Welcome to Maundy Thursday. Tonight we will begin the Pascal Triduum, the three days that lead us from the garden to the cross then to the tomb. On this day we recall the commandments of Christ Jesus just before His arrest that night after the Passover was celebrated with His disciples.
One command we remember is that we are to love one another. This is the night in which Jesus would wash the feet of His disciples. He came to serve, not only in thought, but in action. There is much we can learn. Would you be willing to wash the feet of your neighbor, your coworker, or the stranger on the street? The true act of loving one another can be difficult.
The other commandment we recall is the institution of the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion, or The Lord’s Supper. On that night in the upper room Jesus commanded His disciples to “do this in remembrance of me” (later noted to be in practice by St. Paul writing to the Corinthians). In this command, Jesus establishes our participation in the New Covenant found in His offering of Himself, the Pascal Lamb and Great High Priest.
On this night after sharing so much with His disciples, Jesus would be taken away from them. He would be betrayed by one of His own, Judas Iscariot, for 30 pieces of silver. Judas would indicate who Jesus was in the dark that night as they met in the garden by a kiss. How heartbreaking this must have been for our Lord Jesus Christ, to watch one who saw so much of His wonders and heard so much of His teachings to turn away and betray the One who offered him everything!
I am confident that Jesus loved Judas and did not wish him to condemn himself in this betrayal. But to love another there must be choice, and Judas made his choice. Scripture tells us that night Jesus knew His betrayer, and even at that time washed the feet of the disciples. Did He wash the feet of Judas that night also? Most likely the answer is yes. Talk about loving one’s enemies!
Thankfully, Jesus loves us like He loved Judas. He desires that we love Him, and He was willing to suffer and die after lowering Himself a little below the angels so that we might be freed from the curse of sin and live. Thirty pieces of silver might look attractive, but is it worth trading salvation? Let’s take some time today and thing of the way in which we live, considering the ways in which we might be selling out our Lord. Consider, St. Peter denied Christ Jesus, Judas betrayed Him.
Our verse for today, as you prepare for the beginning of the Pascal Triduum and this evening’s worship, comes from the pen of St. John 15:5-6 (ESV):
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
In Preparation for Communion, from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, prayer # 106:
Be present, be present, O Jesus, our great High Priest, as thou wast present with thy disciples, and be known unto us in the breaking of Bread; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.