Exodus
12: 1–14a; Psalm 78: 14–20, 23–25; I Corinthians 11: 23–32; John 13: 1-15
This
is the homily that was given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr.
Gene Tucker on Thursday, April 18, 2019.
“IT’S NOT ABOUT US, BUT IT IS”
Tonight,
we come to a recollection of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and to
Jesus’ command that we should do as He has done, that is, that we should serve
one another as He serves us. The name of this day is Maundy Thursday, the name
coming from the Latin word, mandatum,
meaning “command”. (This word comes into English as “mandate”.)
At
that first Lord’s Supper, Jesus knelt down to wash his disciples’ feet. (This
event is reported to us only by the writer of the Fourth Gospel….neither
Matthew, nor Mark, nor Luke, tell us about it.) Washing someone’s feet was – in
the culture of the day – a necessary act because of the dustiness of the roads
and byways of the day, and because of the fact that people wore sandals. It was
work that was reserved for servants and slaves. (The Greek word doulos can mean either “servant” or
“slave”.) Washing someone’s feet meant that they had put themselves in the
servant or slave category. No wonder Peter objected to having his feet washed
by the Lord.
Foot
washing isn’t an act we do anymore. Not much, anyway. We do it as a ceremonial
act on Maundy Thursday, and in some Christian traditions, it is often done and
is quite important. The Church of the Brethren is one such Christian church
where this is so.
What,
then, are we to make of the significance of Jesus’ action?
Perhaps
the message and the command is this: Jesus
might be telling us to remember that “it’s not about us, but it is.”
Let’s
explore that message and command a little.
It’s
not about us, that we reap all the benefits of a relationship with God through
Jesus Christ, but not to pass along those blessings to others.
It’s
not about us, that we can have a comfortable religion that doesn’t challenge us
to amend our ways and to be transformed into the image of Christ, little by
little.
It’s
not about us, that we can be Sunday-only Christians, and not Sunday-to-Saturday
Christians.
It’s
not about us, that we can behave in un-Christlike ways, failing to match our
deeds to our words.
It’s
not about us, that we can simply “go through the motions” of being a disciple
of Jesus.
But
it is about us, it’s all about us, in some important ways:
It
is about us, for we are Jesus’ hands to do and Jesus’ heart to love.
It
is about us, for we are called, by virtue of our baptisms, to die to self in
order to rise to new life in Christ. (We Christians, are, after all, a
resurrection people….we believe that there is always the possibility, for
everyone, of a new, more meaningful and fuller life, and a more intimate
relationship with God.)
It
is about us, for God’s call to service is a call that our Lord Himself
demonstrated. Jesus, in effect, says to us, “do as I say, and do as I do.”
It
is about us, for we are called to a mature life in Christ, reading Holy
Scripture, maintaining an active prayer life, receiving God’s grace by regular
participation in the Sacraments of the Church, going out into the world bearing
Christ’s name and Christ’s image.
It
is about us: This Collect for Mission, which is appointed
for use during Morning Prayer, and which is found on page 58 of the Book of
Common Prayer, 1979, says it well:
“Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch
out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come
within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us in thy Spirit that we,
reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the
knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy name. Amen.”
