Sermon - It was more than just a meal (Maundy Thursday - C)

 Sermon – Maundy Thursday (C)          April 14, 2022      Panzer Liturgical Service          
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14  •  1 Corinthians 11:23-26  •  John 13:1-17, 31b-35

We call this day Maundy Thursday. It’s a unique descriptor for the Holy Thursday, taken from the Latin word mandatum, which means mandate or commandment. Paul uses this theme in tonight’s epistle reading – “Do this in the remembrance of me.” The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, & Luke, give us the historical account and the rubrics for this last supper – the one we reenact each week in the Eucharist. But the gospel of John fills in all the blanks. John’s account of the evening, found in chapters 13-17, gives us a significant look at Jesus’ theology… his understanding of who he is and who we are when we follow him. Yes, Jesus at the last supper gives us a mandate, but it’s not just to share this holy meal often. 

Tonight, we see Jesus once again acting against stereotypes. We talked last Sunday about how Jesus is a different kind of King. Instead of riding into Jerusalem on a powerful horse, he comes in on a humble colt or donkey, transportation for the poor. And when they arrive at the room for a simple supper, he again acted in an unexpected way.

In the normal order of things, Kings don’t wait on people. So, when Jesus takes off his outer garments and makes things ready to wash the feet of his disciples, they were shocked, so much that Peter confronts Jesus about his actions:

Peter: Lord, you’re not going to wash my feet…
Jesus: Peter, I have to wash your feet.
Peter: Well, then, wash my head and my hands also
Jesus: Just your feet, Peter… pay attention, this is not just about being clean.

It was common practice for guests to have their feet washed up entry into a person’s home. Most travelers wore sandals and the roads were dusty and dirty. Cleaning feet was a way of keeping the home clean, but also an act of hospitality for the traveler, to make their visit more comfortable. But usually, it was the servants who performed this duty, not the host himself. And so, for Jesus to put himself into that lesser role would have been an extremely dramatic and uncomfortable thing to witness. And afterward, he commanded them to continue the practice of serving one another, and not to wait on someone else to serve them.

We don’t often wash one another’s feet these days… in most mainline traditions, this Maundy Thursday service is the only time that this part of Jesus’ story is reenacted. Touching another person’s feet feels very intimate. It makes both people feel very vulnerable. And as with many of the things that Jesus asks of us, when we are open to that vulnerability, we are open to the Christian life in ways we might not have imagined before.

More than anything, Jesus’ actions tonight teach us important lessons that should inform the way we relate to other people and live out our faith every day.

1^st lesson – Hospitality is an important manifestation of our faith. Jesus not only calls us to welcome people into our lives but also to meet the needs that they have. One of the things that I love about having German friends is the way that hospitality is lived out in many routine encounters. When we get together with our German neighbors or friends from our village band, certain rituals are always followed. First, you shake hands or hug every person who enters the group. You eat whatever food or drink they offer you. And when you leave, you don’t just say goodbye to the host and guest of honor, but to everyone you have had a conversation with during this encounter. “Danke für die Einladung – thank you for the invitation” and “Bis bald! – see you soon.”

When we first encountered these rituals, it felt very personal… very intimate… and very foreign. But I learned a lot about hospitality through these encounters. And what a glad burden it is to be in relationship with other people.

2^nd lesson – This encounter teaches us that no job of service is too lowly for any of us. We applaud people like Mother Theresa who served in the worst slums of India and think of that as a special calling reserved only for those who are the holiest believers. I’m certainly no Mother Theresa because I must confess that sometimes I feel like God has called me to ministry that doesn’t take my strengths into account. There’s a lesson to be learned for just that reason.

I’m not a builder, but I spent 12 summers carting around youth and building materials to work on mission houses in rural South Carolina… that’s why I still drive a truck today. In Spokane, I volunteered at the transitional homeless shelter, a place for families to sleep safely as they worked with agencies to find permanent housing, jobs, and training. It didn’t take an MDiv to change beds, cook breakfast, play Candyland, and clean showers, but it sure did give me a better understanding of my own privilege and how much I have to share to meet the needs of others. And it reminded me that ministry isn’t just about teaching theology or biblical study. Ministry is also about meeting people’s needs so that they are ready to tackle their discipleship journeys in whatever ways they can.

