St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
March 24, 2016
Maundy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-4,
(5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
1 Corinthians
11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Outward and Visible Signs
Here
at St. Paul’s, we had a beautiful Lent.
Our
Sunday services were well-attended and our book study was prayerful and
thought-provoking.
Each
Thursday evening, a good number of us walked the way of the cross, making the
journey around our old church stopping at each station and remembering the
journey of Jesus to the cross and the tomb.
Some
of us took part in the Liturgical Churches Union Lenten worship series and
heard some great music and fine preaching.
But,
you know, believe it or not, I think my favorite part of Lent was our confirmation
classes, both the youth and adult classes.
It’s
such an honor to help prepare our fellow parishioners to make this big step of
publicly coming out as a Christian, taking ownership of the faith that was
entrusted to them in baptism, in most cases when they were infants and,
obviously, had absolutely no say one way or the other!
I
run both classes as more or less a discussion rather than teaching like a
formal class.
In
the old days, though, confirmation class meant a lot of memorization – memorization
so that the confirmands would be ready in case the bishop sprang a pop quiz on
them right there in church in front of everybody.
Maybe
some of you remember being terrified that the bishop would single you out and
ask you a question!
Many,
including maybe some of you, had to memorize things, memorize things like the
definition of a sacrament: “An outward and visible sign of an inward and
spiritual grace.”
“An
outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”
Remember
that?
And,
often confirmands were required to memorize the number of sacraments: Two. Or,
seven, depending on who was doing the counting.
Today,
on Maundy Thursday (“Maundy” from the Latin word mandatum, command), we gather with the disciples for one last meal
with Jesus.
All
along, Jesus had been warning his friends, predicting the rejection and the
death that awaited him.
But,
you know how it is. Like many of us, the disciples preferred to tune out the
bad news, to ignore the sadness – to tune it out and to ignore it until that
was no longer possible.
But,
now, gathered with Jesus at the table, the hard truth is sinking in: Jesus, the
one for whom they had dropped everything to follow, the one they called teacher
and Lord, the one who had healed and taught and fed, the one who had confused,
inspired, and challenged them – Jesus - was going to die.
So,
now that he finally has their attention, Jesus offers some teaching that he
wants them – wants us – commands us - to not just memorize, but
take into our hearts and live by.
Jesus
took the bread and the wine and said, “This is my body. This is my blood. Do
this in remembrance of me.”
And,
from the start and over all these many centuries, the Church has done a pretty
good job remembering this teaching. We’ve done a pretty good job of following
this command.
About
two decades after Jesus’ earthly lifetime, Paul writes to the church in Corinth
and not only does he know about the Lord’s Supper, he’s handed on this teaching,
this mystery, this command, to the Corinthians and many others, and all the way
down to us.
Each
Sunday we remember Jesus’ teaching that this bread and wine is his body and his
blood. Each Sunday we follow Jesus’ command to do this in remembrance of him.
If
you put the consecrated bread and the wine under a microscope you’ll find it’s
still just plain old bread and wine but, somehow, Jesus is really present
in this plain old bread and wine.
Somehow,
Jesus is really present when we gather at the table, kneeling or
standing at the rail, right there beside people we’ve known for many years, or,
even all our lives, and beside people
we’ve never seen before, all of us with our hands outstretched, taking the Body
and Blood of Jesus into our bodies and our hearts, giving us the strength, the
grace, we need to face life’s many challenges.
And,
I don’t have to memorize that, because I’ve seen it.
I
see it all the time. And you’ve seen it, too.
Sacrament.
An
outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
And
then there’s Jesus’ second teaching, a teaching done with few words and
impossible for the disciples to forget.
We’re
told that Jesus got up from the table, took of his robe, and tied a towel
around himself, poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet.
After
Peter overcomes his shock and resistance, Jesus explains, commands, that the disciples – we – must follow his example and
wash one another’s feet.
But,
to be honest, we haven’t always done such a great job of following this
teaching, of obeying Jesus’ command.
It’s
not easy to offer this kind of loving, generous, even intimate, service to
others. Usually we’ll do it for our own, of course. So many of us here have
washed children and grandchildren. And, some of us have washed parents,
grandparents, and even, sometimes, spouses who have grown ill, weak, or
confused.
Oh,
yes, we take care of our own, making sure, as best we can, that they’re clean,
housed, and fed.
Very,
very beautiful, but we’re called to – commanded
- to way more generosity than
that.
We
are commanded to pour out even more
water and wash away the filth that clings to so many people both in here and
out there – the filth of shame, rejection, and regret; the filth of hunger,
loneliness, and despair; the filth of feeling unimportant, ugly, and unlovable.
Each
time we give away food as good as what we eat ourselves and feed those we love,
we wash the feet of another.
Each
time we listen to someone in pain and offer a shoulder to cry on, we wash the
feet of another.
Each
time we visit someone in prison, maybe literally incarcerated or spiritually
imprisoned by guilt, addiction, or fear, we wash the feet of another.
Each
time we resist the strong temptation to judge or ridicule or stereotype, but
instead treat every single person as a beloved child of God, we wash the feet
of another.
And,
when we wash the feet of another, or even just try, you know what, Jesus is
really present right then and there, present in us and the person
we’re loving, present in the gift that we’re giving, present in
the “water” that’s being poured out.
The
foot-washing, this powerful symbol of our loving service to one another,
especially the poorest and the most despised, is a sacrament.
And,
I don’t have to memorize that, either, because I’ve seen it.
I
see it all the time. And you’ve seen it, too.
Sacrament.
An
outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
So,
tonight, we remember Jesus saying farewell to his friends by teaching them – commanding them – to remember him in the
bread and the wine – teaching us – commanding
us – to wash one another’s feet – to love one another as he has loved us –
promising to be present with us in the bread and the wine, present
in the love that we share.
Jesus
teaches us to receive sacraments and to be sacraments for one another – to be
sacraments for one another, way more than two sacraments or seven sacraments,
but countless sacraments in a hungry
and filthy world – all of us, countless sacraments: outward and visible signs
of inward and spiritual grace.
May
it be so.
Amen.
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