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The Rev. Buddy Crawford
The Cathedral of St. Philip
Atlanta, Georgia
April 1, 2010
Maundy Thursday - Year C
Each year,during Holy Week,I look forward to hearing the hymn composed by Samuel Crossman. The first verse is:
My song is love unknown,
My Saviour's love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?
It
is an elegant turn of phrase - "Love to the loveless shown, that they
might lovely be",in 10 short words we hear both the purpose,and the
result,of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. His love brings in its
wake the possibility for the transformation of the human family.
Our
gospel reading this evening focuses on love as John recounts the words
and actions of Jesus,as he begins to say farewell to his disciples
before his arrest, trial, and death.
Some sixty years after
the event the author of John remembers the story and we see a glimpse
of Jesus' vision for the future of the church - a future characterized
by Love for one another. At the heart of the vision is the mandate -
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."
The
theme of love runs through 5 chapters of John's gospel as Jesus
prepares his disciples for his departure. Unlike the other gospels,John
is not interested in ethical teachings as a means of discipleship; John
uses the language of love - of "love unknown." For Jesus willingly lays
down his life for his friends in a generous act,there is no language of
self-denial, or emptying, or sacrifice. John understands this giving
away of his Jesus' life as flowing out of his relationship with God, a
relationship that is mutual and filled with abundance. Jesus goes to
his death, certain of his identity, his purpose, and his vocation as
the Son of God. "Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be,"
Jesus'
mandate is a call for our transformation,to become lovely. The
identifying mark of the Christian community is the love that is shared
by its members.
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Love
binds the community together, empowers its members for humble service
to one another, and is the defining characteristic by which the world
discerns the faithful followers of Jesus.
Before Jesus gives
this new command, he rises from the dinner table, strips off his outer
robe, wraps a towel around his waist, and washes the feet of his
friends. To express his love he chooses a symbol from the lowliest of
tasks within his culture. A task,so demeaning,that its performance was
not even required of a servant. In this symbolic gesture Jesus does not
lose himself, but chooses to live into his true identity, embracing his
calling as lover of the world.
AFTER Jesus moves through the
room washing and drying feet,he puts on his outer robe and returns to
the table, telling his disciples that they too must wash each others
feet. It does not matter that he is their Lord and teacher, rank has no
bearing on who performs this task within the community. Everyone is
called to this loving service. Our ability to wash one another's feet
comes from knowing who we are, our true and complete identity as
daughters and sons of God, giving out of the abundance of love we have
received.
We gather this evening as we do year after year, to
begin our journey through the Triduum, the three days,listening to our
sacred story of Jesus' unbounded love for God's creation. Especially in
these three days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Great Vigil of
Easter we are called to participate as fully as we possibly can. Our
liturgies demonstrate that Jesus does not give up his life,but
rather,gives away his life. Our sacred story is grounded not in
sacrifice - it is grounded in grace. Foot washing is his gift, our
common meal of bread and wine is his gift, the offering of his life on
the cross is his gift. In response Jesus summons us to give away our
lives too. The question before us is how are we called to give away our
lives?
The Rev. Hoyt Hickman, a noted Methodist leader and
liturgist, was invited to attend a class of young seminarians to tell
about an inner city parish in Nashville, Tn. Hickman described how a
large multi-purpose room was transformed day by day to meet the needs
of the congregation, as well as the needs of the community in which it
ministered. Each weekday afternoon the space was set up for
neighborhood children to meet with tutors and to do their homework. In
the evenings it was reconfigured for AA and NA groups, for bible
studies and prayer meetings, for youth groups and community activities.
On Saturdays the entire space was converted into a dinning hall where
the hungry and homeless of the neighborhood were fed and cared for. On
Sunday mornings the communal space was set up once again for the
preaching of the word and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
This
small congregation that once was close to dwindling away was
transformed when they decided to give away their sacred space, to give
away their lives, to give away their love. Through their own
transformation they were helping transform the small part of the world
they inhabited in Nashville. After describing this congregation, one of
the seminarians raised his hand and asked a question, "Dr. Hickman,
which is more important, the Eucharist or all of the other activates
you do in that room?" Hickman responded, "Do you think we could
celebrate the way we do if we did not teach, and feed, and assist
people in their time of need? And would we be able to tutor teenagers,
or cook for the homeless, or share our space, if we didn't have
communion together every Sunday?"
In our liturgy this evening we
are provided the opportunity to participate in two distinct ways: foot
washing and the breaking of bread. As surely as we take bread and wine
and bless it to encounter the risen Christ among us,the bowls,
pitchers, water, and towels,even the tentative touch of hands on feet
is another means of encountering Christ in one another. They are both
intimate and sacred acts.
In a few moments we will be invited
to share in this symbolic action of love. It is not an easy task, it
can be intimidating, even a little embarrassing, we may feel vulnerable
or even a little uncomfortable. It is not a coincidence that these same
feelings are often felt when we begin to offer ourselves in the mission
and ministry of the church. Maybe that was the intent of Jesus when he
left us this task. Foot washing and the Eucharist challenge us to
discern anew our identity as the body of Christ, who we really are and
what God has called us to be in the world.
This night is also
our chance to remember the other ways in which we wash each others
feet. Week after week we wash feet as we do church together. We
experience it through the hands of the altar guild and the ushers, the
flower guild and vergers, acolytes and lay Eucharistic ministers,
through our choirs and lectors. We wash one another's feet as Sunday
school teachers and youth sponsors, members of wedding and funeral
guilds, at the hands of our cathedral staff and the members of our
chapter.
We also wash the feet of the world. Every time we
build a habitat house, take a meal to Peachtree Pines, participate in
feet on the streets, and worship at Cathedral Without Walls. We extend
our foot washing through our outreach dollars that go off the
hill,supporting many agencies that seek to make the love of God known
in our city and surrounding communities. We wash feet by giving and
loving out of the abundant love given to us in Jesus. Each time we make
Eucharist together we experience love as Jesus gives himself to us in
bread and wine, nourishing us to give ourselves away in ministry.
You
may find in our symbolic washing a new vision for the ministries in
which you already participate, a confirmation that you are where God
wants you to be. In the vulnerability of this moment you may perceive
something new that God is calling you to embrace. Jesus' life and
ministry is an example of how we may live in the service of others,
particularly in the words and actions we encounter this evening.
While
Jesus is fully human in every way that we are, he is also the complete
revelation of God's intention for the world - he is a living sacrament
and we are called to become what he is, I believe we need our symbolic
washing to remind us of the waters of baptism that unite us to God and
to one another. In the various ways we choose to serve others we
continue to be formed as disciples,preparing us to live and to be a
sacrament in and to the world. Maundy Thursday places us on the path to
journey into the mysteries of Christ's death on Good Friday,and to the
joy of his Easter resurrection. In the washing and in the sacred meal
we encounter the presence of Jesus, we,who were once loveless,made
lovely,by his love.
Amen.
Comments? Contact The Rev. Buddy Crawford at: bcrawford@stphilipscathedral.org.
