Maundy Thursday: Who Would Jesus Refuse to Serve?

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116:1, 10-17  (BCP., p.759)



1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSV)

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "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, have 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. 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.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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." 

Blog Reflection

There has been a lot of news these days about "religious liberty" and who business owners should be able to serve or refuse to serve.  Legislative bills are being introduced, fast tracked, passed and signed into law to give individuals the "right of their religious beliefs" to service those whom they believe most conform to their ideology.  While we can speculate about what is and what is not the best approach to these bills, they do give Christians a lot to think about.

The words Maundy Thursday get their meaning from the Latin word mandatum, which contains the English root word, mandate or commandment.  The focus of Maundy Thursday in addition to the institution of the Holy Eucharist is the new commandment of Jesus to love others as He has loved all of us.  Jesus, in His Paschal Mystery loved all of us without distinction or exception.  As John records for us, Jesus took the form of a servant and washed the feet of His Disciples.  Jesus gave us an example of what it means to love and serve others in total self sacrifice.  Jesus held nothing back.   Jesus gave Himself to us in His Body and Blood, and stooped down in humility to wash our feet and commanded us to love one another in His Name.

What Jesus did seems to be a stark contrast to what those license to discriminate on the basis of "religious liberty" bills are about.  I have a hard time believing that Jesus would put up a sign to the window of the upper room that says "We do not serve gays" or "Muslims" or "Jews"  or "Athiests" or "only Baptized Christians".  While the sexism given to us in the Scriptures suggests that the only Disciples of Jesus were men, I tend to believe that women must have been present in that upper room moment, and that Jesus washed their feet too.  In the very act of serving by the washing of feet, Jesus assumes a very feminine role.  Jesus really does lay down His life, by giving over even the appearance of what His gender stereotypes would be, to serve the least among us with the greatest of humility.

In The Rule of St. Benedict Chapter 53 On the Reception of Guests, he instructs the community to wash the feet of His guests.  St. Benedict wanted his monks to remember what he wrote in Chapter 7 On Humility.  Humility means "being earthed".  St. Benedict wanted those who observe his Rule to live into the Christian life with authenticity and transparency.

On this Maundy Thursday, Jesus commands us to love one another as we are loved by Him.  Jesus gave us this commandment while living into what it means.  As Jesus lived into the greatest acts of love, humility and service of everyone without distinction, so He commands each of us to do for others.  Including and especially those who are different from us.   Lord, have mercy on us all.

Who would Jesus refuse to serve?

Who will we serve or refuse to serve in the Name of Jesus today?


Prayers

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he
suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Maundy Thursday.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 221).

God our Father, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ in a
wonderful Sacrament has left us a memorial of his passion:
Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of his Body and
Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit
of his redemption; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect on the Holy Eucharist.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.252).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Human Family.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.815).

Maundy Thursday: Hospitality and Humility by Washing, Eating and Sharing

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116:1, 10-17 (BCP., p.759)


1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSV)

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35(NRSV)

Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "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, have 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. 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.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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." 

Blog Reflection

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35).  

The abbot shall pour water on the hands of the guests, and the abbot with the entire community shall wash their feet.  After washing they will recite this verse: God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple (Psalm 47[48]:10).  (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Chapter 53:1, 12-14, pages 73, 74).

One thing that has inspired me about the many Benedictine monasteries I have visited over the last twenty years, is how much the chapter on the reception of guests is lived into with great meticulousness.  Each community I visited, including the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict with which I am now a Novice; the welcome by the Superior and the whole community is genuine.

It is interesting to me, that in Chapter 53 of The Rule, St. Benedict wrote about the abbot and the whole community washing the feet of the guests.  It appears that St. Benedict wanted the guest to experience the hospitality of not only the community, but also that of Christ Himself washing the feet of His followers at the Last Supper.   A traveler's feet are often tired, worn, with a few blisters and possible calluses.   Yet, St. Benedict wants the guest to be received as Christ and served as Christ.   The guest is welcomed to interrupt the regular routine.   The guest comes to the monastery to help the Community experience a bit of displacement so that the Paschal Mystery is a living moment of grace.

If you are like me, you have probably wanted so much to receive every person as Christ, yet the first person who comes along and strikes the odd note in you, is someone you so quickly dismiss.    What we say and believe, and what we do are not one in the same.  We are all hypocrites.  We all need the help of God's grace to mature and move on.

