Maundy Thursday

Love will be the mark of the new Way, one built upon the way of Jesus which is the Way and Will of God. Moreover, love will be the way others will identify you, that they will come to know and trust that you are a follower of Christ. 

While working at Carnegie Mellon University, professor Randy Pausch learned he had ten tumors on his liver, and hardly any time left to live.

As a young father with three kids, he thought about his family and their future. What would they remember about him?

​As he thought about his demise, he began to wonder what wisdom he would impart to his kids and the world if he only had one chance to do it. What would he say? What would he leave behind as his legacy?

The book “The Last Lecture,” chronicles his final lesson given to his students. It wasn’t about dying as much as it was about living. It focused on persevering and overcoming obstacles. It encouraged them to enable their dreams and dreams of others. And the importance of seizing every moment because this time is all that we have guaranteed.

His story and his message is reminiscent of another teacher whose life is chronicled in the Bible. On his last night on earth, Jesus reclined with his students and friends for the Passover meal. It was there, around that table, he gave his Farewell Discourse.

We get a version of this story in all four gospels. John’s is by far the longest version. In the few chapters John dedicates to this night, we find a great message on how to live life, and to live it in the rightness of God.

Tucked throughout are important instructions on how to live a humble life in service of God and others. And we even get a new commandment. This is where we get the name Maundy, for Maundy Thursday. It comes from the Latin word “mandatum” which means commandment. And it refers to the new commandment Jesus gives his disciples, which is to “love one another as I have loved you.”

This love will be the mark of the new Way, one built upon the way of Jesus which is the Way and Will of God. Moreover, love will be the way others will identify you, that they will come to know and trust that you are a follower of Christ. And as he is about to demonstrate, Jesus shows us how this love is made manifest in us:

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 decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. 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 supper, 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 reclined again, 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. 
                                                                                                                                       John 13:1-13

Like I said, all four gospels give an account of this last meal. Each one share similar details. Someone will betray Jesus. Peter will deny knowing him. A meal will be enjoyed, commemorating the Passover.
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While Matthew, Mark, and Luke give the words of institution over the bread and wine that Jesus blesses, John is the only one who offers us this particular last lesson of Jesus who knows he only has this moment left, and he uses it to teach the Apostles about what it will take to continue his ministry when he’s gone.

There in a stranger’s humble home our Lord and King removed his royal cloak and became a lowly servant; bending down to wash the dirty feet of his traveling companions. With nothing more than basin of water and a simple towel, Christ held their tired, aching feet, and began to wash each one of them clean.

Through this intimate, yet humbling, gesture Jesus shows us what it means to Love God, Love Others, and Serve Both. In short, it requires a willingness to be vulnerable, to move beyond our comfort zone, and to give fully and fearlessly of our self for the sake of others.

Around this table, Jesus guides us towards a new way of living life abundantly in God’s love. Through his example of self-giving, Jesus invites us into an intimate relationship with him. No longer are we to think of ourselves as simple followers. We are friends and companions with him and with one another.

Together we are called to share mutual love, living out the will of God. After this humbling gesture, Jesus gives them the last commandment: 

 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.”  
​                                                                                                                                John 13:34-35

To be a friend of Christ, to bear the name Christian, means we are called to walk in love in the midst of a broken and wounded world. And to share his Divine love in all our interactions and relationships. By this humble action we are able to use this time wisely, professing God’s glory in every space we find ourselves.

At this table Jesus reminds his followers that they will not be left alone to figure it all out. He offers them this promise and assurance:​

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.                               
​                                                                                                                                   John 14:25-27​

With the Holy Spirit to guide us in our daily lives, we can pursue acts of love and faith. We can persevere through acts of humility and service. With the Holy Spirit as our advocate, we can live a life in remembrance of the legacy that Christ Jesus left for us.