"I Give You A New Command, To Love One Another" - A Maundy Thursday Sermon - 4/17/25

Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35       
1 Now 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. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then 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. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus 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.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
       12 After 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? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If 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. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little 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.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Dear siblings in Christ, grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
       On this Maundy Thursday, we hear yet again the very familiar readings that are assigned to be read every Maundy Thursday, that of the retelling of the instructions for the very first Passover meal, hearing Jesus’ words of institution that we hear every time we partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion, and Jesus sharing his last supper with his disciples while taking on the posture of a servant to wash each of their feet, and then hearing how he has given the command to love one another just as he as loved them. And this Holy Week, reading these various readings and the passion narratives where Jesus is staring his fate of death on the cross in the face, while still showing love and commanding his followers to do the same even in the face of the earthly powers that be and all of the complicit bystanders who cried for his crucifixion, that he an innocent man be put to death, this narrative, just seems to be that much more applicable this year with the current realities of our world and nation than any other time in my own life time, and it seems important to name this reality. 
       I know that I have seen many of my clergy colleagues all across social media from all over the country share countless stories and witnesses to our Christian faith in our current world realities while using the events of that first Holy Week so long ago as a backdrop comparing recent events to that of the events of Jesus’ Passion, and to affirm and remind each other and others of our call as fellow disciples and followers of Jesus Christ to do as Jesus commanded in today's Gospel passage, “that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). And at this point in time, at what many may say feels like a crossroads in our world, we are left asking what does it mean to love one another? And how do we share and show this love to others?
       Jesus had just given his disciples an example of this love by acting like a servant and washing the feet of all of his disciples. He washed every disciples feet, from Peter, who will be one of the big leaders of the Jesus movement when it comes to the events as told in the book of Acts, where Peter was at first hesitant letting his teacher and Lord wash his feet but then asked for more of his body to be washed, and Jesus even washed Judas’ feet while knowing that he was the one who will soon lead the authorities to Jesus to be arrest and soon be put to death even after Pilate found no case against him. Jesus knew what he would soon endure, and yet he still found time to gather with his disciples, his found family, to share not just dinner together, but also to share such an intimate and in a way humiliating act of love to be like a servant washing their feet, and then commanded all to love one another as he had loved them. We know in today’s world that foot washing is not a typical thing done in our day to day lives, since those of us who are privileged enough to live in a place with showers and wear closed toed shoes, our feet don’t get near as dirty and beat up as those wearing sandals on the dusty roads of Jesus’ time. So we are again left asking, what other ways might we be able to live out this command to love one another as Jesus has loved us? 
       And perhaps to help answer this question, we must take a look at Jesus’ life as told in the four gospels, where we can find many more examples of Jesus sharing, showing, and telling of ways in which to love others. Like how in response to the question of “who is my neighbor?” Jesus shared the story of the good Samaritan, how the one who was most despised because of where they were from is the one to lend help, care, and love to the one in need while others who would be considered amongst the in crowd looked the other way when they saw the need of another (Luke 10:25-37). In Matthew, Jesus shared within a parable that “truly I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:34-45) in response to the question of when have they seen him hungry and thirsty and gave him food and drink, or seen him as a stranger and welcomed him, seen him naked and clothed him, sick and cared for him, or in prison and visited him. And again, Jesus reiterates that it is how we treat the least of us, the most vulnerable of our communities, in other words, how we show are love and care for the vulnerable, the marginalized, and often the most dehumanized amongst us, that this is how we can not only love one another but love Jesus as well.  
       There are countless number of stories throughout the four gospels of how Jesus healed, fed, and just cared for so many throughout his life on earth. Jesus healed people even on days when he was not supposed to do any work due to the laws and customs of his culture, where the leaders, the people in positions of power would get upset because how dare Jesus break cultural laws to care for and share love with others who were already so often looked down upon just because of who they were or what ailments they might have had. Jesus also fed others, he would see people who were hungry, recognized their need and instead of turning them away or turning a blind eye to their plight, he would feed them, or would even invite others to join him in sharing meals, even those who the elite would snicker and demonize for being sinners and tax collectors, Jesus still welcomed them to the table because at Jesus’ table all are welcome, no matter who they are or what they have done, just like how I'm sure many of us would have wanted to kick Judas to the curb if we knew what he would do, but yet Jesus still invited him to the table and ate with him and washed his feet out of love. 
       Throughout his life Jesus gave us so many examples of how we too can love one another as Jesus has loved us and we mustn’t forget that among his acts of love would also include that of flipping the tables of the oppressive systems in place, like how in both Mark (11:15-18) and Matthew (21:12-13) we hear of how Jesus flipped the tables and benches of the money changers and the sellers of the sacrificial animals, who were exploiting those who came to the temple to worship God. And this can lead us to question, just how we might be able to share the love Jesus commands us to share with others, especially those who are exploited, oppressed, and/or being stripped of their human rights and dignity by working with each other to flip the tables of the oppressive systems, laws, and powers in place within our communities, nations, and the world?
       And of course we cannot forget the ultimate act of love that Jesu did for all of creation, including each and every one of us, that being his life giving act of dying on the cross which we will again take time to honor and remember in our Good Friday worship tomorrow. Thanks to his death on the cross and resurrection, the power of death no longer has the same sting and doesn’t have the final say, we know that we are promised to be reunited with all our loved ones once our own time on earth is done. But despite knowing this, that his death and resurrection will change everything for us in regards to our eternal fates, Jesus still commanded his disciples, which includes us today, to love one another as he has loved us in the here and now of our lives on earth. Again, we are left to ask ourselves and our communities, how will we share and show the love that Jesus commanded us to in our world today? How will we share the love of Jesus to the most vulnerable in our midst even in the face of the earthly powers that be that continue to dehumanize so many, while trying to threaten and keep us afraid to show and share the radical love of Jesus with all people, especially those who are suffering at the hands of our earthly powers? 
       Before I end, I want to share the words of a facebook friend, David Scherer, also known as the Christian rapper Agape. Earlier this week he took some time to reflect on Holy Week and how these three Holy days are good reminders for the church every year, but perhaps just a bit more poignant this year. His reflection, “Maundy Thursday is the church’s yearly reminder that human connection in the midst of trauma and fear still have a place and that the greatest among us is the One who is a servant. Good Friday is the church’s yearly reminder that state-sanctioned violence and extrajudicial lynchings are not the will of God and that leaders who participate, leaders who equivocate, and bystanders who abdicate, are all complicit in crucifying the Holy One in our midst. Easter Sunday is the church’s yearly reminder that no matter how dire our situation looks, hope is reinventing itself and new life will stubbornly appear despite our despair. Even in the loneliest locus of human existence (the grave), we are never alone. [And] may you feel your beloved-ness amid your loneliness. May you discover new life amid dead spaces. May you be surprised by the joy and hope that abounds amid the sadness and struggle of our world.” 
       Again, this Maundy Thursday, as we look towards the terror and death of the cross before we find the joy and hope of Easter, we are left with Jesus’ command “that you love one another, just as I have loved you… everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” And I will leave you with this question one more time, in the midst of the struggles and realities of our world, where so many are suffering loss of rights and dehumanization, how will you love in such a way that people will truly know that you are a disciple of Jesus? How are you being called to share and show the love of Christ to all people both near and far no matter who they are or where they are from? And how will you continue to love one another and others even in the face of the oppressive powers that be? Amen.
    -- Written and Preached by Pastor Tamara Siburg

If you wish to listen to the sermon, the gospel reading starts at 14:59 and the sermon starts at 17:55.