Bill Stroop Sermon, "As it was done to me, I do to you ..." Maundy Thursday, Year A, 20 March 2008

What is your image of Jesus? Is he the Good Shepherd who calls us by name, and who carries us around on his shoulders? Some of the stories of the New Testament do portray Jesus this way. But he was also a person who said some very edgy things like “I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” I see Jesus as a kind of no nonsense preacher who had something to say about God’s action in the world, and used stories, parables, and the events of life at the moment to make a point about the Kingdom of God. I suspect he was an “in your face” kind of guy who enjoyed pointing out issues of social injustice and what his countrymen could do about them. I see Jesus as a social revolutionary who did all that he could to teach us how to stand up for the oppressed – even when we don’t have a dog in their fight. When the disciples asked him how they were supposed to feed the poor with a couple of fish and some bread, he said “You give them something to eat.” (Mt 14:16, NIV). When Jesus came to the Temple and saw that merchants were overcharging people for sacrificial animals, and that others were making an unfair profit exchanging currency he didn’t fool around. He told them “Get out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” (Jn 2:16, NIV).

Jesus often used simple stories, parables, and sayings to teach especially early in his ministry. But once Jesus got to Jerusalem during the last week of his life, he began using another teaching tool: symbolism. At the supper table, Jesus ritualistically enacted the kingdom of heaven for his dinner companions when he invited everyone in the vicinity to join him at supper – particularly those who were not usually welcome. I imagine that at every meal – not just the last supper – Jesus gave thanks for his companions at table and for the food before them, and then broke the bread and distributed it to each and every one of them. And there we have it: Outcasts and nobles all sharing the same food at the same table. What a perfect way to symbolize the equality and depth of God’s love.

Simple, direct teaching is often the best kind. Between the lines of the gospel texts, we can get a clue as to how Jesus became so popular and convincing as a teacher. If we look closely at the texts, we learn that Jesus was like a sponge, soaking up things of culture, tradition, and society, and using them to teach and preach about God’s vision for us. Jesus doesn’t sound like a theologian or an ivory tower professor. He speaks plainly and directly, and as a result, Jesus’ words are not the sayings of a dead sage, but become the living word of a divine teacher.

Before the scene described in today’s gospel text, Jesus and his disciples came to Bethany before the Passover. While there, his close friends Martha and Mary prepared a dinner for him (Jn 12:2). Martha served the meal, and Mary was near Jesus. Since people in Biblical times reclined to eat, her dining couch was probably next to his. Mary took a jar of very expensive ointment and poured it on his feet (Jn 12:3). No one asked Mary to do this. Mary sensed something very important that evening, and she anointed Jesus because she, and she alone, understood that Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem the next day would end disastrously. And she wanted to show Jesus that she grasped this; that she cared for him; that she loved him deeply. So she anointed him, and willingly became his personal servant, cleaning his feet with her hair. And as the fragrance filled the room, Jesus inhaled clarity. He understood her wisdom and foresight; that she was ritualistically anointing him for his own burial.

In her actions, Mary showed Jesus the power and depth of symbolic teaching. So, when Jesus and his disciples were preparing for what would be Jesus’ last supper, he reenacted what Mary had done for him. He took off his tunic, and assumed the posture of a servant. Then he washed his own disciples’ feet.

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place at the table. “‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ ” he asked them. ‘You call me teacher and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’” Jesus took what Mary taught him and used it to teach us.

When a group of people gather together freely around a divine idea and begin to work on themselves in the direction of this idea, then they have the potential to transform the community into something holy. A communal, spiritual strength can emerge that can re-member the community, ground itself in the past, strengthen itself in the present, and project itself into the future.

I think the time is ripe for Trinity to find a divine mission for itself – something that can spark the imagination of all of us, that will feed our spirits, and truly serve our community. Many churches have specific missions that grow out of the mutually held passion of the congregation.

The rising cost of gasoline has over the years prompted many churches to purchase gas and then give it away. The Eagle Lake, Florida First Baptist Church has a history of giving things away to people who need them.[1] They host block parties and July Fourth barbecues, and they give away school supplies and hurricane kits containing five meals in a cooler. Last month their congregation purchased $11,830 in gasoline and gave it all away $30 worth at a time. And In a standing-room-only morning service Feb. 10, five new members joined their church. Another church I know of sponsors a bi-yearly lecture by internationally known speakers. Another church supports a large medical and dental clinic for people without insurance. Many churches have a missional focus that guides and directs much of what they do, and by their stewardship and care, they become recognized in their community for their godly work.

Although Trinity provides support to 123 Haven House and to Mary Bethune School, in addition to a few other programs, we do not do enough outreach into the community. I think one reason for this is that we have not identified the communal, spiritual strength in our church right now.

Outreach is crucially important to church growth. And the kind of outreach we do should naturally evolve from our mission objectives and goals, because then it is not a gimmick, or a one-time news story, but something that speaks to who we are as God’s people.

What is the mission of Trinity Church? Our mission statement is to be an open and diverse Christian family dedicated to serving God and all creation by fostering spiritual growth through worship, prayer, education, service, stewardship, and celebration. Who do we serve? What all are we stewards of?

I would like to hear your ideas about who and what we are as a people, and how you feel God speaking to us now. Send your ideas to me via email or regular mail, and we will begin the process of identifying who we are as a people. But I need to hear from you, because what we choose to do must be something that resonates with our community, and that starts with you.

Through this process, I hope we will find the right ministry that meets the needs of the time, just like Mary did with her jar of ointment, and Jesus did with a towel and a bowl.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the L ord. 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: I am the L ord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the L ord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel.

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.

14 O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.

15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.

17 In the courts of the LORD'S house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 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? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. [Then Jesus said] “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 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.’ 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.”

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[1] Carolyn Nichols. “Gas giveaway causes causes ‘traffic jam for Jesus.’” Accessed 17 March 2008 at http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/8436.article.

The Mission of Trinity Episcopal Church is to be an open and diverse Christian family dedicated to serving God and all creation by fostering spiritual growth through worship, prayer, education, service, stewardship, and celebration.

For information about Trinity Episcopal Church and its life and mission, please contact us at
509 West Pine Street, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39401 or by phone at (601) 544-5551 or (601) 329-3538

This sermon and others by Bill Stroop are on the web at www.williamgstroop.com
Contact Bill by email at wgstroop@earthlink.net and visit our church at http://www.trinityhattiesburg.org

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