3^rd lesson - By ritualizing this story and making it a focus of our worship tonight, we are living out the biblical story. This story helps us develop muscle memory. It’s how we can ride a bike or drive a stick shift, even if we haven’t done it in years. It’s how we get to the bathroom in the middle of the night without having to turn on the light. Worship often includes the kind of role-playing that helps us relate to the bible story. We celebrate the Eucharist, not just because Jesus commanded us to, but to remember that Christ is with us in the bread and wine. Here, we share a common meal where everyone sits in equal seats. Afterward. we leave the table to live and serve in the world.

Washing feet is a tangible reminder that we, too, are called to be a different kind of people, ones who gladly receive and serve, as Christ has called us to do. This reminds me of a quote from practical theologian, Henri Nouwen: You don't think your way into a new kind of living - you live your way into a new kind of thinking.

Washing other people’s feet was the most astonishing act of service that Jesus ever did. He presided over a meal that unites us all at the same table… one bread, one body, one Lord… And in the next 24 hours, he was arrested, tried, beaten, stripped, and killed as his ultimate acts of service to all of humankind. And because we know the rest of the story, even as we approach the darkness of Good Friday or Karfreitag (Grief Friday in German), we see the resurrection on the horizon and know that Jesus’ ministry was not stopped by his death.

Some people do need to have their feet washed – the elderly, the sick, and others who cannot do this for themselves. But the real lesson here is that we should all be humble enough to do for others, serving out of love and devotion to God.

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, 
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you. 

This week I read a story on Facebook – the author was unknown, but it felt like a good closing story for tonight. A young woman spent the day with her dad and one of their tasks was to package the honey he had collected from his hives that morning. When they took the lid from the 5-gallon bucket, they found 3 small bees struggling to get free, drowning in all that sticky goodness. “Can we save them?” the daughter asked. “No, I’m sure even if we tried, they would never survive,” he replied. “Well, can we at least kill them quickly so they don’t suffer?” was her answer. So they scooped them out and place them aside while they got the rest of their supplies in order.

It didn’t take long for a few bees to seek out the small yogurt lid with the three trapped bees. Within an hour or so, these three little bees were surrounded by all of their sisters and they were cleaning the honey from their nearly dead bodies. A short time later, there was only one little bee left in the container. She was still being tended to by her sisters. And when it was time for the daughter to leave, they saw that all three of the bees had been cleaned off enough to fly away and the container was empty.

(c) Deb Luther Teagan 2019

Those three little bees lived because they were surrounded by family and friends who would not give up on them, family and friends who refused to let them drown in their own stickiness and resolved to help until the last little bee could be set free. And I think that’s what Jesus is modeling for us. He is washing the feet of people who don’t even know how much trouble they are in. And he is doing it knowing full well that it’s one of the last impressions he has to make.

We will not wash one another’s feet tonight, but if you like, you may wash the hand of another person as we come to share in communion tonight. There’s a bowl with some warm, soapy water, additional water for rinsing, and clean towels for each one to use. And if that feels like too much of a risk, it’s OK. Jesus understands.

While we go about the ritual of foot or handwashing, please remember that this is a symbolic act of devotion. He didn’t require anyone else to provide that service that evening… he just left them with the example and the impression to take into the future. If I have learned anything in the last two years, it’s that our service doesn’t have to be the actual washing of hands and feet. When we continue to wear masks for extra safety, wash our hands, keep up to date with our vaccines, and eliminate unnecessary risks, those are worthy acts of service in our current environment.

Jesus calls us to serve. Our life’s mission is to see that while those acts of service may change from season to season, the underlying love is always the place from which we begin. Remember, we love because God first loved us. So let us serve the world in love. Amen.

Peace, Deb

(c) Deb Luther Teagan,
April 2022