WATCHWORD:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:
Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34
Maundy Thursday
Maundy, is the watchword for this day, Holy Week Thursday. Maundy is the shortened version of the Latin word Mandatum, which is translated ‘Command’. The meaning becomes clear when we consider all that is happening with Jesus through this day.
He celebrates his final Passover. The Last Supper.
He tells his disciples what will happen tomorrow. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down hi life for his friends. John 15:13. They are in disbelief.
He washes his disciple’s feet and instructs them to do the same. Humility.
He gives us the sacrament of Communion. He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, ‘this is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’.
‘A new commandment I give you…’
He tells Judas, “Go, do what you must do.”
He raises the definition of love to a new and higher standard.
Garden of Gethsemane, He prays ‘…if it be thy will…’.
He is arrested and appears before the Judge, Pilate. Guilty!
Meditation:
Sometimes missed in all that was happening, are Jesus words, ‘I call you friends…’. So, what is a ‘friend’? How do consider that quality, that title, that word?
It was Wednesday, October 11, 2000, was when I first heard this story (I had to google it), then I heard it again on Monday of this week in an episode of West Wing, on Netflix.
“A man walks down the street and falls into a hole. He cries out, ‘Someone help me!’ A doctor walks by, looks into the hole, hears the man’s cry, writes out a prescription and throws it into the hole, then walks on. A priest walks by, hears the man’s cry, looks in the hole. Writes out a prayer, throws it into the hole, and walks on. A friend walks by, hears the man’s cry for help, and jumps into the hole! The man says, Friend, what ae you doing? Now we are both here. The friend looks at him and says, ‘Yes, but I’ve been here before, and I know the way out.’
So, again, what is a friend? In this time of isolation, separation, and too much exclusion, we are learning to rise above it. Isolation and separation are merely geography. Those loved ones and friends – I’m here, while you were there – but, we know we are together. Exclusion is a condition of non-communication, a condition of no contact, no warmth, both a physical and emotional separation, the worst kind.
Many of us have gone through the grief of losing a loved one, and you know the power and importance of a friend reaching out, physically but also communicating the fact that they are holding you in their thoughts and prayers. Remember how good that felt, how important it was?
The similarities between isolation and losing a loved one, are real. We do have a loss; a loss of freedom, loss of the familiar, often the loss of the touch of a loved one (My partner is 120 miles away, we are ‘staying at home’, while wishing we weren’t.) That feeling of loss is minimized by friends that reach out, friends that call, friends that FaceTime or Zoom, if only to say “how are you doing?”, letting you know that the milk of human love and friendship flows freely.
How do you show love to another as Jesus loves? You could wash your friend’s feet, but you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t get that close! You could lay down your life, but we pray it doesn’t come to that. So, then what? Simple. Make the call. If you are fortunate to be able to be out and about, and you meet others, take the time (with separation, of course), chat, gossip, brag, inform, etc., in other words, tell them, with verbal’s and non-verbal’s, that they are important, that they are special, that they are…friends.
My friends might tell you, honestly, that sometimes I am more of a hermit than a social person, and to that I would say, yes and no. This period of isolation is a bear for all of us and we do what we can to stay sane, and to help those close to us stay grounded. I get lost in the fantasy-land of story, of research, of drifting off into silliness of words. But, that really isn’t the whole me, that’s just one side. I do love, and cherish my friends, in-family and out. But, you know, my story is not unique. The nature and character of how you cope is your own, and it is important that you hold on to that, and practice that.
We are very much like the friend that jumps into the hole with you, and, together, you can figure your way out. We are blessed to be a friend, and we are blessed to have friends. Cherish that and we will climb out of this ‘hole’ together. Amen?
Check out these scripture verses for Maundy Thursday:
Luke 22:27-38
John 13:2-17
Philippians 2:1-11
Closing Prayer:
The Lord’s Prayer, would be a good way to end this, after all, He gave it to us.
May the Lord bless us and keep us,
May the Lord cause His face to shine upon us,
May the Lord grant us His Peace.
Amen.
