April 9, 2009 Sermon
Maundy Thursday
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Maundy Thursday - 2009
Allan Conkling
Emmanuel, San Angelo
April 9, 2009
In his 1st letter to the Corinthians Paul clearly presents himself as a link in the chain leading back to Jesus. Paul you will remember was a Johnny-come-lately to the faith; a persecutor of Christians until the day he was struck from his horse by a blinding light. Paul became the bridge between Judaism and the Greco-Roman world for this new religion. He led by exhortation, but also by example:
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Cor.11:1)
From the Greek word for imitate we get the word, mimic.
"Mimic me, as I do Christ."
What makes Paul so persuasive to this day is that his journey from darkness to understanding is much like our own. We mimic Paul more than we would prefer to admit.
On the other hand, Paul believed in grace and redemption and the ability of God to change even the roughest lump of coal into a precious diamond. Everyone's path will be different but at least for this Apostle, the way to God was clear: "Mimic me, as I do Christ."
On this night when we recall the final anguishing hours of our Lord, we do so by being imitators. Surely for some the act of washing one another's feet, eating a wafer, and a taking a sip of wine is a curiosity. This service will always be a challenge, not just because of the "foot washing part" but also on a deeper level: Tonight we mimic Jesus in this way, but tomorrow we may be called to imitate him in his death. Tonight Christ gives us a mandate to love one another, tomorrow our mandate will be to love others, even those who hate us. Tonight we symbolically strip the altar, leaving it bare and unadorned. Tomorrow we may be called to surrender our defensiveness, pride, self-sufficiency, even arrogance; and confess our part in the stripping of the dignity of others, our lack of hospitality.
There will be many things to ponder over the next 48 hours. The reward of Easter always comes at a price. For now though, I invite you to simply let the symbols and images wash over you like water in a basin. This is a night of profound joy and hope. Herbert O'Driscoll in his book, Four Days in Spring reminds us that:
"All is for one thing--that the love he has shown to us may be shown by us to others. This is the ultimate demand. Then the ultimate promise: 'I in them.' Jesus promises to be within us as grace, making it possible for us in our human loving to show [a] reflection of his boundless love." (p.51)
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Revised: 04/14/09