That is why we need this Maundy Thursday, and this Gospel about the washing of the feet.   Jesus set aside all thoughts of proclaiming His own divinity and honor, to serve the least among us to the point of washing the feet of the same disciples who would later abandon Him. Including washing the feet of Peter who would deny Him three times.  Jesus welcomes and washes the feet of all who are there with Him at that first Eucharist.  

The Holy Eucharist is the sharing of the Body and Blood of Christ.  The real presence of Christ in the form of consecrated Bread and Wine.  Hymn number 322 in The Hymnal 1982 has the most wonderful words.

When Jesus died to save us,
a word an act he gave us;
and still that word is spoken,
and still the bread is broken.

He was the Word that spake it,
he took the bread and brake it,
And what that Word did make it,
I do believe and take it.

The belief in the real presence, or even if one believes that it is a symbolic presence; the important thing is that Christ is present in and through us; Christ's Body.  Furthermore, it is just as important that we recognize that presence of Jesus not only in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but recognize in one another a Eucharistic vessel.   Each of us carries Christ within us, and shares Him with others.  

One of the most important ways we live into the meaning of our Baptismal Covenant is to respect the dignity of every human being without distinction.   Each person is a holy and good image of God.   One's race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, language, sexual orientation, culture, health or wealth status, age, etc is not a barrier to divide us.   Through the Body and Blood of Christ, we are One Body, in One Lord.   St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:14-17:

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 

May our celebration of Maundy Thursday lead us all to a greater reverence for the presence of Christ in each other as Eucharistic vessels. 

Amen


Prayer

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he
suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.221).

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.818).

Maundy Thursday: Be Ready to Wash Before You Eat

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 12: 1-14 (NRSV)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. [Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.] This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116: 1, 10-17 (BCP, p. 759)

1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 (NRSV)

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

John 13: 1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "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, have 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. 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.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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."

Blog Reflection


The only Gospel of the four with the narrative about the Last Supper that does not contain the institution of Holy Communion, is John.  In it's place is the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.   The oral tradition that was passed on since, is that most likely Jesus washed the feet of the disciples before he instituted the Eucharist.

We don't do the washing of feet before every celebration of the Eucharist.  The once a year ritual on Maundy Thursday happens as a reminder to live out the meaning of the Eucharist in our every day lives.   When what we do at the Eucharist ends as we walk out the doors of our places of worship, so the Gospel story of the compassionate and loving Jesus, remains just another legend that happened in our imaginations.  It hasn't actually happened, because the story cannot be read from our daily lives.   This is why I really do think that when a church community limits the ritual of the washing of feet to certain chosen people, specifically those that limit it to twelve men, they do the larger Parish community a terrible disservice.

The ministry of Jesus is not limited to those in Holy Orders.  According to the Catechism or Outline of the Faith in The Book of Common Prayer on page 855, the Laity are an order of ministry, who's responsibility begins with the same calling as anyone in Holy Orders.  "To represent Christ and his Church..."   We represent Christ and the Church whenever we give of ourselves selflessly for the benefit of another.  If we are not willing to stoop down and wash the feet of those we worship with, how will we help those in need beyond the walls of our churches?

The reality of human life is, that all of us, regardless of who we are will need someone to help us at some point in time.  We all find ourselves in a tough spot.  We just cannot do it without someone's help.  Whether it is a need to pay a bill, find a job, go grocery shopping, make dinner or plan a meeting.  We all need to reach out and ask for help.  For some, asking for help is the most difficult thing to do.   For others, accepting the help of another person is even more challenging.

In the discourse of St. John's Gospel's account of all that Jesus says, is the new commandment to "love one another as he has loved us. No one has a greater love than to lay down one's life, for one's friend" (John 15: 12-13). We are all called at one point or another, to lay down our lives for someone else.  Whether that be by way of doing for another, or allowing another to do for us.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion which is at the heart of our worship as Episcopalians, is how God poured out God's Self in the Person of Jesus, as he gives of himself as our Savior, and as our Spiritual nourishment.  By the giving of himself in the bread and wine, to become the Body and Blood of Christ, God becomes for us the means of new and unending life, through the outpouring of God's grace and mercy.   We become partakers in God's work of redemption and salvation as recipients and participants.

We also become disciples who are called upon to take up our own cross and follow Jesus in deed and example. We seek out those who experience prejudice, violence and oppression and work for justice, equality and open up possibilities for hospitality and reconciliation.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people along with many others who are marginalized in the Church and society are among those whom God challenges the followers of Jesus, to go to and bring healing, holiness and wholeness.  Even to the point of washing their feet and allowing others to wash ours.  We are to look beyond a person's clothing, behavior, race, culture, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, gender, language, immigration status, employment or economic status, health, challenge etc., and see the face of Christ who has loved us, and gave us the new commandment to love one another as we have been loved.

