Ringwood Knox Lutheran Parish

where love comes to life

Year C – Maundy Thursday – From darkness to light

14 April 2022 - Year C - Maundy Thursday

Text: John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table,[a] took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,[b] but is entirely clean. And you[c] are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants[d] are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him,[a] God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

New International Version - for other versions see BibleGateway.com

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Sermon - Year C – Maundy Thursday – From darkness to light

Pastor Peter Ghalayini

Maundy Thursday begins our journey through the darkness of Good Friday to the light of Easter Sunday. Maundy Thursday is itself a night of sadness. When we celebrate Holy Communion which was first celebrated on that first Maundy Thursday the words preparing the bread and wine begin with the words – Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night when we was betrayed…

We sometimes gloss over those words as a historical marker – telling us when it happened without actually placing too much emphasis on it. But our Gospel reading shows just how dark that evening was also: Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.

But even the reason that Jesus was meeting with his disciples is filled with origins of darkness that led to light. They were meeting to commemorate the Passover and that very first Passover is explained in our Old Testament reading:

It is the Passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: but when I see the blood of the lamb you sacrifice and paint on your door frames – when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

For me this highlights the reality of the Christian story – that this is not a made up event but a reality playing out of Jesus battle against the forces of evil and the forces of darkness that surrounded him and continue to surround us

If this were made up I’m sure it would not be surrounded by the harsh details of the devil entering into the heart of one of Jesus’ friends or the gruesome image of the destroying angel of God killing every firstborn child and animal. But in this gruesome depiction Jesus is leading us on a journey from dark to light. It might sound gruesome but Jesus needs to reveal the extent of the darkness so he can reveal the full power of his light as John points out in the very beginning of his Gospel at Chapter one: In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it and cannot overcome it.

What we see leading up to the light of Easter Sunday is the full extent of darkness in the life of humankind including betrayal and death. And that’s why in Baptisms the first question we ask is – do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. But Jesus establishes his light and it begins and ends with acts of love.

First he enacts love by washing his disciples feet to show them that love is not about dominating others.

Love is about servanthood – serving one another by loving one another. Again it is Peter who struggles with this path. Previously he said to Jesus about his suffering and death – never Lord, this will never happen to you.

And now when Jesus wants to wash his feel to show him how love is revealed he responds – You will never wash my feet.

But this is only the beginning of how light overcomes darkness. Next Jesus will show them the ultimate revelation of his light overcoming darkness by giving of his own life for them. So before he is arrested and executed he gives to them his body and blood that is about to be taken away and be crucified. And in an unbelievable act of love he even invites the one who will betray him to join them at his table.

This is now our greatest challenge that Jesus will leave with us as he gives us his new commandment to love one another as I have loved you. And that love is exampled by unconditional love – even of the one who betrayed him. And the challenge Jesus leaves with us is to example that love in our own lives even to love those we don’t love. And let’s be honest, even as Christians we might have people in our minds that we struggle with.

They might be people in our lives – people we work with, people we come across regularly – people we see on the news but have never met –  How could God possibly expect me to love that person. But he does as he says that a servant is not greater than his master.

And as Jesus loved even the one who betrayed him – the one who denied him – the ones who abandoned him and later even the ones who nailed his hands and feet to the cross – forgive them Father – this is how we overcome darkness. We overcome darkness by not participating in darkness and allowing light to reveal and overcome it. This is how light overcomes darkness – by revealing it.Which is why Jesus says to us – YOU are the light of the world. Let your light shine that. they may see your good works, and. glorify your Father in heaven.

Our journey to the light begins tonight and as dark as it is with betrayal by one of his own disciples it’s going to get darker. But as the saying goes – it is always the darkest before the dawn. And the dawn is coming when Mary will go out to Jesus tomb while it was still dark and discover that Jesus body was not stolen but had risen from the dead. Our lives also go through many dark moments but we are all on the same journey to our heavenly home. And until we are there Jesus has left us with his Body and Blood to strengthen our faith and to keep us moving forward out of darkness and into his light.

The journey begins tonight and we eat this bread and drink this cup, proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes in his glory to finally and forever overcome the darkness of this world through our life in heaven where neither the sun or the moon will not shine because the glory of God gives it light.