St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
April 13, 2017
Maundy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Unexpected Turns
For
me, one of the most appealing, most endearing, aspects of the Gospel is the fact
that so often the disciples really just don’t get it.
Obviously,
they all saw something in Jesus, something that they had never seen before, something
that inspired them, compelled them, to
leave behind their old lives and follow this mysterious teacher and healer from
Galilee, the one that they had come to believe was the long-awaited Messiah.
Yet,
throughout the Gospel, Jesus’ closest followers don’t really understand Jesus’
teaching, don’t understand the meaning of his miracles and signs, and they
certainly don’t understand – or, maybe, don’t want to understand - that Jesus
is going to suffer and die.
But,
we shouldn’t be too hard on the disciples because, after all, Jesus’ life and
ministry was full of unexpected turns.
Starting
with his miraculous birth to a couple of nobodies to his hanging out with the
despised tax collectors and prostitutes to revealing his true identity to the
Samaritan woman at the well to raising his friend Lazarus from the dead to
allowing Lazarus’ sister Mary to anoint his feet with costly perfume – through
it all, Jesus’ life and ministry was full of unexpected turns.
And,
that was true right up to the end.
Just
the other day we celebrated Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when the
crowd strew palms on the road and greeted the king with shouts of joy.
At
that parade, I’m sure the disciples thought
that they had it all figured out. Here
we go!
Now
Jesus would be crowned as king and they would all get powerful positions in the
new regime.
But,
instead, now, in yet another unexpected turn, the disciples find themselves
eating a last supper with their Lord, a meal that feels more like a wake than a
feast.
The
other evangelists tell us about Jesus identifying the bread and the wine with
his body and blood, commanding his followers to remember him each time they
gather to break bread and share wine.
But,
only the Gospel of John, which we heard tonight, tells us about the
foot-washing.
In
yet another unexpected turn, Jesus begins washing the feet of his friends. This
is so unexpected – so very “inappropriate” – it’s the work of a lowly servant
not a king - that Peter who so often didn’t get it doesn’t get it this time,
either, and objects.
But,
Jesus insists that this must be done – and Jesus commands Peter
and the other disciples to follow his example of offering this lowly and loving
service.
An
unexpected turn.
It
would be nice to be able to say that we’ve done a god job of obeying Jesus’
command, but unfortunately, in our broken world offering this kind of lowly service
to the kind of people Jesus hung out with is still pretty much an unexpected
turn.
That’s
why we’re surprised when on this day Pope Francis washes not the well-scrubbed
feet of priests but the calloused feet of prisoners, the feet of often despised
men and women, including even the feet of Muslims.
An
unexpected turn.
That’s
why our sister church offering asylum to people from faraway dangerous places
like Syria has surprised so many and gotten so much attention.
An
unexpected turn.
That’s
why the people we feed at the homeless drop-in center are so surprised by, and
grateful for, our coffee hour-quality lunch that we serve them once a month.
An
unexpected turn.
In
a moment, I’ll invite you to come forward and let me wash your feet.
And,
a little later, we’ll gather at the Lord’s Table like we always do, but then,
in what may be another unexpected turn for you, we will strip the altar and
bring the sacrament to the “Altar of Repose,” symbolizing Jesus’ unexpected
departure and his night of agony in the garden, anticipating his fate.
The
service will end in silence and you’re invited to stay a while with Jesus in
the garden, and ponder these most unexpected turns.
The
Good News, of course, is that there are still a few more unexpected turns in
this story.
But,
first, tonight, let’s follow the commands of Jesus.
Posts