In conclusion, in The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 53 On the Reception of Guests, he writes about receiving all guests as Christ.  After being received with the kiss of peace, guests in Benedict's monastery got their feet washed by the Abbot and the whole community.  After washing the feet of their guests all recited the verse: "God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple" (Psalm 48:10).

Where might Benedict have learned the idea of seeing a guest as Christ?

In the Dialogues of St. Gregory, the only record we have of the life of St. Benedict outside The Rule, Gregory tells the story of Benedict's time in Subiaco.  Benedict fled his liberal arts education to find solitude in a narrow cave in Subiaco.  One Easter Sunday, Romanus, a monk in a near by Abbey was getting ready to eat his Easter Dinner when it dawned on him that Benedict was still in the cave praying, fasting and seeking God.  He wrapped up some food and ran to the opening of the cave.  Upon finding Benedict, they said a prayer of thanksgiving, then ate their meal together.  Romanus said to Benedict: "Today is the great Feast of Easter."  Benedict replied: "It must indeed be Easter since I have the joy of seeing you."  Esther de Waal in her book: A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict writes: "In the face of the first person he sees, Benedict finds the first fruits of the resurrection and of the new world to which he is called" (p. 172).

Can all of us as we celebrate this Easter Triduum make a priority to see the face of the Crucified and Risen Christ in those whom we meet, and wash their feet?


Prayers

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he
suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Maundy Thursday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 221).

Maundy Thursday: Who's Feet Would You Be Willing to Wash?

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 12: 1-14 (NRSV)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. [Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.] This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116: 1, 10-17 (BCP, p. 759)

1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 (NRSV)

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

John 13: 1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "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, have 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. 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.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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."

Blog Reflection


The only Gospel of the four with the narrative about the Last Supper that does not contain the institution of Holy Communion, is John.  In it's place is the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.   The oral tradition that was passed on since, is that most likely Jesus washed the feet of the disciples before he instituted the Eucharist.

We don't do the washing of feet before every celebration of the Eucharist.  The once a year ritual on Maundy Thursday happens as a reminder to live out the meaning of the Eucharist in our every day lives.   When what we do at the Eucharist ends as we walk out the doors of our places of worship, so the Gospel story of the compassionate and loving Jesus, remains just another legend that happened in our imaginations.  It hasn't actually happened, because the story cannot be read from ourselves.   This is why I really do think that when a church community limits the ritual of the washing of feet to certain chosen people, specifically those that limit it to twelve men, they do the larger Parish community a terrible disservice.

The ministry of Jesus is not limited to those in Holy Orders.  According to the Catechism or Outline of the Faith in The Book of Common Prayer on page 855, the Laity are an order of ministry, who's responsibility begins with the same calling as anyone in Holy Orders.  "To represent Christ and his Church..."   We represent Christ and the Church whenever we give of ourselves selflessly for the benefit of another.  If we are not willing to stoop down and wash the feet of those we worship with, how will we help those in need beyond the walls of our churches?

The reality of human life is, that all of us, regardless of who we are will need someone to help us at some point in time.  We all find ourselves in a tough spot.  We just cannot do it with out someone's help.  Whether it is a need to pay a bill, find a job, go grocery shopping, make dinner or plan a meeting.  We all need to reach out and ask for help.  For some, asking for help is the most difficult thing to do.   For others, accepting the help of another person is even more challenging.

In the discourse of St. John's Gospel's account of all that Jesus says, is the new commandment to "love one another as he has loved us. No one has a greater love than to lay down one's life, for one's friend" (John 15: 12-13). We are all called at one point or another, to lay down our lives for someone else.  Whether that be by way of doing for another, or allowing another to do for us. 

The Sacrament of Holy Communion which is at the heart of our worship as Episcopalians, is how God poured out God's Self in the Person of Jesus, as he gives of himself as our Savior, and as our Spiritual nourishment.  By the giving of himself in the bread and wine, to become the Body and Blood of Christ, God becomes for us the means of new and unending life, through the outpouring of God's grace and mercy.   We become partakers in God's work of redemption and salvation as recipients and participants.

