Here's the sermon for Maundy Thursday, March 28.
March
28, 2013
It seems to be almost a
yearly tradition. We get to Holy Week,
and someone comes up with “the question.”
What does Maundy mean? There are
even a few times that I’ve had people ask how exactly do you say the word? Among the best mispronunciations I’ve heard
is “Monday Thursday”. I can see that
one. If you don’t take care to pronounce
the “au” it sure can sound like Monday.
So why this funny name for
this holy Thursday? It’s your Latin
lesson of the day. The word Maundy is
derived from the Latin word for “mandate”.
It’s kind of like a command. When
you have a mandate for something, it’s kind of like saying, “do this.” If we pass a mandate saying that we need to
present our drivers’ license as we enter the sanctuary, we’re saying that you
need to do this as you enter the doors.
A mandate is something along the lines of a command.
So why do we call this Holy
Thursday of Holy Week “Maundy Thursday”?
Just a moment ago, we heard the word of God from Jesus’ disciple
John. We heard John describing the events
as Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples in the upper room. John tells us a few things about that evening
that aren’t included in the other accounts of Jesus’ life. John talks about Jesus showing His great love
for His followers by taking the towel and wrapping it around His waist. He recounts how Jesus began to wash the feet
of the disciples. And then, as Jesus
finished up that task, John has Jesus asking an interesting question.
“Do you understand what I
have done to you?” While there is a part
of the Passover that includes the washing of the hands, let’s just say that
it’s going above and beyond to wash something like the feet of those who
participate. You can almost see the
inquisitive looks on the faces of the disciples. “Why is Jesus doing this?” And so, John goes on to include the words of
Jesus to explain this to His disciples.
“You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you
also should do just as I have done to you.”
A mandate. Do as I have done to you. And then, a little further down what we heard
tonight. “A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another.” Another mandate. The first one points us to the mandate that
Jesus gives us, to be willing servants to one another, to not only do what is
required of us, but to go even further, as God gives us the opportunity. And the second, to love one another as Jesus
loved His followers.
Two mandates. And as we hear the word of God tonight, we
recognize that Jesus intended these to be kept not only by those 12 with Him at
the table, but by all who follow Him as His disciples. “By this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Two mandates that talk, not so much about us being made right with God,
but more about what the world sees in those who follow Jesus as His
disciples. We don’t do these things that
Jesus says in order to be right with God, but in demonstration of our love for
our neighbor.
But later on tonight, we
will hear another mandate that Jesus gave that night. It will happen shortly before we come up to
the table surrounding our altar. We’ll
hear those words of Jesus, as He took the unleavened bread, broke it, and
passed it around to his disciples. Take
this, and eat it. This is my body,
broken for you. DO THIS, in remembrance
of Me. And then, as He took the cup of
wine, Take this and drink from it, all of you, for this is the new covenant of
my blood, shed for the forgiveness of your sins. DO THIS, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of Me.
Yet another mandate. Do this.
Eat the bread, which is my body, and drink the cup, which is the
covenant in my blood, and as you do this, remember what I have done for you,
and receive the forgiveness of your sin.
As we reflect upon those words, we see that this mandate is a little
different from the ones we’ve already heard about. This mandate is more oriented in doing what
Jesus says in order to receive what He has done for us. Do this, and receive my body and my blood. I gave up these things for you, and as you do
this, you receive my forgiveness as you consider what I have done for you.
Two mandates that speak to
our relationships with one another, and one that speaks to our relationship
with God, and the receiving of His grace.
It seems like every time we turn around that night of the Passover,
Jesus was giving another mandate. Not to
enforce upon His followers a bunch of difficult things to have to do, but a way
to receive His grace, and then ways to let that grace flow from His followers
to one another, and then on to others.
As we ponder these mandates
on this Maundy Thursday, one of the things we find is that the things Jesus
spoke about and commanded that night have a very real bearing as we live our
lives. Every day, we have the
opportunity to live out Jesus’ mandates, to love one another, and to serve one
another. These mandates from Jesus
aren’t intended to be some kind of purely spiritual exercise, but find their
reality based upon the lives we live in this world, lives which our God has
given to us as His good and gracious gifts.
They are lived out in our relationships with one another, as God makes
us to be part of a community in which we live life together.
Love one another. Serve one another. And as we hear those mandates, one of the
things that our eyes are opened to is that these are far more extensive than
what they may seem at first. We hear the
word love, and we have a tendency to think of hugs and kisses and cards and
flowers. Images of hands being held, and
lovey dovey expressions on the faces of two people are who are in love are
common things we may think about. And
those are a part of loving one another, even as that mandate reaches far deeper
into our lives.
