Knowing, Loving, & Acting: A Sermon for Maundy Thursday
If I only knew. If I only knew that Sunday, March 8 would be the last time that we’d gather here as a congregation to celebrate the Holy Eucharist as a parish family. And for me, it was Sunday, March 1, because I was at home and terribly sick on Sunday March 8. If I only knew, I might have savored Christ’s body and blood just a little more. I am sure that many people throughout the world, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, are now saying, “If I only knew.”
In our gospel lesson for this evening, Jesus knew. “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” Jesus knew. He fully understood the profound significance of this occasion. He knew that this would be his final meal with his disciples, and that he would experience a horrific death by crucifixion the following day. But his disciples did not know or fully understand. But “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.”
Given this knowledge, Jesus had a choice to make: How would he spend his last moments with those whom he loved the most? How would he savor this last Passover meal? What might he say or do to make them truly know what he already knew about what perfect love is, what it looks and acts like, and from Whom it comes?
Roman Catholic biblical scholar Francis Moloney remarks that, “Jesus loved [his disciples] until the end of his life, and he loved them in a way that surpasses all imaginable loving. The marriage of these two meanings of “to the end” produces one of the major themes for the rest of the story: the death of Jesus makes known his love for his own, and thus makes God known.”
In other words, Jesus’ actions that evening – the washing of his disciples’ feet and the institution of the Last Supper – weren’t for his own sake, or even for his disciples’ sake. Jesus’ actions were a means for pointing to and glorifying his Father in Heaven, who was and is perfect love. Such was the case for all of Jesus’ earthly ministry – the miracles and healings he performed were always grounded in a deeper meaning and purpose. They were never only for the sake of feeding or healing. And they were never for the sake of proving his doubters wrong. The mission of Jesus’ earthly ministry was first and foremost to point to his Father in Heaven – to show the world who God was and what God was like. It was to embody God’s love. “The death of Jesus makes known his love for his own, and thus makes God known.”
The role of Judas Iscariot in this narrative serves as a counterpoint to Jesus. Judas – the betrayer – is an embodiment of the evil that infects us all. That last evening that they had together, the disciples had - and we have - the incarnate manifestations of Good and Evil set before us. What we have that the disciples didn’t have is the benefit of hindsight. Of course we would choose the good of Jesus over the evil of Judas! Of course we would choose God over the Adversary!
Yet, even with the benefit of hindsight, is that always the case? Do we always choose what is right and good, even if doing so causes us great sacrifice? Speaking for myself, the answer is no.
Through the witness of Holy Scripture and the tradition of the Church, we know about Jesus and his love for his disciples and for the whole world. And we know what that looked like for Jesus in his earthly life. As St. John points out, Jesus knew. And Jesus’ knowing is very different from our knowing. Francis Moloney points out that Jesus’ knowledge always led to love and action. Jesus knew, Jesus loved, and Jesus acted. And on this last evening of his earthly life – this last opportunity for fellowship with his disciples – his knowledge, love, and action were embodied by taking the role of a servant, and washing his disciples’ feet.
As such, as followers of Jesus Christ, our calling is to know, love, and act as was taught to the disciples and to us by Jesus. And if there was ever a time in our lifetime to embody this calling of knowledge, love, and action, it is now. As we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, there is so much that we do not know. We do not know how long it will last, or if, or when we will find a vaccination or cure. We do not know how many lives will be ultimately lost. We do not know what the lasting effects on the economy will be. There is simply so much that we do not know. And for those of us who like to know things – and I am one of them - that is terribly stressful.
