Maundy Thursday: March 24, 2005.

Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

T: These readings are perhaps some of our most picturesque. What could be a better image than Jesus washing the disciples' feet? Beyond the symbolism and instruction, and the fact that actually having our feet washed can make us uncomfortable (as any pastor who has tried to newly institute a foot-washing ceremony knows), the scene is itself great. Jesus with a towel around his waist, Peter's refusal and then overcapitulation, the instructions to the disciples. What could be better for a skit, an enactment, a portrait?

But in our readings, this expressive scene is attached to the marked hurriedness of Exodus. It gets a little confusing, whether this is the start of the institution of Passover (as in worship, festivals, remembrances) or the real thing. That may be part of the point. In reality it's both, and the reenactment of the Passover is, in some sense, Passover itself. We're reminded that when we as God's people do something "in remembrance" of something, or someone, that remembrance is intimately tied with that something or someone. We participate in, and partake of, the original.

At any rate, what's clear in these instructions in Exodus is that the people are in motion. This is not a sitting-still feast, not a holiday to relax and experience and enjoy. The people are instructed to eat with their sandals on, staff in hand, bags packed and ready to go. They are a people on the move, and they need to be ready. These are instructions with motion attached.

K: I cannot help but make the analogy to today. We are fast-food people. We like immediacy. How many times just in the past month have I chosen to drive through any place with the shortest line, all in the name of making it to my next pastoral visit or appointment? For us, it is about convenience. How about the chosen ones of Israel? Is it convenience or expectation that sets them in motion?

T: This hurriedness is matched in the foot-washing from John, something that doesn't always get noticed. While an aesthetic scene, there is motion and direction to this institution as well. "If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." This is also a scene with directions attached, something to do, not just experience. We're headed somewhere!

K: It is interesting that you've brought up a sense of motion, because Maundy Thursday can feel like a pause in the action. We may be so intent on the cross that we miss the radical messages that get Jesus there in the first place. Jesus turns the world upside down with the most basic and literal action of washing others clean. With an economy of motion, Jesus is direct and instructive. Sit down. Put your feet up. Do this to others. It feels like barely contained energy that is poured into the actions of simple service to honored friends.

T: Energy indeed! In the space of the eight verses (4-12) that describe Jesus washing the disciples' feet, John attributes nine action verbs to Jesus. He uses an economy of materials, too--water and towel, bread and wine. That's it. In Exodus, God makes sure that the people will be able to fulfill these decrees, by allowing them to share a lamb with other families and to choose either a sheep or a goat. God seems to want to make it as simple for the Israelites as possible, so that it is as possible as it might be. Just as Jesus does for us, by using simple materials.

K: So this is Jesus' eucharist in John--God's way of giving thanks for us. It's striking to me that the people of the faith found their most holy physical connection to Yahweh through the soles of their feet. And now, that same God is stooped over, touching and cleansing them.

T: "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground" (Exod 3:5). When we stand on holy ground, God wants to connect directly. But "One who has bathed is clean, except for the feet" (John 13:10). Even our connection with God can be stained by the world, by the dust of everyday life. And here Jesus cleans that debris away, kneeling with a towel around his waist.

K: There is nothing that separates us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus breaks down every barrier. One of the challenges of accepting Jesus' service is to let go of our inhibitions. Last year, my colleague and I approached people to invite them to receive foot washing during our Maundy Thursday service. One person said that she would have been happy to have her feet washed, but she had pantyhose on. "That's O.K.," I replied, "I'll wash them through your hose." I was a bit zealous, I'll admit. She was patient, thanks be to God. But the barrier still remained. When are those moments when Jesus extends to us his humble service, and we resist?

T: We're about to walk behind Jesus into God's most potent work: the death and resurrection of Jesus. Maybe, in a sense, Jesus wants to help us take off our sandals before approaching holy ground? It is, after all, the night before Passover (at least in John's version), the night of preparation for God's potent act of saving power. Maybe this is Jesus' way of getting the disciples ready for what is to come. Maybe this is how Jesus gets us ready. Are we ticklish? Do we resist Jesus without knowing? TK/KH