If You Get Nothing ....

Maundy Thursday

Readings:
Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35

The Last Supper …. What’s it all about?

It’s an extraordinary gathering of friends: bread, wine, prayer, and song.

But words get changed.

It’s not about The Lamb … it’s now I AM The Lamb. It’s about the blood of The Lamb that is about to be slayed. It’s about the Cross.

It’s not the manna that kept the body nourished in the dessert. It’s about the Body of Jesus, offered for our spiritual nourishment.

The confluence of events leading up to the Last Supper is almost impossible to imagine. What does Jesus mean? All is barely believable.

And the MOST unbelievable? He lowers Himself to wash the feet of his fellow disciples, the cleanse the lowest part of their bodies, in a gesture symbolic of lowering Himself to serve his fellow man. He is The Lamb, the Son of God and HE, even, lowers Himself to be the lowest in the room, the lowest of lows, to serve a fellow neighbor, disciple, friend, person in need. He says,

“IF YOU GET NOTHING ELSE, GET THIS: Serve one another, as I have served you.”

IF I taught you nothing, it’s this: the secret is topsy-turvy – lower yourself to serve, that you may “see Me again” – in the face of those you serve.

Rick Warren reminds us in his book The Purpose Driven Life:

Servants: “You can tell what they are by what they do.”

“REAL servants maintain a low profile. Servants do not call attention to themselves. Instead they “put on the apron of humility” !!! Real servants only ever “live for an audience of One”.

“Servanthood is a matter of HEART. Serving is never perfect; we get better at it the more we do it. If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.”

“Opportunities for service are not always “at our convenience”. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, never to return again (!) Great opportunities often disguise themselves in “small tasks” (!)

“Whenever you lower yourself, humble yourself – whenever you walk with the poor, find goodness in the tax collector, wash the sores of the lepers, whenever you share a meal with who knows who, you will see Me again!”

What an extraordinary night! Pastor Johnson reminds us that THIS road less traveled, the one of service, is one of intense spiritual intimacy …… Keep your eyes pealed and be prepared to lower yourself.

If you get nothing else He told you, get this ……