2026 04 02 Maundy/ Holy Thursday
Tonight is part one of
the epic story in three parts. Coincidentally
– and there is no such thing as a coincidence – this epic story is also a most
Holy time for the Jewish people as they are celebrating Pesach…. Or
Passover. The fact that Jesus’ story
reaches it climax at this time is completely on purpose, as his life and
sacrifice was prophetically foretold through the events that happened to the
Israelite people as they passed over from death to life, as they made their
exodus out of slavery in Egypt to freedom with the promise of the promised land. At that time God sent various plagues to the
Egyptians to show his glory and to convince Pharaoh to let the people of Israel
go. Pharaoh kept changing his mind and
finally the Angel of death was sent to take every firstborn. The Israelites were saved by sacrificing a
perfect lamb and painting the blood over their doorway.
It was such a significant
event that Exodus 12 records God commanding; “This month shall mark for you
the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.” That month is called Nisan and this year it
began on the evening of March the 18th. On the 14th day of that month the
Pesach is observed, commemorating Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The day begins when the sun goes down so this
year the Passover began in the evening of April the 1st. –(Last
night).
What does this mean for
us? Firstly, there are no
coincidences. Jesus chose this time
deliberately so that we would understand that his sacrifice is as that
lamb of God of the Exodus story. Jesus
is the lamb of God that saves us from separation from God - spiritual
death. Through his sacrifice and us
being baptised in his name we are redeemed – brought back to God and Passover from spiritual death to spiritual life. Tonight we commemorate that last supper of
our Lord and how, in him, our spiritual life was on the brink of a life about
to begin. A bit like a mother about to
give birth – and the first labour pain begins.
Of course we have already
lived this story for many years, and we are already alive through Christ, but
tonight, just as we remember and celebrate our physical birthday, we realize
again that our spiritual life, on that fateful night, hung in the balance. Would Jesus go through with it? And then, knowing what he was about to face,
what would be the teaching that night?
Here is our God, our servant
King – He calls us now to follow him. Jesus washed their feet. Does it make you feel a bit
uncomfortable? It makes me feel a little
uncomfortable. Peter felt
uncomfortable. Jesus was the great
Rabbi, and here he was doing a servant’s job.
Exactly! he was making a point, and he spells it out by saying that he
was their teacher, but if he, as their teacher could serve them, they should
also serve one another. Along with it is
this message; “V servants are not greater than their
master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know
these things, you are blessed if you do them.” This master became as a servant. In doing so we know that in God’s eyes there
is no job without dignity, because the in the most humble and even derogatory
job is the greatest way to show love. Our
reading ends with a new commandment to love one another. Jesus washed their feet. He gave an example of how to “love”. ..
serve.
We may forget or fail to
realise that many of the apostles argued at times. That doesn’t mean they didn’t love one
another. Families argue. That doesn’t mean that they don’t love one
another. It is an awesome thing when
friends can reach a point in their relationship where they can love even though
they disagree and even annoy each other at times.
Jesus knew that Judas was
going to betray him. Jesus still chose
him to be a disciple and gave him a position of honour and authority. Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, Judas was sent out
with the others to proclaim the Kingdom of God and lay their hands on people,
healing them and casting out demons.
Judas was central and pivotal in all that they did. The whole time, Judas still had free will and
I can imagine that Jesus gave him every opportunity to make good choices. Jesus knew his time was near and he knew that
Judas was about to betray him, so what did Jesus do? He washed Judas’ feet. More than this, Jesus gave him
communion. Jesus gave him the bread and
wine, stating it was his body and blood.
Jesus included Judas in this most important aspect of salvation. Jesus continued to offer Judas eternal life.
I’ve been part of
organisations where there have been difficult personalities. One of the most difficult, made an
interesting comment. She said, “If only
we could get rid of the difficult people”!
I bet she is not the only one who thinks this way. BUT,
here is the kicker- none of us is perfect!
We live in a world that seems to be increasingly demanding that we be
perfect and points the finger at anyone with faults. Those people become banned from this and
that. They are taken to court sometimes
for the thoughts in the head – as was the case of the lady in the UK who was
prosecuted for silently praying outside an abortion clinic. So, there is all this finger pointing and judging
going on when, in reality, we all fall short of the glory of God…. A
long way short.
Jesus was raising up a
leader. Do you recall who that was?
Peter! Jesus knew that Peter was going
to deny knowing him – not once, not twice, but three times. Jesus still loved and encouraged Peter,
knowing Peter’s failure was imminent.
Jesus washed his feet. Peter even
tried to prevent it, but Jesus insisted – He was showing Peter how to love, but
more importantly, he showed Peter that Jesus really and truly loved him – even
knowing what Peter would do. Jesus told
Peter that he would deny him, but Jesus washed his feet because he loved him
and wanted Peter to understand, remember and KNOW that he was loved by Jesus.
What do we do to show others
that we love them? Most importantly,
what do we do to show those who let us down that we love them? Love is only word. If we are obeying the second great command of
God, which is to love others… prove it.
We naturally are hurt when
people betray and deny us etc… but we, as Christians, are filled with God’s
spirit, and God’s spirit loves unconditionally – therefore, so do we. An Important note – this does not mean that
we submit to continue being hurt by another – we wisely should put boundaries
between those who will cause us harm, but I believe that, even in this, God
will show us how to love while maintaining healthy boundaries.
Each one of us is
flawed. Scripture tells us that all have
fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus
didn’t say to the disciples, “wait until Peter repents and then show him love.” We know that Jesus didn’t wait. This is teaching is a whole lot easier to say
than to do. To love one another is
tough.
We all need a reality
check. When we can accept that we are
all broken and in need of saving…. No, let me re-phrase – When I can
accept that I am broken and in need of saving, then I realize
that I realize that what Jesus is commanding is vital – and Good News. This is the way of life.
Christians are to live
differently. We bring life into our
world by bringing the true love of God through our own love. We KNOW that we are all broken and needing
Jesus. When Jesus was arrested ALL his
followers deserted him and fled. They
all let him down. Not a single one was
worthy of the sacrifice that he would make…. And neither are we. We cannot even love our neighbour, how can it
be that Christ died for me?
“And can it be that I
should gain - An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused
His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be-
That Thou, my God, should die for me?”
Tonight we remember that our
spiritual life hung in the balance as Jesus was about to make the ultimate
sacrifice out of love for us. On the
brink of his death and our life, knowing that we would let him down, betray and
deny him, he gave us an example. We
bring life to our community and each other when we love - and the practical way
to love is to serve. No one is
greater…. No one is lesser… All are
broken, but all are loved and saved by Jesus. We need Jesus, not just to save us, but to
empower us with his Holy Spirit, because that is the only way that we can keep
his command to love. We need him living
in us and flowing through us. It is the
only way.
HYMNS – Come as you are; The
name of God; The Servant King; Eat this bread;
Stay with me - taize
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