4-4-96	Love One Another!	Exodus 12:1-14

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

This is what is known as Maundy Thursday. "How did it get that name?" you ask? Well, it's a long story! But, to make a long story short, the word "maundy" is a "made-up word." The story goes that hundreds of years ago, in England, the scriptures for tonight were read in Latin, which included John 13:34, where Jesus gave his "new commandment." Of course, in those days, the scriptures were read in Latin. So, the Latin words for "new commandment" were read, "mandatum novum." Thus, the Thursday of Holy Week became known as "Mandatum Novum Thursday." But, who can remember a long name like that? So, instead of remembering "Mandatum Novum Thursday," they shortened it a bit and just called it "Mandy (or Maundy) Thursday." After a period of time, it became the custom for the king or queen of England to share some of his/her wealth with the poor on Maundy Thursday. This token gift of money, itself, became known as "the maundy." So, Maundy Thursday was an important event for many of London's poor, not just because it was a special day of worship, but also because they could expect a small gift from the king or queen.

The traditional gospel lesson for Maundy Thursday is, indeed, the passage where Jesus enacted a new commandment. Indeed, he said, "A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

But, what is really marvelous about this pronouncement is what Jesus did as an example of that love. In fact, in our scripture lesson for this evening we are told that Jesus took off his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying with the towel that was wrapped around him.

And we're told that Peter had a lot of trouble with this. He felt he should be the one to wash Jesus' feet, not the other way around. Yet, Jesus told him that unless he washed Peter's feet, Peter could have no part of Jesus. So, Peter told Jesus to wash his hands and head, as well. But, Jesus told him that washing his feet would be enough.

But, then Jesus told the disciples that if he was their Teacher they should do to each other as he had done to them. He told them that they should wash one another's feet.

The Evangelical United Brethren Church has a tradition of foot washing that goes back to Albrecht and Otterbein that most of us have probably forgotten about, even though this congregation comes out of that tradition. On Maundy Thursday, The German Methodists would gather together for a service of foot washing. Towels and basins would be brought to church and water would be put into the basins. And then, sometime into the worship service, people would take off their shoes, stick their feet into the basins and wash each other's feet. So, if you were to look at the The United Methodist Book of Worship you would find that one of the things that is suggested for a Maundy Thursday worship service is a time for foot washing, although I have not included that in the order for this evening's worship. And, perhaps some of you are glad of that!

But, the point is, this is what Jesus did for his disciples. His was his act of humble service for his disciples. And then he turned it around on them: He said, "Now, wash each other's feet!" In essense, he was telling them what he had told them before: that the last shall be first and the first shall be last; that those who humble themselves will be exalted; that those who exalt themselves will be humbled; that our purpose in following Christ is not to be ministered unto, but to minister to one another; and that the true mission of a real Christian is to be a servant to all.

It seems that Jesus' teachings were full of this kind of teaching. In fact, as we look through the scriptures, we see how Jesus told his disciples to serve, even when it seemed like a rediculous thing to do. Imagine what they must have thought when he told the disciples that when they were asked by a Roman soldier to give him their shirt, they should give up their coat, as well? Or, imagine what they must have thought when Jesus told them to walk an extra mile for a Roman soldier who needed help carrying a load? In those days, it was legal for a Roman soldier to take a person's shirt or to make a person carry his load for a mile. So, you can imagine what the disciples of Jesus must have thought when they were told to do more than what was required, but to be a servant, instead, even if it meant looking rediculous.

So, what does Christ ask us to do in order to be a servant? Jesus asked his followers to wash each other's feet. But, that was in a place where people went barefoot or wore sandals. Feet got really dirty. So, footwashing isn't as meaningful to us as it might have been to them. Nevertheless, there are things in our society and in our modern world that carry the same meaning as washing someone's feet.

What would your neighbor say, if, for instance, you went over to his or her house, walked into his or her kitchen and started to wash the dishes? I guess that would be a surprise for most folks!

When I was a student in seminary I remember how we were visited by a bishop from South Africa. I can remember his name to this day – Bishop Colen Winter. He came to our seminary and preached in one of our chapel services. And I sat behind him while he preached because I was in the seminary choir at the time. And after the bishop had visited our seminary, later in the day, he went to a house where several seminary students lived together; and he ate dinner with them. And they were so impressed to be able to have such a man at their house. You can imagine their surprise when, after dinner, the bishop got up from the table, went out to the kitchen, and washed their dishes.

And that's what Jesus tells us to do for one another. But, sometimes it is hard for us to do this. We may resist the servant role. Or perhaps we may resist the role of being served. In any case, the purpose of Maundy Thursday is to get us to think about what Jesus did and what he taught, especially as he said, "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Amen.