The Body of Christ - In Humble Service The Rev. Bonnie S. Matthews, Deacon
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Homily
Maundy Thursday April 17, 2014
Exodus 12:1-4,11-14 I Corinthians 11:23-26 Psalm 116: 1, 10-17
John 13:1-17, 31-35
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer
Holy Week is such a busy time of the year for all of us who are faithful. It is a time when we are frequently busy with many preparations for Easter.
The Altar Guild members are busy keeping up with the changing colors of the altar linens, polishing the silver, purchasing flowers and checking to see that we have incense.
It seems as though the choirs are here every evening practicing hymns and anthems.
The readers are perusing their assigned readings for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday
For those of us who are delivering homilies, we are meditating on the word.
Church service leaflets need to be copied for the many services this week.
And last but not least….
Let’s not forget the movement of all of the chairs and furniture for our services at Trinity Church.
Sometimes…. in all of the preparation for the services during Holy Week…. and in the anticipation of what is to come…. we momentarily loose our focus on what this week is about.
The love that God has for us.
A love that is so strong that God would send his Son to us in human form to die for our sins.
Jesus, His Son was sent to be our redeemer.
For me, Maundy Thursday is a day of calm, a day in which God’s presence is felt more than any other day of the church year.. The service of foot washing, the celebration of the Eucharist, the assigned readings, and in years past, sitting and praying into the very early hours of Friday with only the dim light of the candles and the reserved sacrament in the garden at All Saints Church cause me to be more aware of God’s love. For me it is an evening in which I “put the world around me on hold”.
Jesus knows what is to come. Jesus knows that his purpose on earth has come to an end. He accepts that he has come from God and is going to God.
In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, which was written about 15-20 years before the Gospels, Paul recounts the sacred teaching and tradition the Lord gave to us, the tradition which is known as The Lord’s Supper.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the lord’s death until he comes.
As Christians we celebrate this tradition of remembering Jesus in our service of Holy Eucharist.
At Trinity we further remember that we are to go and be the love of God with the words from The Society of St John the Evangelist,
Behold what you are
And we reply
May we become what we receive.
In meditating on the Gospel from John for this evening, these words are of particular importance.
I am to love and serve Christ and in doing that I am commanded to love those around me. The words “may we become what we receive” inform me that as a Christian, my duty is to humbly receive the body and blood of Christ and then be the face of Christ in the world.
Jesus’ commandment in the Gospel of John is just the beginning of how to be the face of Christ in the world.
“Where I am going, you cannot come. I give you a new commandment, 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.”
Jesus is with the ones whom he has loved he becomes the example of love through service.
Through the washing of the disciple’s feet, Jesus shows that no one is greater than another. God’s love for each of us is no different than His love for another. We are equal.
Peter wanting to show his love and obedience says, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head”.
But Jesus doesn’t.
Jesus only does what is necessary.
In receiving service we are to be humble, receiving only what we need.
Like Jesus, when we give, we are to give with love and humility.
While Jesus will not be with the disciples, and we may not always feel that he is with us, we are assured of his presence through acts of love, both given and received.
I know I have been made more aware of this through our Lenten discipline of service.
This discipline has changed me.
Instead of plodding through my day in a vacuum, consumed with the things I have yet to do, I took the opportunity to recognize the many people who are the face of God, as well as the people who yearn for the love of God in their lives.
While I provided acts of service/kindness to those who were in apparent need, my focus was to be more present to people I met or passed by.
These people did not appear to be in need. Some looked lost in thought, some had a furrowed brow, others seemed to have a vacant expression and others met my gaze offering a greeting before I could even acknowledge them.
I won’t go in to detail about my encounters but I will say that I have learned that God’s love is not to be taken lightly, nor is it a love that we have the flexibility to share only with those who are close to us or with those we perceive to be in need. It is a gift that
is to be shared by all.
Through that gift of love we build relationships with one another in community and in the world becoming a part of God’s intended creation.
Let us Bless the Lord for the gifts of service and love.
Thanks be to God.