SERMON Maundy Thursday
April 14, 2022
“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed an agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little further, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:32-36)
Tonight, is the night that Jesus exits our lives. Betrayed by Judas and taken prisoner by Roman Centurions, he has been tried and condemned to death. Multiple beatings have weakened him. He is in pain as he struggles to walk the road that winds up the hill to the cross upon which he will be crucified. He will suffer even greater pain as nails are hammered into his hands and feet, and as he hangs upon the cross, waiting to die, cajoled by the crowd.
In his account of the passion, Mark tells us that just a day earlier, after a last supper with his disciples, Jesus had withdrawn to the Garden at Gethsemane to pray. Mark describes Jesus as distressed and agitated. Leaving his disciples to keep watch, he withdrew into the garden, threw himself on the ground, and wept in anguish. He prayed "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not what I want, but what you want."
Following this he exited the garden to speak with his disciples only to find them sound asleep. He was frustrated, disappointed by their inability to stay awake at such an important hour. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?"
Twice more Jesus went up into the garden to pray, and twice more his disciples failed to stay awake. Twice again, they failed him. They abandoned him in his hour of deepest anguish. An hour during which he had asked them to remain awake. Awake to what was about to occur.
Despite all his teachings, they were unable to comprehend what the immediate future held for him. Sleep trumped being present with their Lord in his hour of despair.
And then, the centurions arrived. The hour had come. Jesus could stay in the Garden no longer. Now it was time for him to rise from prayer, to exit the garden, and to go to the cross. He accepted his "cup" as he gave himself up for the sake of the world.
John's gospel portrays a far different version of Jesus' last night with his disciples. There is no garden scene. No throwing himself to the ground in anguish. No praying in despair, asking to be relieved of his cup. No sleeping disciples. Rather, in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, Jesus, knowing that his time had come and that he was going to God, sat at a long table, his disciples gathered around him for a last supper. As they concluded their meal he rose and began the incredibly humbling task of washing the disciples' feet, and then demanding that the disciples do likewise. That they wash each other’s feet. And that they wash their Lord's feet.
Jesus said to them, "…You call me teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. So, if I your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
The task of this foot washing ritual personifies so graphically the servanthood of Jesus, and makes crystal clear his expectation of servanthood for those who follow him. "You should also do as I have done to you". To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be the humblest of servants to each other and to the world, just as Jesus was a servant to the world.
In his walk to the cross and through his painful and humiliating crucifixion Jesus' servanthood reconciled the world to God. Now we, as Christians, are called to commit ourselves to that stance of humility and servanthood as we in our own small ways attempt to reconcile the world to God.
These two gospel passages that tell of Jesus' last hours with his disciples, although different in most ways, both show us that if we are to be disciples of Jesus Christ we must accept his "cup" of servanthood as our "cup" of servanthood. We must commit ourselves to servanthood; and through that servanthood we must love and serve one another and the world just as Jesus loved and served us.
As we sit here this evening witnessing Jesus' last moments with us as the altar is stripped and Christ exits our lives, I wonder: At this moment in time what is the cup that God is calling us to drink from – the cross that he is asking us to bear?
Our world trembles with instability and insecurity. The effects of climate change; the war in Ukraine; massive tensions throughout the Mideast regions; the long-term effects of the Covid19 pandemic; and here at home crippling divisiveness that has disrupted precious relationships through the politicization of almost every aspect of our daily lives. All of these issues swirl around us – continually – invading our hearts, our minds, and our souls. And we must ask ourselves: How do we serve in love? How do we reconcile this troubled world to God?" What is our "cup"? What is our cross?"
Will we stay awake in the Garden, or will we succumb to sleep?
Perhaps it is best to start right here. Right here at home where the heart is. Home being our St. Simon's community as it emerges from two traumatic years of Covid19 isolation; two years of loneliness and apprehension. Two years of Covid exile, forced from our church, our friendships, and our way of life. Forced to flee into a land of unknowing and fear of being with each other.
Now it is time to emerge; to return to the community we were forced to flee two short – but yet, very long – years ago.
Returning is not easy. Everything has changed. We must reorient ourselves to a much-changed context as we work to re-establish our beloved St. Simon's community; as we reconnect with friends; and as we gather to worship with imagination and faith. Our cup is the cup of community building and our cross the many challenges we will face if we are to ensure that the light of Christ shines brightly in the hearts, and souls, and minds of all St. Simonites, and through us into the surrounding community and the world.
God is calling us to assemble as a community and to re-build ourselves as a called people, disciples, who manifest our Christian faith through concrete ways in our daily lives. We are called to be stewards of the discipleship that Jesus has bestowed on us.
Christ will depart, yet through us he will live on.
There is no doubt – we will have many Gethsemane moments. Moments where we will prefer sleep over the challenging task of staying awake, but Jesus expects us to awaken and to emerge from the garden with our head held high ready for the challenge that He has placed before us.
Are you ready to take up this call?
Brother,
sister let me serve you,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
We are
pilgrims on a journey
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
I will
hold the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
I will
weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh, I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we've seen this journey through.
When we
sing to God in heaven
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.
Brother,
sister let me serve you,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
