes them. In that washing he shows his love, and lets them know that they matter.
Just as Jesus’ washbasin was brackish and grimy, so ours may be as well. We serve knowing that we may end up with our hands in that grimy washbasin. In fact, we should seek to find the place where a washbasin is in the greatest need. In a world of tennis shoes, stilettos, and work boots, slippers and gel pads, easy access to food and shelter, health care and basic medical supplies, we forget that there are those who continue to have their feet trod upon, stepped on and dirt covered. It is these feet that we are called to wash. Foot washing is not about getting your hands in gray water towards the end. Foot washing is about getting right in the brackish and grimy water of people’s lives. Foot washing is about helping those in need despite the dirt. Foot washing is about getting in the dirt with someone and getting dirty, no matter who they are.
In our text, we have two occasions where Judas is specifically mentioned. Judas the betrayer, the one to hand Jesus over to the Chief priests is at the meal with Jesus, eats and drinks with Jesus. This friend of Jesus has already been gripped by the devil and yet, Jesus washes his feet. Despite singling Judas out, Jesus does not exclude him from this act of love. How many times do we single people out and exclude them. We may not do it as individuals, but we may do it as large group or as a culture. We excluded blacks, Asians, and other ethnicities in the past and still do in many cases. We exclude Muslims and Homosexuals, convicts and drug users, the handicapped and the abused. Christ calls us, instead of excluding, to reach to these specifically.
In another Calvin and Hobbes panel, Calvin is getting ready for another bath, he exclaims to Hobbes, “Wow, look at the grass stains on my skin. I say if your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously reexamine your life.”
Just as Calvin gets dirty during a day of play, we too get dirty during the day. It may be from our service to others or it may be just from the normal routine of the day, but regardless of where the dirt in our life comes from Christ will wash it away. That is the promise of Christ, we are called to love each other, because Christ loved us to the end. Christ’s act of love shown in service in the foot washing is just beginning of the showing of that love. As we leave here tonight, we look forward to Good Friday and Christ’s ultimate act of service knowing that it is because of that ultimate act of love that we serve and through it we are truly made clean.
Let us pray,
Lord of service,
We ask you to call us to service, be with us during all of our days and hold us in your love. We ask you to be with those whose feet are dirty and stepped upon. Bring them your peace and love, wash their feet and guard them from trouble. In all of this we remember that you love all in this world, we ask you to help us to see your love for everyone, so that we may begin to love all, even those who we may see as enemies or betrayers.
In your name,
Amen
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