Maundy Thursday

Reformation, Media

Larry V. Smoose

Maundy Thursday – from Mandatum – to command.   There are actually two commands that I would like us to reflect on tonight – both given by our Lord Jesus.  The first centers on the Sacrament of Holy Communion and is recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and I Corinthians.  “The Lord Jesus, On the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and said, ‘this is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me’.  In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying ‘this cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

This account, Paul’s version, is a combination of history and the beginning of a ritual observance recorded already in 55 A.D.  The writer knows that if Jesus’ followers are to understand this event, they must not only hear the story, they must become part of it.  This meal, in which Jesus is the host is not something that happened once and is to be remembered forever after.  It is an event offered to every successive generation, so that each person can enter the experience and make it their own.  Mandatum – do this – in remembrance of me.

A few years ago I was in Paris and visited La Louvre.  It was when the DaVinci Code was a hot novel, and so I wanted to see DaVinci’s the Last Supper.  It has been more than 450 years since DaVinci created that painting and during the centuries, the original artwork had been overlaid with paint five different times in order to offset the effects of time and weather.  In the 1980’s the museum decided to remove all of the layers and get back to the original colors.  It took three years of pain-staking work, but when the task was complete, art critics were amazed at how the original colors and design of this master artist shone forth in striking beauty.  It was wonderful to see it and scrutinize it in person. 

Is it possible that the original meaning of our sacrament has been overlaid with years of tradition and ritual, so that we cannot fully appreciate the full intent of our Lord.  Is it possible to go beneath the layers of Lutheran liturgy or Baptist practice or Roman Catholic tradition and see the original meaning of the meal that Jesus initiated?

At that meal, the relationship between Jesus and his disciples was cemented.  “Whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes,” Paul says at the end of those words of institution.  The meal was to connect Jesus to his followers.  It is not by accident that in several of the resurrection appearances, the disciples first recognize Jesus at a meal, or in the breaking of bread.  It was true at Emmaus; and again at the Sea of Galilee.  In the meal the risen Lord is present and recognizable.  Communion connects us to Jesus. 

But it is not only designed to connect us to Jesus, it is the sacrament to remember him.  What should we remember?  Maybe some of his teachings, or perhaps his miracles that drew so many people to him.  As if to answer that question, John’s gospel, which is the only gospel that does not repeat the Words of Institution, paints a different scene – That gospel writer distinctly remembered that Jesus took a towel, filled a basin with water, and began to wash the disciples’ feet before the meal began. 

It was so offensive to the disciples for Jesus to take on this menial task designed for a servant or slave, that they protested!  A towel – The Lord of Lords, the Messiah, the King?  What kind of a leader is this – riding donkey’s into the city and armed with a towel!  But if we peel away the layers, if we want to know what to remember, as we re-live the Last Supper and celebrate a new Passover, it is bread, wine and a towel.  Jesus would have us remember that he came to serve.  Everything he is doing is for the sake of all humanity and the gift he gives is himself

– his body, broken, his blood poured out. 

“Man does not live by bread alone, he told the devil, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”   That’s why this bit of unleaven bread and mere taste of wine are satisfying – they convey God’s presence and God’s Word to us.  When you have been filled at this table tonight, embraced once again by the very presence of our Lord, I want us to listen very carefully – I think you will hear his voice – Love one another as I have loved you – and perhaps you will even see him hand you a towel.

Of course it might not be an actual towel - -it might be a hammer and nails to help rebuild a home in Chester; or a tray to make some meals for a person in need; or a telephone to call that person you wanted to check on.  Mandatum – a command, a Word from God that creates a pathway to life and wholeness and what it means to be fully human.  Do this, in remembrance of me.

 Let’s confess that we need to clean off the layers of neglected faith,  get past the accumulated layers of ritual and back to what it means to connect with Jesus.  Let’s discover the original beauty of what it meant to be his followers, to share this amazing meal.  To eat and drink in Jesus’ presence and to take up his towel and follow him.

Amen.