We also become disciples who are called upon to take up our own cross and follow Jesus in deed and example. We seek out those who experience prejudice, violence and oppression and work for justice, equality and open up possibilities for hospitality and reconciliation.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people along with many others who are marginalized in the Church and society are among those whom God challenges the followers of Jesus, to go to and bring healing, holiness and wholeness.  Even to the point of washing their feet and allowing others to wash ours.  We are to look beyond a person's clothing, behavior, race, culture, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, gender, language, immigration status, employment or economic status, health, challenge etc., and see the face of Christ who has loved us, and gave us the new commandment to love one another as we have been loved.


Prayers

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he
suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Maundy Thursday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 221).

Maundy Thursday: Radical, Inclusive Hospitality and Service Are What the Eucharist Is About

Scriptural Basis

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "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, have 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. 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.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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." 

Blog Reflection

When the time came for me to consider a new spiritual home there was one thing that was most important to me.  I wanted a home for Jason and I where we would be accepted as a gay couple. That is true and important.   To be in a place where Jason and I did not have to hide who we are or fear being sneered at when we kiss each other during the sign of peace was also important.  I also wanted to be in a place that has superb Liturgy and music, and that we have found.  A place that has a strong sense of social justice and doing more than just talking about it, and in spite of the fact that every place could do better in that department, what we have found at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral is really good.

The most important matter to me was the understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  That is something that we have most certainly found in the Episcopal Church.  And I for one could not be more thankful for having found that.

I also deeply appreciate that the Episcopal Church is a place for independent religious thinking and not one where we program people if you please.   We have our Book of Common Prayer, but as Episcopalians within the Anglican tradition we believe in allowing individuals not a Church body to decide for themselves what they believe, why and how.  Yet, we are Christians in all aspects of who the Episcopal Church is.

At the heart of our worship as Episcopalians is the Eucharist.  The celebration of thanksgiving and praise for all God has done through the saving mysteries of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Not only Christ's death on the cross, but also the resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  All of these are at the heart of who we are as Christians, Catholics and Episcopalians.

Among the matters that has challenged me about becoming Episcopalian is that we shift the emphasis from how Christ is really present in the Eucharist (transubstantiation, consubstantiation etc), to how each believer makes the presence of Christ in the Eucharist real for them.   That understanding has finally helped me to understand the importance of the Gospel reading on Maundy Thursday about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.

Our worship of Christ's real presences in the Eucharist is really worthless unless we are willing to engage in radical, inclusive hospitality and service. 

This is why it is so very important for the Church (and here I don't just mean the Episcopal Church, I mean the entire Christian Church) to open the doors, altars, confessionals, pulpits, sacraments, ordination etc to the marginalized of society and the Church, including but not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people.  If we are to be the Church of the One whom we believe is really present in the Eucharist, then we cannot stop at the people that are most acceptable or "normal" as much as I hate the term.

Jesus made his offering of self in the food of bread and wine, complete by exercising it's meaning when he washed the feet of the disciples.  Jesus was willing to remove his clothing, stoop over and become a servant to all persons to the point of washing their feet.  The most loving and humbling of gestures, gave and gave of himself again and again. 

What God calls all of us to do is nothing less. God calls upon each one of us to be willing to go into the depths of our selves and give of ourselves for the good of others. Even if it means giving up our stature, our "importance" or our prestige. It means being willing to recognize the goodness of every person as one created and loved by God. Putting aside all prejudice and thirst for violence and dominance to become a subjective servant to all, including the unloved by society and the Church. 

Subjective, not in the sense of giving up all of our own personal dignity, but within our dignity, being willing to uphold and defend the dignity of all persons, including and especially those whom our political and religious institutions oppress because of who they are.   Where they come from.  The color of their skin.  A person (s) sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.  What language they speak and/or write.  Whether they are totally healthy and wealthy or weather they are challenged or poor.  

Someone who lives the meaning of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is willing to do all she or he can to work for a society and Church where there is justice, equality and inclusion for all people.  A society and Church where "socialism" is understood as necessary to take care of each other, because we are connected to each other.  What affects one person, really does affect us all in one way or another.   This is why we should speak up about bad immigration laws, laws that take medicaid money away from transplant patients, HIV/AIDS prevention and education, food stamps and housing programs.  

Radical, inclusive hospitality and service is willing to go to the lowest point of where people are, and do what we can to lift them up and give them hope for a better tomorrow.  

The slain gay activist Harvey Milk said: "You gotta give them hope."

May all of us see on this Maundy Thursday the opportunity to live out our belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, by giving hope through radical, inclusive hospitality and service.   Amen.

Prayer

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Maundy Thursday, Book of Common Prayer, page 221). 

Maundy Thursday: Is the Presence of God Enough?

