A Maundy Thursday meditation for ministers.

Ash Wednesday--Good Friday, Series C

On Maundy Thursday, following the sermon, our first act of worship is to make corporate confession. This is understood to be the conclusion of the confession we made on Ash Wednesday and lived throughout Lent. So let us confess: "I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I would rather be on my knees before God's people, basin and towel in hand, than sit by in front of them, untying my shoes and taking off my socks. I confess that I prefer to look upon the faces of God's people as I extend them the bread and cup than, having received Christ's body and blood myself, sit chewing on my life as I chew upon Christ's body, broken for me. I confess that there is something about standing on "the pastor's" side as the altar is stripped that is better than sitting on "the congregation's" side helplessly watching. Perhaps it's the consolation that those on "the pastor's" side of the altar are at least doing something to help dear Jesus.

Let our confession be that we would rather stand and be active than sit helplessly by during Lent and Holy Week. Perhaps this is why, in some Christian traditions, Maundy Thursday has become the time for the corporate renewal of priestly vows. Church leaders recommit themselves to following the example of Jesus, to the great mandatum to love, to Word and Sacrament or Word and Service. As we behold the public scandal of Christian leaders, as we wander the secret passages of our own hearts, perhaps we're convinced that such renewal is what the church needs. Then Lent and Holy Week could be about doing. After all, we'd rather be doing something than sitting helplessly by. With Peter we say, "Lord, you will never wash my feet, or forgive my sins, or be stripped and humiliated for my sake, or give your body to be broken and your blood to be spilled on a cross so that I might live. Lord, you will never do this for me, not without me at least doing something back."

How frequently we spend the forty days of Lent doing. A few years ago, I ended the season by telling my confessor that I spent Lent striving to be more like Christ and failed miserably. We strive to be like Jesus and fail! Surprise! Despite all our efforts to stand and be active, in the end we sit helplessly by. This is where we begin Lent and Holy Week. There are lots of rubrics to tell us how this time is meant to be done. But let's be clear. On that journey to Jerusalem and in those Great Three Days when our Lord passed from life to death to resurrection, Jesus did it all. Jesus did it all. Jesus forgave, not after we confessed but as we betrayed, denied, stripped, mocked, crucified and killed him. Jesus washed feet, not in response to or in anticipation of the ministry of others but before the disciples understood what it meant. Jesus broke bread and shared the cup, not to celebrate our acceptance of the gospel but knowing he was about to die. Jesus invites us to celebrate this season as we celebrate the Lord's Supper, not as something we do but as the new and everlasting covenant that is Jesus' gift. To seal this covenant Jesus is stripped like our altar. Jesus suffers for and with everyone and everything that suffers. Not because we deserve it but just because we suffer.

You could remind me that we are commanded to do. And you would, of course, be right. Jesus gives us a new commandment, to love one another. But Jesus says, "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Let us not run too quickly into the doing. Let us pause to savor Jesus' example. "As I have loved you." This holy time is about Jesus loving us. In the end, Lent and Holy Week are about sitting helplessly by as Jesus loves us. If the rubrics for Maundy Thursday could reflect this reality, we would receive forgiveness without confessing. More than not washing anyone else's feet, someone would untie our shoes and pull off our socks for us before they washed our feet, and afterward they'd give our feet a good massage. The bread and wine would overwhelm us with their deliciousness and stuff us to bursting. And as the altar was stripped we would be adorned in flowing new robes. Yes, we are commanded to "love one another." And we do. And by our love the world knows there is a New Day, when Christ is risen. But before we begin Lent and Holy Week, and even as we are doing them, let commandment be invitation. Even when you find yourself on "the pastor's" side of the table, or the far side of the keyboard, or the washing side of the basin, experience Jesus' love for you. Sit back helpless and let Jesus do it all.

Gail Hermodson helps us let Jesus love us this Lent and Holy Week. Gail is associate pastor of First United Lutheran Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Ordained in 2001, Gail served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in southern Poland before beginning seminary at LSTC. During seminary she spent a year studying Reformation history and systematic theology in Munich. Gail has a passion for preaching and teaching and enjoys challenging adults to grow in their faith and understanding of Jesus Christ.

--Craig A. Satterlee, Editor of Preaching Helps ([e-mail])