Maundy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
1Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11For Jesus knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
31b“Now the Son-of-Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in God’s own self and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Judeans so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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Exemplify
Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
When I started writing my notes about this sermon, I wanted us to focus on the generous example that Christ gave us on the night he washed his disciples’ feet. An example he expected us to follow as a demonstration of sacrificial love we must express to each other. Then I did my short prayer before typing, and one word kept coming to me: trauma.
Mental health awareness has been increasing in our communities for a while now and has accelerated dramatically since the pandemic. What has become more common knowledge to us is the impact psychological trauma can have on the way we respond to what surrounds us.
Psychological trauma is not much different than physical trauma. Our bodies may heal, but depending on the level of injury, it will leave a scar, and the tissue will never be the same or work as well as it used to. With knees, hips, shoulders, and backs alone, I am sure many of us can relate to that.
In the same way, our minds get injured. Maybe we created a high expectation about something or someone. Maybe we got really excited about being part of a group or community or having a certain relationship. Maybe we found a situation that was safe, and we felt that we belonged. Then, that is taken from us. It can be taken from us by disappointment, betrayal, lack of reciprocity for how we feel about something or someone, or loss. A lot of times, we brush it off easily, or we think we do. Other times, we can tell how severely we were injured because we felt the pain with our own bodies.
Another similarity between physical and mental trauma is that it tends to cause stiffness. Both our bodies and our hearts, so to speak, tend to become hardened by injuries. Some will say there may be benefits to it, as it allows individuals and communities to build the resilience to overcome tough situations.
There is some truth to that, depending on the level of injury. However, the traumatic psychological injuries that cause stiffness of mind and spirit will have the opposite effect. They can be detrimental, even paralyzing. Certain life situations, even the ones that seem trivial, will become “triggers” and cause myriad reactions by the injured person. One may avoid a task. Another may avoid a group. Suppose the person cannot avoid the task, the group, or whatever the situation is. In that case, it may cause anger that leads to aggression. Or it may cause depression and withdrawal, robbing the person of wholeness. If we throw in the victims of systemic and intentional abuse and prejudice. The effect can multiply many times over.
I got thinking about trauma, I guess, because I was thinking about the reasons that usually prevent us from following through with the example our Savior and Lord has set for us on the night he washed his disciples’ feet.
Pain raises our defenses. We don’t want to feel it again. It hurts. It is another negative byproduct of stiffness. We don’t want to listen. We don’t want to be wrong and feel embarrassed. We strive for sameness because what is the same is also safe. We don’t want to be vulnerable ever again. It hurts. We become takers and not givers. We begin to seek retaliation and not forgiveness. We start demanding sacrifices instead of extending mercy and kindness.
For many, this is no problem at all. It is the world as the world is. However, we are not anybody. We are disciples of the rabbi from Nazareth, who knew, with all his heart and mind, what was happening and would still happen to him. Yet, he still loved us to the end. I wonder if, with his power beyond time and space, he declared his soul to be troubled because he was already feeling the pain of all the injuries yet to come. Yet, here he is, putting the evil and the pain of the world he is about to save to a stop and becoming vulnerable and powerless so that he can show us how to love and be generous to each other, so that our wounds may be healed.
It may take an enormous amount of strength to love generously like this. For some of us, it may be impossible. The trauma is too heavy. But we are not anybody, are we? We are Christians. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We, too, are proclaimers of good news. Therefore, we bear this generous love so their wounds may also be healed. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Bridging Faith 