Maundy Thursday 2019

Maundy Thursday 2019 What do you think it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? I asked our Wednesday congregation this question this week, and I’ll tell you as I told them, there’s no right answer. What do you think it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? They spoke about how for them being a disciple can be lived out in doing the work of the church, how it means following Jesus. One person even said it made her think of little ducklings in a row following behind the mamma duck. Another shared that discipleship for her is a posture—a way of being in the world, a way of being open to encountering and seeing people. Another shared that it makes her think of those old bracelets—WWJD-what would Jesus do, and using that as a filter for how we make decisions. I remembered some of my old college Latin, from which the word disciple comes. It is from discupuli which means literally pupil. So there is an aspect of learning about discipleship for me, but it’s not just about learning with our minds. It’s also, I think, about learning for our hearts and our souls. Over the next few days, I’ll be inviting us to encounter these sacred stories of our faith through the lens of what they have to teach our hearts and our minds and our souls about discipleship. Tonight, we see Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as he gives them a new commandment to love one another as he loves them. We also have that coupled with the institution of the Last Supper. These are two of the three times in scripture when Jesus tells his disciples and us “do this;” in the Eucharist, in the foot washing, and in the third, which is baptism. In both of these images on this holy night, we can see Jesus teaching us about hospitality and also about vulnerability. And those are very easy to talk about in terms of discipleship, but we all know that they are not as easy to practice, to live into as postures of being in the church and in the world. I’ve been walking through these scriptures as a priest for the last 14 years (and even more years than I can count before that), and do you know that this is the first year that I realized that portions of John’s gospel have been cut out of our reading for today? And, an even greater bombshell for me was to realize that the portion that is cut out is when Judas leaves to go betray Jesus. Which means that Judas is there for the foot washing! Jesus washes everyone’s feet, even Judas’. Then Jesus acknowledges to Judas that he knows that he is going to betray him, and Judas leaves to go do that. And then our reading picks back up with Jesus teaching his disciples: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So we see Jesus modeling vulnerability, both in the foot washing and in the way that he continues to love his disciples, even Judas. We see the disciples, and especially Peter, struggling with Jesus’s vulnerability and also struggling with their own vulnerability of having their Lord and Master washing their feet and acting as a servant to each of them. I read a blog post today that referenced the definition of vulnerable from Webster’s dictionary as being: “easily hurt or offers an alternative definition: “In her book Daring Greatly, author Brené Brown is more nuanced, defining vulnerability as ‘uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.’ I think that more aptly defines the posture that Jesus takes when he washes the feet of the disciples.” The writer continues: “Brené Brown goes on to apply her definition of vulnerability to love, ‘Waking up every day and loving someone who may or may not love us back, whose safety we can’t ensure, who may stay in our lives or may leave without a moment’s notice, who may be loyal to the day they die or betray us tomorrow—that’s vulnerability. Love is uncertain. It’s incredibly risky. And loving someone leaves us emotionally exposed.’ The blog writer continues, “Jesus teaches us to love one another after Judas departs. He teaches us to love not only the people we depend upon and the people who depend upon us, but even more so, those whom we might prefer to forget. God commands us to wrap a towel around our waist, get on our knees, and reach into the waters of vulnerability. This sort of tenderness and intimacy through vulnerability allows us to come alive, to be fully human. It allows us to see the full image of God in our neighbor, and it allows us to fully live into that image of God as well. The truth is that we admire vulnerability in other people, but we are hesitant with vulnerability for ourselves (Most people are, after all, pretty anxious about having their feet washed!). We are afraid to allow others to see our own vulnerability, to see who we are at our core.”i Tonight, you are invited to grow more fully into your discipleship of Jesus by dwelling in the uncomfortable space of being vulnerable to one another as we wash each other’s feet. Even if you don’t want to do it; especially if you don’t want to do it, you should “do this,” practice being vulnerable in this safe space. As you return to your seat and walk with the story of Jesus over the coming days, I invite you to remember how it felt to be vulnerable. Remember how it feels to see others when they are vulnerable. And to be mindful of times when the Spirit is inviting you to grow more fully in your discipleship of Jesus by being real, being vulnerable in your life and in the world. i. http://www.growchristians.org/2019/04/18/maundy-thursday-vulnerability/