Maundy Thursday
April 2, 2015
Exodus
12:1-4, 11-14 The Message Bible
1
Corinthians 11:23-26 The Message Bible
John
6:47-51 The Message Bible
Psalm
116:1-6, 12-19 The Message Bible
A Teachable Moment…
We have almost come to the end of our
Lenten journey together. On our journey we have learned that through Jesus, God
pours out so many blessings but the most important is the free gift God
Salvation only found through Jesus. As Psalm 116 said, God heard our cry
for help...He heard and came to help, He knew our need for a Messiah. God did
not come and help in the form of a Davidic king taking Rome by storm but in the
form of a helpless babe who grew up to be the King of all kings freeing all of
humanity from a fate worse than death...freeing us from our sin. How interesting it is that He would come in
the form of a helpless babe to help us in our helplessness of sin...He became
like us to conquer for us...And this gift...is absolutely FREE!
We now enter the upper room where Jesus
taught His disciples then and now one of the most important lessons in His
ministry. There was one last thing He needed to show them…example for
them…before He completed His work on the cross. Jesus took something that they
were taught as they grew up…the Pass Over Seder…and turned into something
new…something different. They were taught
that the Seder was a remembrance of how God delivered the Israelite's from the
tyranny of the Egyptians as is stated in the Exodus scripture I read this evening. Now this new thing was
about remembering Jesus and His teachings…about remembering how Jesus acted and
to go and do likewise.
At
this Seder, Jesus did something that a teacher would never have done. Instead
of having others wash His feet…instead of claiming the rights of one was above
others…Jesus did a new thing. He was the one who washed the feet. Taking on the
posture of a servant instead of being served, He taught the disciples and us to
live a new way…one that puts others above our selves.
I
can understand how Simon Peter felt…he knew who Jesus was. Peter understood
that Jesus was special. Peter felt unworthy of Jesus washing his feet but Jesus
told him that if He didn’t, Peter could have no part of what Jesus was
doing…this new way of life. In taking on this new lifestyle… of a servant…Jesus
also gave them and us a new commandment. To love others not as our self but as
Jesus loved. To be willing to put aside self and take up theirs and our own
cross and follow Jesus’ example.
Jesus
taught the disciples many lesson as they learned from their Rabbouni. We continue to this day to remember those lessons by reenacting the
Lords Supper. This too was a new thing that night when the celebrated the
passover meal together. You see not only did Jesus become their servant and
gave that servant example to them, He also changed the meaning behind the whole
“Lords Supper”. It not only was a remembrance of what God did in Egypt but also
what God did in Christ Jesus...He became that Pascal Lamb...He proclaims that
He is the “Bread of Life” as in the John scripture from tonight. The
disciples then and now celebrate this meal that Jesus offers so that we may
live life with Him. Through Him there is life eternal instead of a life of death. Through His death and
resurrection we have new life in Christ...1 Corinthians reminds us that each
time we celebrate...reenact this meal, we are drawn back to the Upper Room and
suit with Jesus. May we always cherish
these moments and never get to the point that we become so familiar that we
just go through the motions and miss out on the God inspired moment in the
Upper Room...
So...now
Jesus gives one of His final lessons at this meal in the Upper Room. They and
we are called to live in a new and radical way…much different than the world
around us as Jesus’ disciples. Now...they and we are called to serve...to set aside ourselves our titles...our
degrees...our self-interests...our ego's...we are called to not see color...we
are called to not see economic realities...we are called to be a house of
prayer and not a house of despair...we are called to be the hands, feet, voice
and image of the Servant of the Lord. We are called to roll up ourselves and
get involved with a hurting world who needs acts of Radical Hospitality.
We
are called to love unconditionally. We are called to serve others with the love
and joy that Jesus did. We are called into the family business, as beloved
children of the Most High God. We are called to be Christ to the world. Imagine
what the world would be if we were more interested in the family business than
branching out on our own? Maybe the world...humanity...needs to return to its
original form and walk in the cool of the evening with our God? What to do you
think would happen if you and I would unconditionally be the hands and feet of
Christ? Just imagine.
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