2023 04 06 Sermon
The Pattern Jesus Set
Maundy Thursday
1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 34-35
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
As is the case with so many things in life, we learn by observing others, and then trying to copy the pattern they have set for us. Many of you can probably remember when your kids were small and you’d watch them playing, acting out with their toys the things they’d seen you do. Beth Ann and I were amazed one evening when our son Henry, who must have been only 2 or 3 at the time, constructed a whole Communion set up out of his Legos, and arranged them on the coffee table just like an altar, with the candle sticks and all. He proceeded to recite the Words of Institution that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, and gave it a special flourish when he said, “the Body of Christ given for you!” and “the Blood of Christ shed for you!” I guess he had been watching his mom and dad very closely on Sunday mornings.
He was copying in his play one of the core spiritual practices that Jesus taught his disciples (and us) to follow on that first Maundy Thursday nearly 2,000 years ago. It was the night on which he would be betrayed, and Jesus knew that his time to go to the cross was near. This was his last chance to teach the disciples what he really wanted us to know, and he emphasized his point saying, “I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” He was basically saying: “observe me, and then try to copy the pattern I have set for you.”
The first pattern or example Jesus gave us to learn from that night was the Last Supper, Holy Communion, so that we his followers could literally “hand on” his presence and promises to one another. Bread and wine is handed on from person to person, as the way for us to both remember Jesus and what he did for us, and for Jesus to have a way to continually be physically present in our midst when we gather to worship, until he comes again and draws us completely into the life of God.
The other pattern or example he gave us to learn from that night was footwashing. Footwashing as a practice is rather distant from our experience these days. We do it sometimes as a religious ritual of humble service—and it is a humbling and meaningful ritual. But it can be easy for us to forget how common footwashing was in Jesus’ day. This was way before people could just hop in the shower, turn on the faucet, and wash their feet. Instead water would have to be drawn from a well, carried in a container, poured into a wash basin. This was an act of hospitality, generosity, and care that you offered to people when they entered your home. Kind of like offering to hang up someone’s coat in your closet, but more than that. The actual task of footwashing would be given to lower-status members of the household; servants for example.
And here is Jesus, their Lord and Teacher, taking upon himself the job that, by rights, the disciples should have been doing for Jesus!
Jesus was showing us, by his actions, just what kind of God we have. A God who pays attention to who in the community is in need of help, of hospitality, of love or care. Jesus is telling us: these are the people and places where God promises to be found. God is among those who need help, hospitality, love or care. So we find the presence of Christ today by noticing who in the community needs help. This includes people who go to church and it includes people in the community at large who might never go to church. Everybody needs to know and feel that they are loved and valued. Sometimes a small gesture is all that’s needed to make a world of difference. This is the pattern that Jesus set for us to follow; a pattern so important that it was how Jesus chose to use his final moments before he was betrayed—he was betrayed first by one of his own; then by the religious leaders; then by the political leaders; then by the common people; then even by his closest friends.
One thing all of those who betrayed him had in common was fear. Judas was afraid of what might happen to him for being associated with the “troublemaking” rabbi. The religious leaders were afraid of what the Roman authorities would do to them if Jesus rallied the people as “King of the Jews”. The political leaders were afraid of being able to keep the people, in this land they were occupying, under their control. The disciples were afraid of meeting the same fate on the cross as their Lord and Teacher.
Today, we find all kinds of things to be afraid of, and our sense of community and connection to other people suffers for it. Fear erodes trust, and fear cuts people off from each other, and ultimately from a relationship with God. Jesus knew that fear would overtake people in the lead-up to his crucifixion, and in its aftermath. Jesus also knew that there would always be things that we are afraid of.
So Jesus provided and embodied the antidote to fear: Love. “Perfect love casts out fear”, as the First Letter of John puts it; and this echoes what Jesus taught his disciples on the night he was betrayed—which was one of the most fearful nights of their lives. “I give you a new commandment,” Jesus told them, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Keep following the pattern I have set, Jesus is saying. Keep sharing the meal of forgiveness, grace, and love with one another. Keep finding ways to be “footwashers”—noticing and reaching out to others, and doing simple acts of loving service. This is how you turn away from fear—through love.
While fear turns you inside yourself and away from other, love makes you into your true self and turns you toward others. And by turning towards others in faith and trust, you will find the presence of Christ. Amen.