Today is Maundy Thursday, the fifth day of Holy Week.

The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandātum means mandate, or command. This is in reference to the command Jesus gave his disciples to “Love one another, as I have loved you.”

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s first reading is from the Gospel of John, 13:2-17

"12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

In Jesus’ day, a host would often have their servant wash the feet of guests. This was an act of hospitality, as well as of practicality. But it was an act that would have been always done by the servant. By the least member of the household. Jesus took on the very nature of a servant, scripture tells us elsewhere, but here’s where we see it. This week, right now... Jesus comes toward you. He looks at you, and at your mess, and at all the proverbial dust on your proverbial feet. He slowly grabs a towel, some water, and he sits down in front of you. You know you’re filthy. You know he shouldn’t be doing this. You wonder: where’s the servant?? Why is Jesus doing this? It’s embarrassing, almost. And then he begins to spill water over your feet, and wipe them clean. Later he tells you this: go do the same thing. Go take on the nature of the servant. Go get down on one knee. Go tend to the messy places and the dusty places in the lives of those around you. Can you hear his words to you? His command?

Todays second reading comes from Mark 14:17-25

"17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 “This is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

What a disorienting day Maundy Thursday is. Jesus washing feet, telling his disciples ot do the same. Jesus, sitting back relaxed at the table, casually mentioning his own betrayal. Jesus, telling them that the bread they were eating and the wine they were drinking was his body, his blood. Imagine being there that Thursday. Is your mind spinning? Are you confused? Worried?

In the midst of all that confusion, all that disorientation, Jesus gives the command that Christians remember every Holy Week on Maundy Thursday: Love one another, as I have loved you. The simplicity of this command cuts through the confusion, doesn’t it? That command is the ‘true north’ of all Christians: that we love one another, as Christ loved us. As we end our time of prayer today, and as we turn toward sunrise tomorrow, and all that Good Friday will bring... ask God to fill you with the power of his Holy Spirit to love others – to truly love - as He does.

Music Credit:
You Give Us Peace (feat. Paul Cullen & Scarlett) - Heaven And Earth (YouTube)