Quiet Love, Humble Service
what maundy thursday has to teach us
We're getting closer to the Resurrection. However, there is still a whole week to go. An important, yet sometimes overlooked, day to recognize is Maundy Thursday.
Hey everyone! My name is Abby, and welcome or welcome back to the YA Section. As we move into Holy Week, I felt that it would be appropriate and important to talk a bit about Maundy Thursday.
Let's begin by reading a passage that encapsulates what Maundy Thursday is all about: John 13:1-12 from the Message translation. I like the way the Message phrases things because it translates the bible into language that feels more comfortable to us today.
1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.
3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”
8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”
Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”
9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”
10-12 Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.
Let’s take a deeper look into this passage.
Jesus Demonstrated Quiet Love
When we think of love in our society today, we often think of big, dramatic acts of kindness. In some cases, love has even become somewhat of a performance. However, Jesus loves quietly. When he washes his disciple's feet, he looks for no public recognition of this act.
In this time, washing feet was a nasty business and reserved for the lowliest of servants. The disciples knew this. Here was their teacher, the Messiah, stooping to serve them. Jesus performed this task quietly and humbly, not looking for recognition.
What was the last time we did something loving in a way that wasn't noticed? Are we willing to serve with quiet acts of love that don't need to be seen?
Jesus’s Love Doesn’t Discriminate
This whole time, Jesus knew that Judas would betray him. In fact, it was right after this event took place that Judas left the disciples. And yet, one thing that strikes me is that Jesus still chose to wash Judas’s feet. This kind of love seems crazy to us. How can we keep loving someone even after they've hurt us?
Why? I believe the answer is God’s grace. When someone is shown grace, they are receiving a gift that they don’t deserve. Jesus still loved Judas, even though he knew that Judas was going to hand him over to be crucified. God’s love doesn’t discriminate, and he calls us to do the same.
Is there a person who you’re finding difficult to love right now? It’s one thing to serve your friends, or people you know who like you. It’s much more difficult to serve those you maybe don’t get along with so well. What would it look like to serve someone who has hurt you?
Jesus Commands us to Love One Another
A few verses after Jesus washes his disciple’s feet, he says this:
34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
The word “Maundy” in Muandy Thursday comes from the Latin word “mandatum.” This means “commandment” or “mandate.” Jesus isn’t just asking us to practice sacrificial love, he is commanding it. This is how the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus. By loving one another.
In our broken world, this is so powerful.
To love like this is incredibly difficult. It will be hard. It will be tiring. There will be people who you will find incredibly difficult to love.
And Jesus knows that we can never live up to this perfect standard.
He just wants us to try.
A Challenge
In our family, during Lent, we have this tradition called The Kindness Jar. Every week, everyone writes down kind acts that they notice other people doing and put it in the jar. Every Sunday, we read them out. It's really empowering to realize that there are so many loving acts that you don't always see.
This week, find a simple, quiet way to serve someone else. It could be doing a chore that no one notices. It could be praying for someone who’s wronged you. It could be finding time to listen to someone you normally wouldn't.
Whatever you do, do it quietly. Keep it between you and Jesus.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for the fellowship we share with your people throughout the world as we remember the last meal Jesus ate with his disciples.
Let your church follow his example of love and service so that his message of salvation might reach those around us.
Holy God, source of all love, on this night of his betrayal, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: To love one another as he had loved them.
We pray you, by your Holy Spirit to write this commandment in our hearts. Help us serve as Jesus served, to be unafraid to offer ourselves for the sake of others.
Amen.1
http://www.thisischurch.com/prayer_worship/intercession/maundy_thursday_prayers.html