To The Very End: John 13:1-17, 31-35 - Maundy Thursday

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 he 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 himself 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 Jews 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.” (NRSV)

One of my fondest childhood memories is the big family holiday meals we once had.  Most were at my grandmother’s house, who was (and still is) the family matriarch. 

She’d expand her dining room table to its maximum length—but the table wasn’t big enough to seat everyone, so she would set up a folding table, usually in the adjacent living room, because her dining room wasn’t that big.  This is where us children would sit, though with one major exception: grandma would sit there too.

Let me tell you that was the greatest.  It was already a treat just to eat her food—but no words can describe how great it felt to be with grandma, at the center of her attention.  There are no words to describe how wonderful it was (and is) to be loved in that way.

Here in John’s Gospel, love is the focus of Jesus’ last supper.  There’s not even a mention of bread or wine.  We are told that Jesus is loving his disciples “to the end,” knowing full well that 1) his disciples are all going to dessert him; 2) Peter is going to deny him three times; and 3) Judas Iscariot will literally walk out the door before the supper is even over to conspire with the religious leaders to put Jesus to death.  

In spite of all of this, Jesus loves them.  And he doesn’t merely tell them he loves them.  He gets down on his knees and washes their feet—including Peter; including Judas.  In the next twenty-four hours, he will love the world by pouring out everything that he has to give, by dying on a cross for people who don’t love him back. 

That’s the miracle of the Passion: that God’s love persists in the face of our rejection of it.  We are disobedient children and failed disciples—but that’s not how Jesus sees us!  He sets his table among us, giving us his body and blood in bread and wine.  He washes our feet and makes us clean; he gives us life upon the cross; he loves us to the end. 

That’s why we’re here tonight: to behold the awesome mystery of God’s love revealed to us in Jesus’ living, his giving, and his dying.  But this is only part of the story.

In his final words, Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment: to love one another as he loves us.  Jesus isn’t giving this commandment as the requirement for eternal life.  To truly know the love of Jesus, you have to live it and give it as he does. 

This means setting tables where God’s children go hungry.  This means inviting in those whom the rest of society has forgotten about.  This means accepting and bearing with each other, even when a person’s failings and shortcomings are well known.  This means forgiving each other, even when our wounds are still open.  This means washing feet; serving in ways that are unglamorous and perhaps even unrewarding—because this is what the neighbor needs.  When it comes to Jesus’ love, words aren’t enough.  You must live it.  You must give it.

This past Sunday, I challenged everyone to ponder and pray over these three questions:

1.      Name before God what hurts the most in your life.

2.      Name before God the evils you see hurting God’s children in the world. 

3.      Ask God to help you change one thing in your life; to put one sinful habit or lifestyle choice to death for good.

God’s answer to the pains and evils of this life is love.  Tonight, by Jesus’ invitation, we will be taking our places at the table Jesus sets for us, right here in this community amid all its brokenness; for you amid all your pains and worries; in spite of all your faults and failings.  We will eat and drink his Body and his Blood in the shadow of the cross.  So as you come forward, may God reveal to you the awesome mystery of God’s gracious love for you and the world.  May you leave the table transformed and reborn by the love that God conquers death and evil.  May you go to be loved by Jesus, to the very end.