Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday the day Jesus gathered and shared a meal with his friends. Maundy stems from the Latin word, Mandatum, or Command. This invokes Jesus final command, “A new commandment I give to you; love one another as I have loved you.” During those last moments he spent time abiding in them and invited them to abide in him. An intimate and transformational moment as he shared life, truth, and hope. Even more, he shared love.
When we are on the verge of separating from loved ones we usually embrace those final moments and share the deep and important words to send them on their way. As we said our parting words with our son as he began his first days of college I quickly scrambled to think of final needed bits of advice. Though what mattered most was to affirm how much I loved him and how proud I was of him and his accomplishments. Why? The most important truth we need as humans is to know we are loved and have a place of belonging.
Think about this for a second. Jesus could have gone on a long discourse of being faithful to the end or hounding them with expectations and law. He didn’t. He commissioned them to Abide in his love and to love one another. (While there were other elements of his words to them these were the dominant command.) His final hours he spent communicating and demonstrating his love and the significance of loving others.
If not careful, we can easily brush off the idea of love and in doing so, belittle the most powerful force or act in reality. How many times have we sang, “Jesus loves me” or other songs of that nature and moved on with our day. I think that is where we can let ourselves go astray. We don’t just sit in the fullness of God’s love for each of us. There is a significance when we let ourselves be interrupted by Maundy Thursday. Don’t just push through quickly or ignore it completely. Sit in that moment and allow yourself to embrace and grasp with the depth and reality of God’s LOVE for you. You are valuable and God delights in you.
Jesus took time, the final hours, to share life with those he loved. He reminded them of his love. Then he told them to share that love with each other. Do you notice the common theme? Whether you attend a service today or not, I challenge you to let yourself be interrupted today. Read those chapters of his final hours. Put yourself in the story. Sit at the table as Jesus washed the feet. How would you respond and feel to have that happen? Quiet yourself and let yourself be taken back when he looks at you and says, “As the father loves me, so I love you.” Let yourself be embraced by Jesus.
There is a story that as the great theologian Charles Spurgeon lay on his deathbed he said to some visitors, “As time has passed on, my theology has grown more and more simple. It is simply this, Jesus loves me!” Friends, at the end of the day the only real Truth that makes a difference and gives us true solid ground is God’s love for us. So, take time, however you need, today, and remember and reflect on God’s love displayed for you. Slow down and just enjoy the company and moments with Jesus and abide. Whether in solitude or in the company of others laugh and embrace the fullness of God’s love for you.
