My friends, it is Maundy Thursday. Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth celebrated a Passover meal with his disciples. If you think about it, this is an anniversary of sorts. On that night, he commanded his disciples to love one another as he loved them. And he demonstrated it by humbling himself and washing their feet.
Tonight, we will model this same humble submission to love by washing each others feet. I had originally planned to wash the feet of eleven children who I have baptized over the past eight years, but the pandemic diaspora has scattered us to the four points of the compass were we live sequestered in our homes. So tonight, I will wash the feet of my beloved “J”.
When we are done with the foot washing, we move on through the scriptures and songs of the night. Then we celebrate the sacrament of communion; the love feast that has been celebrated continuously since that night. We do it because, as the Apostle Paul says so beautifully:
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26
When we have completed communion, I will pray a modified version of Jesus’ prayer that Passover night (from John 17). Then we will enter into silent reflection while I remove the purple Lenten colors and palm branches, blow out the last candle, and turn out the lights.
I hope you can join us online at our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGNzvHpgkuvUGP1Rw0_2-Iw
On this day that bears another name for “commandment,” I hope and pray that you will love as Jesus loves you.
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