Maundy Thursday-Living the New Commandment

Read:

Mark 14:22-26
John 13:3-15, 34-35

²²While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
                                                                                               - Mark 14:22-24

We began Lent anticipating a great journey – a journey deeper into God’s heart, God’s will, God’s ways.  Today, on Maundy Thursday, we are near the end of our Lenten journey.  On the first Maundy Thursday Jesus’ journey of ministry was coming to a close.  Later that evening Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested by Jewish authorities.  So here, at the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus had one last chance to prepare them for the journey ahead – their mission to spread the news of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and promise of God’s Kingdom coming to earth as it is in heaven.

Each of the four gospels gives us snapshots of what happened during that Last Supper.  Jesus and the disciples were celebrating Passover, the festival that remembers God’s saving the Israelites from the angel of death’s “passover" the night before their escape from Egypt.  At this holy meal, Jesus took bread and a cup of wine, gave it to his disciples, and told them that they were sharing in his broken body and his poured out blood.  He was giving them a framework to make sense of his death in the days to come.  He was training them to look for his divine love in his sacrificial death.  And then – if this wasn’t shocking enough – he tied an apron around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet in one last action of humble love.  This was a task reserved for servants, but Jesus did it to show them how they ought to live in his absence.  He told them “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.” (John 14:34)

The church calls today “Maundy Thursday.”  Maundy is a word that comes from the latin mandatum novum, or “new commandment.”  Today we remember that Jesus’ final lesson was to show his disciples how to live into his new commandment of sacrificial, life-giving love.  To love as Jesus loved.

Today I invite you to follow Christ’s example.  Let his “new commandment” direct your actions today.  Whose feet can you wash?  Who can you put before yourself in humble service?  How can you share Christ’s unconditional love?

~ Laura Johnson