Holy Week

Maundy Thursday-His Hour Had Come

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And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 
Luke 22:15 ESV

The word Maundy, in the title, Maundy Thursday means command. This is because at the Last Supper, Jesus gave His disciples the command to love one another and to wash one another’s feet. But for Jesus this night meant much more. At the Last Supper Jesus would give us the communion bread and cup. And in a strange way, the Last Supper also reminds me of being in Junior High, (more than a few years ago!). Back then, the most important decision of my day was who to sit with at lunch. Considering the fact that at the Last Supper, Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, Peter deny Him and the rest turn tail and run, it is amazing that He was really wanted to sit them. Yet, for Jesus, this was not just tolerating being with them, it was the highlight of His final days on earth. And despite the significance of the hour and even after having walked with Jesus for years, none of them understood what was going on. But Jesus knew that, understanding or not, this was the crucial time to break the bread and share the cup of the New Covenant, and that gives me hope. I have hope because I am often also not understanding what God is doing in my life, and yet the bread and cup which Jesus passed to His disciples, is still being passed to all me today. I will never deserve it, I sometimes don’t remember what it cost Him, and yet He still passes me the broken bread, He still blesses the cup, and just as when He sang a hymn with them, He sings with me. Then Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He knew that His hour had come; His betrayer was at hand; His friends would run away, but He, the Lamb of God would stay behind, knowing that His hour had come when He would take away the sins of the world!

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Wash Them Anyway

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So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:4-5 NLT

“Anymore dirty dishes?” my wife often asks, rolling her eyes after closing the dishwasher, walking away from the sink, and then spotting my forgotten coffee cup in the office. Her tone tells me, that she doesn’t mind so much doing the dishes as she just wishes they could be finally done for the night! That is a bit like the washing of feet was for people in Jesus’ day. While the other three gospels detail the institution of communion at the Last Supper, John gives us the story of what happened next. And while, depending on our faith community, we take communion once a day, once a week or even a month, washing feet, like washing the dishes is a something that is a constant chore. Think of the world of Jesus’ day, with horses, donkeys, and sheep wandering the city streets, and it doesn’t take much imagination to know what people’s feet looked and smelled like. Leaving their sandals at the door that night definitely helped, but the bare feet of the disciples certainly couldn’t have been squeaky clean. Maybe as they had come into the upper room that night, they wondered who should wash their feet. Luke’s gospel tells us that they argued over who was the most important, so it is easy to see why no one wanted to wash anyone’s feet. At the end of the meal, when Jesus disappeared into a side room for a moment, nobody noticed, until He suddenly appeared in the doorway, with a towel wrapped around his waist and a basin of water in his hands. Next, he knelt, and, one by one, began to wash their feet. The same men who had gladly received the bread that Jesus had broken and drank the cup He had blessed were shocked as Jesus humbly washed the grime from their feet and then dried them with a towel. After Jesus finished, he stood up and said,

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” John 13:14

Though our world is vastly different from theirs, feet still get dirty and washing them is still menial and seemingly pointless because feet just get dirty again! But Jesus tells us, “I did it so you can do it too!” When dirty feet show up at our doorstep, again and again, we may sigh, like my wife does at finding my forgotten coffee cups, but Jesus calls us to just go get a basin and towel and wash them anyway!

House Cleaning

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And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:17 ESV

Sometimes we get the idea that Jesus went through His ministry smiling, blessing children, and sitting with lambs. But on Monday of Holy Week; the same Jesus who had forgiven the woman caught in adultery and sat down to eat with sinners, became angry when He went into the temple. At its entrance, He found a group of people setting up shop in hopes of making a quick buck. Then the one we call gentle Jesus, made a whip, and started driving them out while shouting, “Is it not written My House shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?” When Jesus used the word “House” He meant household or family. In other words, the place where God’s family meets should be especially for coming together to pray. It is easy for us to criticize the money changers, but do we sometimes maneuver our way into strategic positions in order to take advantage of others at church? Can we say with all honesty that prayer is the main thing that happens when we show up on Sunday morning? Jesus also went on to say that His family was also supposed to include all nations. Are all nations showing up at our place of worship or are we separated by race, economic status, or education? Yes, Jesus is humble and gentle, but He is also Holy and angry with anyone who hurts His family and tries to keep us from Him

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