Sermon
Maundy Thursday – April 13, 2017
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The hour for Jesus to leave us has come. In
less than 30 minutes we will exit the church in darkness and silence. The altar
and the sanctuary will be bare. The candles snuffed; the crosses covered in
black; the music silenced.
Our minds will be stunned; our hearts numbed.
With tears welling in saddened eyes, we will exit into the darkness of night –
a night in which the light and life of our Lord Jesus has been extinguished.
In less than 30 minutes Jesus will leave us. Yet, in these all too brief, but incredibly
important, few moments we, as Disciples of Christ, will have the opportunity to
be with him in a most amazing way. A way that is perhaps more compelling, more
fraught with emotion, more powerful than the stripping of the altar, the
darkening of the church, the setting of the Altar of Repose, and our exit in
grief and silence.
In just a few moments we will participate in
the ritual of foot-washing, an act of humility, compassion, and love. An act of
servant devotion instituted by Jesus so many years ago in that crowded upper
room in Bethany – the site of his last supper with the disciples. In just a few
moments we will step back in time and enter that upper room. And now, as then, as
feet are washed the humility and compassion of Jesus as he prepared for his
crucifixion will leave us bewildered, most certainly deeply moved.
Without a doubt, the foot-washing is a challenging
ritual. After all, who wants to come forward, take off their shoes, and expose
perhaps the ugliest part of their body - those funny, sometimes cracked and
dirty things called feet? Who wants to expose their ugly feet – who wants to
sit on a stool and wash the feet of others?
Indeed, many churches eliminate the foot-washing
from their Maundy Thursday service entirely. Other churches slip it in quietly
and quickly – the altar party as the only participants while the congregation
sits in silence listening to beautiful music. And in churches where the foot-washing
ritual is practiced in its entirety, many members of the congregation hang
back, too embarrassed or conflicted to participate fully.
What in the world are we thinking by assigning
this embarrassing, messy, and strange act such a prominent place in the midst
of an otherwise traditional and compassionate liturgy?
Don’t feel as if you are an odd man out for
having these, or similar, thoughts. These are questions that even the disciples
had for Jesus. Simon Peter was incredulous. He said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Peter could not believe that
Jesus would stoop to such a low level. Why would Jesus, their teacher, their
rabbi, their Lord, perform a task not even required of most household slaves?
Normally, guests were provided with water and a cloth and expected to wash
their own dirty and cracked feet.
Jesus, undeterred by Peter’s question,
continued about his business. He wrapped a towel around his waist and got
started with the foot-washing saying, “Unless
I wash you, you will have no share with me.”
When Peter heard Jesus speak these words he
recognized that the simple and embarrassing act of foot-washing meant something
far greater. Somehow Peter knew that Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet was
central to the message of salvation that his Lord was teaching. All of a sudden,
the act of foot-washing took on an importance for Peter – an importance way
beyond the simple act itself.
And, Peter wasn’t wrong. The foot-washing was
in fact an essential key to these last lessons that Jesus was imparting to his
disciples.
Jesus was telling Peter that without the
foot-washing one cannot "share" with him. The word “share” used here
– the Greek meros – means to share with or be a part of.
The foot-washing in the context of this last
meal that Jesus was sharing with his disciples represents not only a fellowship
with Jesus, but also a sharing in his heritage, his kingdom. Raymond Brown in the “Gospel According to John” observes
that Jesus words are not "if you don’t
allow yourself to be washed," but rather: "Unless I wash
you." Jesus’ salvific action is embodied in the act of the foot-washing.
Foot-washing, then, is much more than a moral
example to be imitated, a guideline for better Christian living. By symbolizing
the sacrifice of Jesus, it also serves as an invitation to be
"washed" into love and fellowship with Jesus; into a share of his
kingdom as we are cleansed of sin.
Michael Taylor in “The Different Gospel” writes, “Jesus tells Peter he will be lost
if he does not accept this act. The foot-washing in its demonstration of
humility and servanthood is a pre-cursor to the crucifixion-death of Jesus. The
crucifixion is not a disgrace to be rejected, a scandal that proves the
unworthiness of the one who dies that way. The crucifixion is God’s ultimate
act of love. It is the gift of his Son for our salvation. And, unless Peter and
all believers embrace it and let it embrace them, there will be no sharing in
Jesus’ legacy.”
If Peter is to have a share with Jesus, then
he must be washed by Jesus. He must
allow - without question, without embarrassment – he must allow Jesus,
graciously and lovingly, to wash his feet.
Now Jesus has Peter’s attention. Peter swings
from one end of the spectrum to the other. He wants not only his feet washed –
he wants his whole body washed by Jesus. Peter wants to be assured of full inclusion
in whatever Jesus is offering – he wants it all. Peter eagerly responds, “Then,
Lord, . . . not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus responds – “Peter you are missing the
point” - “One who has bathed does not
need to wash, except for the feet.”
This is enigmatic statement that has been
food for many scholarly interpretations. Alan Culpepper in “The Gospel and Letters of John” writes that Jesus’ response can be
interpreted as affirming that the “one who has been washed by Jesus’ death,
which is to be interpreted as the foot-washing, has no need of any further
washings.
R. H. Lightfoot in “St. John’s Gospel” concluded that “the feet-washing is probably
best interpreted as having the same significance and efficacy as the Lord’s death.”
In other words, Peter misses the point by thinking that the frequency and
extent of physical washing would increase his “share” with Jesus. Jesus was
undertaking the humiliating act of foot-washing to prophesy that he was to be
humiliated in death.
Peter’s questioning enables Jesus to explain
the salvific nature of his death. Through his death, he will bring humanity
into relationship with himself, and into a share of his kingdom. The cleansing
of their sin is brought about by the blood shed at Calvary and symbolized by
the cleansing waters of foot-washing.
After Jesus finished washing the disciples’
feet, he put on his robe and returned to the supper table. Once again, he spoke
to his disciples saying, “Do you know
what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for
that is what I am. So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, has washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you
also should do as I have done to you.”
Our marching orders from Jesus – always
follow his example – always do unto others as he has done to us.
This then is the challenge that we face
tonight as we prepare for the foot-washing. Are we able to move beyond the
superficial embarrassment of exposing cracked and dirty feet and instead create
a place deep within our hearts and minds that allows us to experience the
humility and compassion of our Lord as he prepared for the ultimate act of
humiliation, crucifixion upon the cross.
Are we able to intentionally share in this
act of foot-washing with the members of our St. Simon’s community in a way that
builds community. A community that cannot be described in words. A community
that is founded upon, is fed by, and grows out of humility, compassion and love
– the same humility, compassion and love demonstrated by Jesus in that small
upper room so many years ago.
Are we able to be washed by Jesus and to wash
one another, thinking not of our feet, but of our hearts, our minds and our
souls as they engage with the passion of Jesus and his death upon the cross?
Are we able to love one another as Jesus
loved us?
There is indeed a great deal to pack into
these precious last minutes with our Lord. Many words and actions to see and
hear with the eyes and ears of our heart. Multiple complex teachings to realize
if we are to truly grasp the glory of the resurrection and the significance of
our lives as Christ’s disciples. Much to understand that is, in the end, so
very mysterious – so completely incomprehensible, and yet so glorious.
As we wash each other’s feet, pray and break
bread together, say our last words of thanksgiving and praise, the words from
John’s gospel will linger as critically important lessons in our minds:
·
“Having
loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
·
“Unless I
wash you, you have no share with me.”
·
“Very truly,
I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, not are messengers
greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed
if you do them.”
·
“Where I am
going, you cannot come.”
·
“Just as I
have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
