Maundy Thursday

If you read John’s Gospel carefully, you will notice that the first twelve chapters cover a three-year period. But when we come to Chapter 13, the pace dramatically and palpably slows, with this and the next five chapters focussing on just one night. All Scripture is important, but there are times when the way that the passage is written draws us in, emphasising that the truth that we are engaging with is of utmost importance and that we would be wise to pay particular attention.

We are told that “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father…Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God”. When you are going to die and you are spending time with the people you love the most and care about the most, the nearest and dearest to you, you don’t mince words.  You talk about the things that are the most important.  Your actions convey that deeper truth which remains when everything else is stripped away. I think as a Priest in which one aspect of my ministry is to prepare the dying for death, I’ve come to realise the truth and significance of this. What Jesus did in his last hours was to share the Passover with his disciples, wash their feet, and allow them to glimpse it in the light of His Second Coming.

We are reminded that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power”. As God incarnate, God in the flesh, fully God and fully man, Jesus was ‘all-powerful’ and yet he chose to do something that was quite simply astonishing…“he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” At my ordination as a Deacon, I received the yoke of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. At my ordination as a Priest, I took the authority to watch over and care for God’s people, to absolve and bless them in his name, to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, and to minister the sacraments of his New Covenant. The true test of one wielding power and authority is if they have the wisdom and the courage to lay it aside in their service of others at the right time, in the right place, and for the right reason. Is Jesus showing strength or vulnerability in his actions? Or perhaps, is he showing that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, as St Paul rightly alluded to when he reminds us of how the Lord said, ““My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”” (1 Corinthians 12:9)

Jesus’ words echo down the centuries:

• “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
• “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
• “Do you understand what I have done for you?”
• “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
• “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

In washing feet tonight, what little power and authority I might possess pales into insignificance compared to the power and authority that Jesus held. And as I have said before, the truth is I am not worthy to wash your feet; and if it is right I am always prepared to relinquish that power and authority and be diminished for the glory of God. But know this…I am 100% committed to God and to seeking to serve you in this place, always to the glory of God in his grace. I might stumble through life, but I want you to know my heart’s desire…that you might dare to go deeper with Christ, walk with him, and heed the words of St Paul, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Is the faith that we profess one that embraces the deep truth we are presented with here? Have we allowed ourselves to be washed by Jesus, washed in the blood of the lamb? Do we understand what Jesus has done for us? Do we realise that we can only be washed by someone if we are close to them physically, and emotionally, and also if we trust them? In some way, I am reminded how we tenderly wash and bathe our children when they are tiny, and how we might tenderly wash our parents in old age and infirmity – both acts of love and tenderness. Are we prepared to wash one another’s feet through acts of service and sacrifice, as Jesus modelled, and as I seek to model in the place? In making the self-sacrificial acts of washing his disciples’ feet, an act typically conducted by a servant or slave, and in identifying and presenting himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb, the result was that Jesus was glorified through the resurrection and by his subsequent ascension and exaltation.

As a Church, we are currently engaging throughout Lent with the course ‘Discipleship Explored’. The Gospel passage ends with a verse I quote often, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” My brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to be authentic disciples. Let me conclude by sharing with you some verses from Hebrews 12:

“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3). Take a moment to close your eyes. And if you feel it right to do so, say the Jesus prayer with me now… “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Amen.