Let's face a fact about something, people in this world are hungry.  People are hungry for power, wealth, fame.  During the health care reform debate we have seen the hunger of insurance companies trying to hold on to their million dollar profits while those who need health care are left without the means to get well.  In the Church we see those who feel that only heterosexuals should be allowed to be Bishops, Priests and/or allowed to be married.  They will stop at nothing, not even charity to keep marriage equality from becoming law.  All of these maneuvers are part of a hunger.  A hunger that cannot be satisfied simply by changing laws.  A hunger for power has to be changed by a changing of the hearts and minds of those who are unwilling to consider the needs of others.   What is also needed is a change of attitude.  The attitude that needs changing is those who have must be willing to sacrifice for the have not's.

Jesus Christ was willing to do so much more than change hearts and minds, he gave up his life for those who were the have not's of the world.  Jesus did not settle for simply telling others that they had to welcome the stranger, heal the sick, set the captives free.  Jesus did what he has been asking those who wish to follow him to do.  In Jesus, God gave up all glory, power, wealth and prestige.  God abandoned any sense of royalty and honor so that those who also had no royalty or honor, would know that God honors them within the royalty of God's only begotten Son.  In the sacrifice of Jesus, God claims all of us as God's own.  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3: 23).  Only God can save us all from our own selfishness, greed and hunger for power and prestige.  God saves us not by demanding that we respect and honor God. God saves us by giving God's Self up completely and totally in the Person of Jesus Christ upon the Cross.

Before Christ offers himself on the Cross, Jesus gathers with his disciples as Jesus gathers with us at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist.  There in the Eucharist, Jesus offers us the very Presence of God through the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Eucharist, God knows about our hunger, because he experienced it in Christ.  In the Eucharist, God experiences our longing for God and gives us what we are looking for.  In the Eucharist, God comes to us in the Body and Blood of Christ and in so doing we become the Presence of God in the Church, the world to be shared with all of humanity.  The Presence of God becomes part of us and calls us to be that Presence in a hungry, hungry world.

For the longest time, I have struggled with the Gospel associated with this night.  The story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples always seemed to be so strange to me.  I guess I am like Peter.  I want Jesus in the way I want him, but I do not want  him to change me.  I am too comfortable with things being the way I have always known them.  This is why it took so many years for me to come out and say that I am gay.  As long as I remained in the closet or involved in the Courage group that was started by Cardinal Cook, I could keep Jesus at a distance.  I didn't have to serve others who are like myself longing to know the true essence of themselves in a loving, monogamous relationship.  But when I faced the reality that I am gay and that God loves me as I am, I could at last be free.  God would still feed me with the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  I could still experience the Presence of God in the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church, though I could no longer celebrate it in the Catholic church because they rejected me.  In the Episcopal Church I can still celebrate the Presence of God in the Eucharist, in the Church, in my partner Jason, in myself and in others.  I can serve others like myself who feel marginalized because of our being LGBT.  To let Christ or another wash my feet means I too am called to service of others.  Because for many like myself, the Presence of God is not enough.  We need to know and experience the Presence of God through being in service for others, but also allowing others to serve us.

In the Eucharist, God comes to us and asks that we all go to others.  God feeds us and calls us to feed others.  In the Eucharist, Jesus gives himself for all of the world and asks all of us to give ourselves for those who often wonder if God really gives a damn about them.  Sometimes the "them" is us.  Sometimes we wonder about God and God's care for us.  In the Eucharist not only does Christ give himself to and for us, he calls us to give up ourselves for others.  And others are called to give of themselves for us.  In the Eucharist is the call for service.  In the reception of Holy Communion is God giving God's Self to and for us, and all of us giving ourselves to God and to and for the Body of Christ.  It is a call for everyone, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered.  It is a call and a message that no Pope, Bishop, Priest, Deacon or lay person can take from us.  Our call to receive and be part of the Body of Christ in the world is given by Christ himself.  We respond to the call of God in Christ. We have God's very Presence in the Eucharist to give God's stamp of approval on that call, and acceptance of us who answer that call.

Tomorrow Jesus will answer the call by giving himself up on the Cross.  We will remember what Christ did in the Eucharist, he really did do when he gave up his life and chose to die for the sins of the world.  Though we recall that in the Eucharist, when we are met with Good Friday we realize that what Christ called us to does not stop at the Eucharistic Table.  It means being willing to actually give up ourselves, even if death is the result.  It's a risky prospect.  But one that comes with all of the best of rewards.  What is that reward? Life eternal. 

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we my receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Maundy Thursday, Book of Common Prayer, Page 221).