First Reading: Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ²This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. ³Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. [⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. ⁷They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ] ¹¹This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. ¹²For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. ¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
 ¹⁴This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

 ¹I love the Lord, who has heard my voice,
  and listened to my supplication,
 ²for the Lord has given ear to me
  whenever I called.
 ¹²How shall I repay the Lord
  for all the good things God has done for me?
 ¹³I will lift the cup of salvation
  and call on the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people.
 ¹⁵Precious in your sight, O Lord,
  is the death of your servants.
 ¹⁶O Lord, truly I am your servant;
  I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from         my bonds.
 ¹⁷I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
  and call upon the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people,
 ¹⁹in the courts of the Lord’s house,
  in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

²³For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

(Place a bowl of water on the altar or your table, a plate with a loaf of bread and a wine glass and a candle, and a serving spoon)

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 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.”

SERMON Part 1

WASHING:  a bowl of water

Maundy Thursday has three major parts: foot washing, communion, and the new commandment.  The journey we go through this evening parallels our growth in faith. In this final meal with the disciples, Jesus is physically walking them through truth.  First we must be washed. We can then relax in Jesus’ presence and commune with him.  Then we are prepared to relate to others as channels of God’s love.

          We first focus on the foot washing.  Jesus rises in the middle of the Passover meal and washes the feet of the disciples.  Peter objects.  Jesus responds,  “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”   Even we were baptized into Christ but daily we return to those baptismal vows and daily we confess our sins.  We continue to sin and need to deal with that.  Without the washing away of sin, our relationships with God and people are dysfunctional.

         Jesus came to the disciples, even Judas whom he knew would betray him, and washed his feet.  He knew they all needed to be washed to start the evening.  We all need to be washed for we have all sinned and fallen sort of the glory of God.  We start our service with confession and forgiveness in this truth.  You may now wish to use your fingers to mark a cross on your forehead to symbolize washing your thoughts, or on your ears to symbolize what you listen to, or on your lips for better speech, or even perhaps on your heart for grudges harbored.  (Silence for reflection.)

Let us pray with the words of king David from Psalm 51:1-4:

         “Have mercy on me, O God; according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.      Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I    know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.        Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in       your sight so that you are proved right when you speak and    justified when you judge.”

Hymn: “Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egk-pX_1nHg

Gospel:  Matthew 26: 26-29

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

SERMON – Part 2

PRESENCE: A Candle

Lighting the Passover candles is one of the two duties for Jewish women.  Having washed through confession and forgiveness, we light a candle that symbolizes that we are in the presence of the Light of the World.

         Jesus assures us that whether we are battling for our lives with Covid-19, overwhelmed by anxiety for the unseen danger that threatens our loved ones, despairing of the war in Ukraine, or just plain bored from sitting in our homes, Jesus has covenanted with us to be present. When we take communion, we are reminded that the bread, Jesus’ body, strengthens us to face the challenges of life.  When we drink the wine, we are reminded that Jesus blood symbolizes that he is as close to us as the blood flowing through our body, saving us.

         “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will   fear no evil for you are with me (Psm. 23:4)”

         “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not          slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor         sleep. (Psalm 121: 3,4)”

            ¹⁰ do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my      victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)”

         The Great Commission ends with, “And remember, I am with you       always, to the end of the age. (Mt 28: 20)

Let us prayer:  May we never forget that your body broken for us and your blood shed for us strengthens us for our journey as we remember your sacrifice and presence with us.   We are yours.  Thank you.  Amen.

Hymn: “Amazing Grace.”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQCiaG9G8s

Gospel: John 13: 31b-35

  ^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.”

SERMON: Part 3

LOVE: A Spoon

We come to the end of Maundy Thursday and Jesus starts to turn his face to the Garden of Gethsemane, his trial and Calvary.  The meal is finished and he turns to the disciples and gives them a “new commandment.”  Maundy is the Latin word from which mandate or command comes.

We placed the spoon on top of the communion meal because the spoon symbolizes that when we are forgiven and fortified by the presence of God, we then are his spoons, his instruments to share his love with a broken world.  The spoon can be held to reach for and drink the water of forgiveness.  It can also be turned upside down so that the water poured over the spoon flows outward to those around.  Jesus in this mandate is telling us to take that spoon and dip it into the bowl of water to give water of forgiveness to others, to water plants in your house, or to wash hands or feet.  We are to bless others and to live as forgiven people. 

Jesus in this “new” command reframes the Ten Commandments, not to give a different commandment but to give us a new perspective and way of understanding the Ten Commandments.  Have “no other gods before me,” is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength.”  Do not swear is now to use God’s name to express love and blessing.  We go to church to refocus on what is important and eternal.  We honor family and commitments.  We don’t take life, we give life.  We don’t objectify the other for our lusts but honor and respect others’ bodies.  We don’t take but we give to others.  We don’t tear down others but build them up.  We rejoice in other’s accomplishments.  Matthew has Jesus answering the question about the greatest commandment in the Law by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Water, A candle, A spoon

Tonight we bow in the tremendous knowledge that we are forgiven, we are guardians of God’s light, and we are the spoon to feed others God’s love.

Lord, Thank you.

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