So what I am trying to do is to fall back on what I do know. And thanks be to God for the Church. Because it is through the Church that I have come to know and experience a love that is like no other love imaginable. This love – made manifest in Jesus Christ – is what is sustaining me during this crisis. While I am doing my best to stay informed and educated on the covid-19 virus, I am spending much more time reading scripture and praying the prayers of the Church. Without the weekly sustenance of the Holy Eucharist, we need other sources of communion with God. During the temporary closing of public worship and fellowship, praying the Daily Office and devotional reading – the gifts of the Church, by the Church, and for the Church – have been my primary sources of spiritual sustenance. Indeed, even though we are not able to meet and worship together in person, the Church is still alive, and it is still feeding me. By the grace of God, I have come to truly know this, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Jesus’ knowledge – his deep knowing – always led to love and action. Hence, the washing of his disciples’ feet and the institution of the Last Supper. Pope John Paul II commented that “[Maundy Thursday] is sadder than Good Friday. This is the time when Jesus offered himself as the lamb at the last supper. The washing of the feet and the sacrament of the Eucharist: two expressions of one and the same mystery of love entrusted to the disciples, so that, Jesus says, “as I have done…so also must you do.” So while we navigate this pandemic, are called to love and action. And over the past couple of weeks, I have encountered love and action in ways that are truly humbling and inspiring.
Last week, I took a person to the Point Washington Medical Clinic to get a checkup. That morning, I was able to catch a glimpse of how some of our very own parishioners are embodying Christ’s love and action. Mimi Gavigan was volunteering at the check-in table because most of the regular volunteers are too old to safely do that job. And parishioner Kate Smith was the nurse who did the check up on the person I brought to the clinic. The two of them, along with the others who were volunteering there, were embodiments of Christ’s love in a time when the most vulnerable among us need it the most.
Mimi is also putting her gift for sewing to work by making face masks and donating them to whoever needs them.
If you shop at the South Walton Publix, you are likely to see two of our parishioners working there – Mary Blocher and Brewer McCarty. As is the case with Mimi and Kate, they are providing essential services during a time when it is needed the most. Though they are following the protocol for safety and sanitation, they are still putting themselves at risk simply by being there. Yet they always have a warm, hospitable smile when they are working. When I thank them, they always say how grateful they are to be able to work.
By virtue of the fact that I am married to Emily – who serves as the Director of Outreach for Caring & Sharing of South Walton – I get to see how she continues to serve the most vulnerable people of our community. As is the case with the volunteers at the Point Washington Medical Clinic, she and her colleagues are not literally washing feet, but they are embodying that sort of self-emptying love, care, and service to others. Those who need medical care, food, supplies, and emergency relief haven’t stopped needing those things during this pandemic. And folks like Mimi, Kate, Mary, Brewer, Emily, and their colleagues are providing these essential services to all of us. They are embodiments of Christ’s love in the world right now.
Parishioners Lance and Lauren Stokes recently learned that students in South Walton Schools will still have to pay off lunch debt that they incurred prior to schools being cancelled due to covid-19. So they designed a shirt that says “SoWal Strong” and are donating 100% of the proceeds to South Walton schools to pay off lunch debt for students. Lauren said that they “don’t want parents to have to worry about paying an overdue lunch bill when they get back to school.”
And the Stokes are also about to launch a brand new wine company called “Hey Mama Wines.” Rather than panicking about the fact that the launch of their new business is going to coincide with a global pandemic, they instead chose to respond with love and action instead of fear. So against the worldly wisdom that they might have received from some, they chose the foolish wisdom of Christ and are donating the proceeds from the first week of their launch to covid19 relief efforts around the country.
What is interesting – and this is the first time I have noticed this – is that after Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and ate his last meal with them, he said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.” Of the four gospel writers, St. John has always been the one who emphasized that the crucifixion was the ultimate glorification of God through Jesus. John downplays the forsakenness of the cross in favor of the glory of the cross. Yet, our lesson today reminds us that while the cross is the ultimate source of God’s glorification, it is not the only source or means of God’s glorification through the actions of Jesus. After the foot washing and Last Supper, Jesus says it himself, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.”
Jesus’ knowledge led to love and action. Jesus’ deep knowledge of who he was and who his Father in heaven was – and what that meant for the world that God created – led to, among many things, foot washing and an intimate meal with his friends, even when he knew that those same friends would betray and desert him.
Such is our calling as followers of Jesus today, especially during these trying times. May we come to know and be reminded of God’s love in Jesus Christ through the mission and ministries and witness of Christ’s body, the Church. And may we, empowered by that knowledge, respond with love and action. But not for our own sake, but for the purpose of making God known to the world.