The Serving Sacrificial Love of Jesus
A Maundy Thursday Reflection
Maundy Thursday of Holy Week in and of itself, is one of THE most significant and beautiful windows into the life of Christ. As a young follower, I poured over the story of the last supper and was intrigued at Jesus taking on the role of servant as He washed the disciple’s feet. And I remember learning how He served His disciples the Passover meal and taught them a new sacrament we know as communion when He instructed them to partake of the bread and wine in remembrance of Him. Little did they know how great the sacrifice Jesus would make and that the symbolic “blood and body” was not just dramatic language but soon would prove to be the shocking symbols of His real suffering.
As a teenager new to my faith I was in awe of Jesus’ love. And as I grew in my faith I also grew in gratitude as my understanding of the depths of His love grew too. Years of adulting - trying, failing, falling and getting back up again - all helped me to grasp in a deeper sense the significance of the love sacrifice we honor on this special day of remembrance.
Maundy Thursday gets it’s name from the Latin word mandatum, which means "commandment." The gospel of John tells the story of the night before Jesus’ crucifixion with such a soulful voice; it helps us see the love that John felt for Jesus in response to Jesus’ love for him. Yet to me, the greatest message within the text is the “new commandment” Jesus gave which is the reason we call this day “Maundy.”
Jesus not only spoke to His disciples His command that we are to love each other well, He also modeled that love as a servant; who washed dirty feet, who served a sacred meal, who gave up His privilege and His very life as a testament of love for a group of people - some called them undeserving, others called them misfits – and He sacrificed everything to prove how much He loved them. And because He framed His words to “love each other” with His practical examples (taking on the role of the servant with humility) He also provided a guide so His followers today could change the world by that very love.
This year I’ve had more time to reflect on Jesus’ command for us to love one another as we’ve lived through a season of great turmoil in our world as that love has been tested. From the global pandemic (a challenge) to our own nation’s foundations being shaken (an opportunity) it seems especially important to consider the lessons from Maundy Thursday, 2021.
We’ve all faced challenges this year - despair, division, disenfranchisement and death are just a sampling of the burdens that have affected my circle I hold dear. Many have been devastated by life and loss which causes me to think back to the first Maundy Thursday and the burdens that Jesus faced. I gain strength knowing that He embraced every one because He knew that this broken world could be healed by His love… His servant love made the greatest sacrifice, and He proved that love through sacrifice would end in victory – not at the cross but in His empty tomb of triumph – so that we can live triumphantly today!
This year as we journey together towards Easter and prepare to celebrate the empty tomb, I grasp hold of Maundy Thursday and pray that the importance of this sacred day and Jesus’ lessons captured in the gospel will stay with us beyond Easter. Life can be rather predictable and surely the year will be filled with trying, failing, falling and getting back up again, but doing it together, with the servant sacrificial love of Jesus in our hearts for each other, promises to lead us to triumph, much like the empty tomb!