Maundy Thursday, 2000

In early England kings such as Alfred the Great used to wash the feet of twelve poor men each Maundy Thursday. During the Middle Ages Benedictine Monasteries practiced foot washing as part of their hospitality to guests.

Our Lord's washing of His disciples' feet was a simple act reflecting a common practice of the times. The ancient custom when entering a house is well known. A slave would wash the feet of the guests, rinsing off the dirt and dust of the roads. Why did Jesus wash the feet of His disciples?

A case can be made that the action of Jesus points to His death on the cross. Philippians chapter two says Jesus left His heavenly glory and took on the form of a bondservant, humbling Himself and becoming obedient. Why did He take on slave-like humility and obedience? In order to die on the Cross. In this perspective, Jesus' slave-like washing of other men's feet foreshadows His slave-like sacrifice on the Cross. This is one aspect of our Lord's washing.

There is another tradition that sees foot washing as a symbol of baptism. Some of the early church Fathers saw it this way. According to this view, the decision of Jesus to wash the disciples' feet was an exhortation underscoring the importance of baptismal regeneration. There is no reason to dismiss this interpretation.

Others say that the foot washing was a lesson in humility. No doubt the disciples needed to be more humble. On the verge of His passion the Lord wanted to teach them one more lesson about humility.

Then perhaps Jesus intended to portray something else. Could He not also have desired to highlight the importance of simple acts of service? Yes. He was showing them, and us the excellence and religiousness of common duties.

On this Maundy Thursday the Church asks us to explore two themes: foot washing and the Eucharist. We will examine both, setting forward the premise that calls to service and the mystery of the Eucharist are two of the most potent weapons of the Church Militant.

How should we put into practice the foot washing gesture? Some of us are tempted to think that, if only we had an important position of power, we could have a better opportunity of serving God. We tend to look at the really great feats of history. We think to ourselves, "Let me be a Mother Teresa, a missionary in a hostile region, or a doctor treating bubonic plague victims." But we miss the point. It is in doing small things that the essence of true religion consists. We are too often looking for something out of the ordinary, and forgetting the potential sanctity of common things.

If we read Scripture carefully we find that Jesus rarely spoke of "the masses" in the abstract; rather He dealt with individual people wherever He met them. He built His Church on the countless small contributions of many normal Christians. The Church rests on the principle that little things can make all the difference in the world, because it is the little things that change the world.

What are the small acts of service that build up the Kingdom of God? Children are a good start. Raising kids forces parents to do a thousand small duties on behalf of their little ones. Changing diapers is an ongoing task that is often irksome. Dressing and undressing kids also can be monotonous, along with tying their shoes, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, feeding them, bathing them, and holding them in our arms. God uses small, day-in and day-out acts of service to help parents grow in maturity, wisdom, and self-sacrifice.

The same takes place in the Church. The many good deeds we do for one another are at the core of mutual love and the building up of the Church. Giving gifts, sending cards, paying visits, cooking meals, offering a word of encouragement; these are the actions that correspond to our Lord's washing of feet. Some of you know that we are hoping to move Saint Luke's into new facilities. If that happens five hundred jobs might soon arise.

Let us now consider the second theme of Maundy Thursday: the mystery of the Eucharist. Our epistle lesson says, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread." What night was the apostle Paul referring to? He was speaking of Maundy Thursday in Holy Week; what we observe tonight. On this very eve two thousand years ago, Jesus "when He had given thanks, broke [the bread] and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' "

No doubt, the remembrance is an important part of the Lord's Supper. We remember how the body of our Savior was beaten and His blood shed for us at Calvary. The Eucharist is a dramatic pointer to that sacrifice offered once for all for sinners to purchase our redemption. By breaking bread and eating it, and by pouring out wine and drinking it we represent Christ's atonement in a unique way. Everyone accepts that the Lord's Supper is a remembrance of what Christ accomplished on the cross. But what more does it do? In many ways the Holy Communion goes far beyond a mere memorial. Let's consider these ways.

Notice what Jesus said on that Maundy Thursday. Of the consecrated bread He declared, "This is My body"; and of the consecrated wine He said, "This is My blood." Jesus could make these bold statements because they were true. After His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, the Lord wanted His Church to remain united to Him. And how would this be accomplished? In worship the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit would lift the Church up to the throne room of Heaven to be with her Lord and King, or He would come down her. Either way, Jesus would draw near to His people and spiritually feed and nourish them with His body and blood. When the Church celebrates the sacrament something very good happens. Through regular communion we are gradually recreated by God through an ongoing participation in depth with the glorified Body and Blood of Christ. In other words, by regular feeding on Christ, we become Christ-like.

First Corinthians 11:29-30 gives us a notion of how strong the Eucharist can be. "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner" says St. Paul, "eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep." Why were some of the Corinthians weak and sick and even dead? Because they had been abusing the Supper of the Lord. They had come to the Communion table with gross immorality, drunkenness, and lawsuits among them. As punishment for eating and drinking the Holy Communion in an unworthy manner, God had brought terrible judgment upon the Corinthians. When the Spirit descends, someone usually gets hurt. That is the negative side of the Eucharist's potency. How about the positive side? We can't ignore that. If the unworthy partaking of the Supper can produce weakness, sickness and death, shouldn't we expect the worthy participation to produce strength, health and life? We certainly should.

John chapter six is another passage that speaks about the ramifications of the Eucharist. Jesus states in John 6:51: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Notice that last phrase. Christ gives his flesh for the "life of the world." The consecrated elements of bread and wine infuse new life into the world. How can that be so? The sacrament is a source of refreshment to all Christians, a dynamic stimulus to the Church. There is more. When Christ said that He would give His flesh for the life of the world, He was calling to our attention the salvation of creation, what is often called cosmic redemption. The Church's faithful celebration of the sacrament eventually brings about the renovation of the world.

This teaching dovetails with the doctrine that creation itself will participate in the redemption of God's people. Saint Paul says in Romans 8:19: "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God." Scripture thus teaches that the joy and sanctification of the Church goes hand in hand with the joy and sanctification of nature and creation. Celebrating Holy Communion has a ripple effect. Not only does it benefit individuals, families, and societies, it transforms the world. It is the feast that makes the sea roar, the rivers clap their hands, and the hills skip like lambs (Ps. 98).

"Simply celebrating the Holy Communion on a regular basis is at the heart of the Church's mission in the world. At the Eucharist the members of the Church partake of the one loaf, and are formed into one body, a body whose joy and love shines into a sad and cold world" (1 Corinthians 10:17). [Leithart, p. 187.] Just as the Supper enlivens our souls and bodies, so the Eucharistic repercussions ripple out, reversing the curse on creation. This is what is meant when Christ said, "I give my flesh for the life of the world."

[See Peter Leithart's The Kingdom and the Power ; also Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World ; John by Gary M. Burge.]

Our Lord Jesus equipped the Church Militant with two potent weapons on that Maundy Thursday. He washed the feet of His disciples, and instituted the Holy Communion. Both go to the essence of the Church's mission. Small and humble acts of service fill the world with goodness. The Eucharistic celebration revives the face of the earth. Putting into practice the two the Church vanquishes her enemies.

Come now to the Lord's meal. The King invites you to His table. This feast is your source of strength, life and joy. Come and partake of the transforming power of Christ. Our Lord Jesus graciously offers you this feast for strength and growth, indeed for the life to the world.

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