![]() ![]() If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. He says, “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. And tonight, in his commandment to us, and the example he sets in serving at the feet of his disciples, Jesus shows us another choice – the choice to love and serve others. He chooses peace over violence during his arrest. He chooses to leave the light of prayer to enter into the darkness of that night. On Palm Sunday, I spoke about the choices Jesus makes in these last days, and in his life. I wonder about that sometimes, and I think it can serve as a reminder of how quickly we forget the meaning of what is given to us in this Eucharist, just as those in Jerusalem went from loving Jesus to calling for his crucifixion. In the same way that last Sunday we went from the procession of palms to the cross, is it any wonder that we start the Eucharist with “Hosanna in the Highest,” in the Sanctus and then move on to “On the night Jesus was betrayed…”? Paul reminds the people of the church in Corinth of the Communion meal, and its meaning, using the words of institution that we still use today.īut before we look down our noses at the Corinthians of Paul’s day, let’s remember just how quickly we as the Christian Church today can sometimes go from this communion meal – a meal of community – a meal in which we experience the real presence of Christ – how quickly from this table we can go out into the world and forget what has happened here, and what it means. ![]() Instead, they continued the divisions within the walls of that early church community, and St. You see, for all their diversity of social strata – free and slave, laborers and the rich, men and women, they forgot the most important thing – that none of those earthly distinctions matter. ![]() Paul’s epistle we read tonight, in which he reminds them what this Communion thing is all about. If the Corinthians had only understood this, we may never have had the passage from St. Because this is a table that reminds us the example Jesus set for us, which we hear tonight. That is why we sometimes have to loudly proclaim the invitation, so that those who have been pushed aside by the Church will hear us. Or perhaps we claim to practice an open table, but we draw the line on who is welcome to it. But too often, it becomes a place of division. Let’s just say there was some tension around the table for both families.Īs Christians, this table, the table where we are fed with the body and blood of Christ, is supposed to be something that reminds us all of the universal love of God. Equally surprised were his parents when they met her. A young white woman tells her parents she is bringing her fiancé home for dinner, which is all well and good, until he walks in the door and they realize that he is black. There was a movie along while ago called “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?” It premiered in 1967 and featured some wonderful actors – Sidney Portier, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracey to name a few. Maundy Thursday – March 24, 2016: May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. ![]()
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