It is only in
hindsight that we really recognize the monumental significance of the event we
commemorate tonight.
It was Passover,
but really just another Passover.
For Jesus and his disciples they would have celebrated many Passovers in
their lives. And this was not the
first that they had celebrated together.
For us it’s a
Thursday. Just a Thursday. We’ve been taught that it’s Maundy
Thursday, but it’s Thursday. Many
of you were at work today, doing what you always do at work. Some of you are missing your favorite
Thursday evening TV shows tonight.
I’m thinking
about how the extraordinary events that we commemorate today break into regular
ordinary lives. They come
unexpectedly in the midst of routine activities.
A traditional,
routine Passover supper becomes the institution of the New Covenant. What the disciples had always done
become something they had never done before when Jesus said: This is my Body,
This is my Blood.
And the foot washing
was completely unexpected. Jesus
down on his hands and knees like a serving girl washing the disciples’ feet. Out of no where. Jesus the servant.
And, in a way,
that’s lesson enough. On a night
when we might be watching reruns on TV or the usual scurrying to get kids to
activities or just crashing tired from work… On an ordinary Thursday night Jesus shows up.
But at a diocesan
event this week Bishop Lee gave us another way to look at this event.
Peter didn’t
want to be served. Probably for
much the same reasons most of you won’t come forward to have your feet
washed. You don’t like being
served. It’s awkward. If my feet need washing (which they don’t;
thank you very much), I’ll wash them myself! I’m just not into the foot washing thing.
But. It’s not about you, Peter. It’s not about you! It’s not about what you want. Clearly. You don’t want your feet washed. It’s also not about what you need. It’s not as though Peter’s feet needed to be washed and
Jesus volunteered. Jesus wasn’t
really “serving” Peter, this line of thought goes. It wasn’t about serving Peter’s needs.
We talk a lot
about servant-hood on Maundy Thursday, and that’s definitely one (maybe the
best) interpretation of this event.
Jesus models humble servant-hood.
Jesus does say that in John’s Gospel, that we are to serve one other as
he serves us. But not because
Peter needed (or wanted) to be served.
Maybe it was about Jesus.
Maybe it was about what Jesus wanted to do for Peter. Jesus wasn’t responding to Peter’s
need, but was proactively doing what he wanted to do for Peter. Serving is what Jesus wanted to do for
Peter and the disciples. It’s
about what Jesus wanted to do.
What does Jesus
want to do for you? It’s a big
question. Not the same question as:
what do you need. Not the same question
as: What do you want Jesus to do
for you, even if that’s a noble desire. It’s not about you!!! It’s about Jesus. Who Jesus is. What Jesus wants.
What does Jesus want to do for you?
- Jesus wants wholeness and holiness for each of us.
- But he also wants us to be apostles. To get off our backsides and on our feet… To share the Good News. Maybe that’s why he washed the disciples feet… To help them focus on sharing the Good News.
- Or maybe he wants to show or share with us something new and wondrous. Or something new that makes us really uncomfortable.
- Maybe he just wants us to be more open to his touch.
- Maybe he wants to teach us to be more courageous of faith. To en-courage us in cherishing and proclaiming our faith.
So on an
ordinary Thursday, Jesus shows up and says: Here’s what I want to do for
you. Would you let him do it?
Part of what
participating in the foot washing is about is training us to remember that it’s
not about us. It’s about
Jesus. It’s about LETTING JESUS DO
WHAT JESUS WANTS TO DO.
On this normal
Thursday, Jesus shows up wanting to do something for us.
What is it he
wants to do for you? Will you let
him?