Looking through the
different things that God says about our lives, what we tend to find are two
different ways in which we fulfill this mandate of Jesus. We often hear that the summary of God’s
mandate for our lives in the Ten Commandments says to love our neighbors as
ourselves. As we think about those words
from our God, words such as don’t steal, don’t murder, don’t covet, and don’t
commit adultery, our first thoughts are often on the things that we aren’t
supposed to do. We show that we love our
neighbor by not going over and sticking a knife in them. We show our neighbor that we love them by not
going over and helping ourselves to their car keys. We avoid doing certain things that would be
harmful to our neighbor, and in that, we demonstrate a kind of love for our
neighbor.
But as we look at Jesus’
actions that Thursday night, we see that God intends for far more than merely
avoiding things that hurt our neighbor. Jesus
doesn’t merely avoid murdering His disciples, He actually goes so far as to
engage in actions that benefit them, and build them up. Jesus shows us that love is not only avoiding
the things that God says not to do, but love is also found in doing the extra
things that add to our neighbor’s life.
We not only avoid murdering them, but we look for ways to protect them
from any kind of harm or danger. We not
only avoid stealing their things, but we actively look for ways to help them
improve and protect what God has given them.
Willing acts of service that
demonstrate love for our neighbor.
That’s the real life impact of those mandates from Jesus. Look to your neighbor, and see the opportunities
that God provides for you to serve them and demonstrate your love for
them. And then sieze them. Make the most of them.
Inevitably, that will point
us to the other mandate that Jesus gave that night, one which we will observe
in a few minutes as part of our worship life together. We simply will not make the most of every
opportunity to serve and love our neighbor.
We’ll carry grudges, and fail to forgive. We’ll have an opportunity to build up their
reputation, but will tarnish it instead.
We’ll have an opportunity to add something of value to their life, but
will refuse to share it with them. And
that’s when we’re pointed right back to the other mandate of Jesus that night.
Do this, in remembrance of
Me. We remember the price that Jesus
would pay for our forgiveness. You and I
simply cannot love and serve our neighbor as God intends. We may love one another, and we may find
opportunities to serve our neighbor. We
may even find ourselves growing in those expressions of love and service as we
recognize them and take them up. But we
also recognize that we do not always do so.
We don’t always recognize the opportunities that God puts before us. We don’t always want to do what we know we
really should. And then, we may even
look back and see that there were other things we could have done that didn’t
reveal themselves at the time.
And that’s when we recognize
that we really need this other mandate of Jesus. Take, eat, this is my body, broken for
you. Drink of this cup, for it is the
new covenant of my blood, shed for the forgiveness of your sin. We simply cannot perfectly love and serve our
neighbor, and so we’re driven repeatedly back to this final mandate of Jesus
that Maundy Thursday. Do this to receive
my forgiveness, and to remember the price I paid for you. We’re driven right back to realize that even
though our love for God and one another will falter, the love and service that
Jesus lived out will never fail.
This final mandate of Jesus
is not just another thing for us to be doing.
It’s an open invitation to come and receive the grace of our God. As Jesus told His disciples to do this and to
receive forgiveness of their sin, He shows us that He alone can perfectly love
and serve His neighbor as Himself. God
wants to love us in the same way that He created us to love each other. And Jesus perfectly brings that love and
serving to us as He mandates that we come to receive His gifts of grace in the
holy meal of that Thursday.
That gift of grace flows
from the cross of Jesus into our lives.
It refreshes our spirits as our eyes of faith are opened up to see what
it truly means to serve one another and to love one another. We have been loved with a love that goes
beyond our human understanding. And the
gift of Jesus’ grace is never empty.
It’s a mandate to come often, since the cup of God’s grace will never
run empty.
So we come often, in fulfillment of Jesus’
mandate, to receive His gift of grace.
And that gift of grace feeds us when we depart from His table of grace,
once again having received His gift of forgiveness. We depart from that table as people who have
received the love and service of Jesus.
We are renewed in our spirits, fed and nourished by our God, to go forth
as God’s loved people. Jesus
demonstrates the extent of His love as He repeatedly gives us what we need when
we receive His gifts of grace in this holy meal.
The love of Jesus spills
over into our lives. Another way you
could think of it is that Jesus’ takes from His cup of grace to fill your cup
of grace. The only thing is, Jesus’ cup
never runs dry. It just keeps pouring
and pouring and pouring. As it pours out
into our cups, we find that we’re suddenly receiving from a well that never
stops pouring itself out to us. Our cups
will fill, and then, since Jesus’ grace continues to pour, His grace then
begins to spill out of our cups.
And where does that grace
splash out? Into the lives of others as
we strive to love our neighbors in the same way that Jesus has loved us. That grace splashes out as we look for
opportunities to serve our neighbors above and beyond the bare minimum. That grace overflows from our cups to theirs
as we actively look for ways to love them, just as we have been loved. Jesus’ cup of grace for you will never run
dry. And as it flows into your cup, you
have the assurance that He will never let your cup be empty. In fact, He’ll continue to fill it even to
the point of overflowing, knowing that you have the opportunity to let it spill
over into the lives of others as you love them and serve them.
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