St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
April 6, 2023
Maundy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Remembrance
You may have seen in the news recently that the Vatican has just formally disavowed what’s called the Doctrine of Discovery.
If you don’t know, the Doctrine of Discovery was an idea first promoted by several popes, beginning back in the 1400’s, giving some European countries pretty much a blank check to do whatever they liked with the land and people of Africa and the Americas.
The Doctrine of Discovery led to the creation of the slave trade, the suffering and deaths of uncountable millions, the destruction of land, the theft of resources, racism, and more.
And the consequences of the Doctrine of Discovery live on today, punishing some, and benefiting others, depending…
So, admittedly, it’s a little late, but it’s good that the Church formally repudiated what was clearly an un-Christian and a deeply sinful idea and practice.
I mention all of this because the popes who blessed the Doctrine of Discovery and the men who executed it – they were all Christians – and yet, somehow, they were convinced that it was OK to do these horrible things – and not only that, they believed that God blessed these terrible deeds.
It seems that these Christians just didn’t get it, or forgot, or chose to ignore, what is at the heart of our faith.
Of course, this is a really old story, one going all the way back to the beginning.
In fact, a theme that runs through the gospels is that the disciples – that decidedly mixed bag of people chosen by Jesus to be his closest followers – the disciples very often just did not get it.
My favorite example of this is found in the Gospel of Mark.
Jesus predicts to his disciples that he is going to suffer, die, and rise again on the third day.
That should have been a lot for Jesus’ friends to take in, right?
Probably their most appropriate response would simply be to pray or at least keep a respectful silence.
But, instead, the brother disciples James and John use this as an opportunity to ask Jesus if, in the kingdom, they can sit at his right and at his left.
(In Matthew’s version of this story, it’s the mother of James and John who makes this request. I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse.)
We’re told that the other disciples overheard this request and they got angry at James and John – probably because they all wanted the best seats in the kingdom!
A remarkably patient Jesus uses this as a teachable moment, saying, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
In other words, the disciples were called to follow Jesus’ example.
Now, we are not told if the disciples grasped Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership, but, knowing their track record, and based on what we heard in today’s gospel lesson, I think we can probably guess.
Today is Maundy Thursday. It is a day for remembrance.
On Maundy Thursday, we especially remember the Last Supper.
Jesus and his disciples were in Jerusalem at the Passover, the great festival when Jews, then and now, remember God liberating them from Egyptian slavery.
At this particular Passover, Jerusalem was full of Jewish pilgrims from all over, and the mood in the occupied city was a combustible mix of hope and anxiety.
And what about the mood in the room where Jesus and his friends have gathered?
Well, even for the thickheaded disciples, maybe the hard truth was finally beginning to settle in: Jesus, their friend and Lord, was about to suffer and die.
Jesus certainly knew that time is running out.
And so the Master Teacher offered a couple of lessons – lessons that he must have hoped would be unforgettable.
Jesus blessed the bread and wine – told his friends that this was his body and blood – broken and poured out for them – and he told them to continue gathering around the table in memory of him.
And then there was the second lesson.
The Evangelist John tells us that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
How shocking that must have been!
Peter certainly wasn’t having it – at least, not at first.
Jesus commands his followers to follow his example and wash each other’s feet, to offer humble and loving service to one another.
Who knows, after getting their feet washed by the Lord, maybe James and John finally gave up their ambition for the best seats in the house!
Today is a day for remembrance.
The Church never forgot the Last Supper, of course.
We’ve continued gathering around the Table.
And we’ve never quite forgotten the foot-washing, either – it’s in the Bible, after all, and we retell the story every year on this day.
But I wonder if we have truly remembered Jesus’ humble act of loving service – I wonder if we’ve truly remembered the call to wash each other’s feet?
I mean, if we had truly remembered, how could we have come up with - and even blessed (!) - something like the Doctrine of Discovery and all the other awful things Christians have done and continue to do?
We are commanded – it’s the mandatum that gives Maundy Thursday its name – we are commanded to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
Instead of hurting others, we are meant to wash their feet.
Today is a day for remembrance.
Near the end of this evening’s service we will “strip the altar,” removing just about everything.
And finally, we will bring the Body and Blood of Christ to our beautiful little Altar of Repose, symbolizing the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus wept and prayed on the night before his arrest, before all that was to come.
But, this evening, in our own time of hope and anxiety, before we move onto the rest of Holy Week and the great joy of Easter, let’s really try to get it.
With God’s help, let’s truly remember what Jesus the foot-washer teaches us, what Jesus commands us:
Love one another.
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