Reflection of the Mandates of Maundy Thursday
We've passed another observance of the week filled with mystery, called Holy. Anticipation began on Passion Sunday as we read of the triumphal entry, and the waving of palms, all the while knowing what was to come. I tend to live this season with an almost palpable awareness of the light and the darkness... the goodness and evil at hand.
As I went to the texts and let them seep into me, I always walked away changed. Everything I heard, read, or saw during those holy days was run through the filter of the cosmic happenings. I was aware that the whole creation was indeed still groaning. Christ's pain and betrayal was real in the Amber Alert posted from Georgia... in the body of the little girl found at the trash dump in Florida... in the less than promising unemployment forecast. These were the realities of walking with the Son of Man this 2010 Holy Week towards a certain death; and yet.
Like the disciples, we continue to walk with Him. We go ahead when He asks to prepare a meal of remembrance and celebration of the Passover. We stay by His side, listening to every word, understanding only that what we hear is Truth. And somewhere in His conversation with us, we realize that even now He is telling us that there is hope despite what we see, hear or feel. Hope beyond the situation and circumstances -- that we must continue to trust.
I was taught that the mandate of Maundy Thursday referred to Christ's new command to His followers to love. But this year I found several other mandates wound in these texts. I saw a mandate to humility as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and humbled Himself before them. I saw a mandate to know the time, or better yet to be aware of God's timing, as Jesus was aware that 'the hour had come.' I grasped the mandate to know and be aware of ourselves, in the same way Jesus was aware of how these things set in motion were the very will of His Father. Not pleasant, but God's perfect will.
Like a dream I had a few months back that continues to teach me -- the texts of Holy Week 2010 from the Gospel of John are still speaking to me for my good. They are still revealing, teaching me, encouraging me, causing me to wonder. And I in turn want to encourage you to sip and savor God's word to you. My sense is there is no end to what might unfold. Blessings and Joy, THE CELTIC MONK
As I went to the texts and let them seep into me, I always walked away changed. Everything I heard, read, or saw during those holy days was run through the filter of the cosmic happenings. I was aware that the whole creation was indeed still groaning. Christ's pain and betrayal was real in the Amber Alert posted from Georgia... in the body of the little girl found at the trash dump in Florida... in the less than promising unemployment forecast. These were the realities of walking with the Son of Man this 2010 Holy Week towards a certain death; and yet.
Like the disciples, we continue to walk with Him. We go ahead when He asks to prepare a meal of remembrance and celebration of the Passover. We stay by His side, listening to every word, understanding only that what we hear is Truth. And somewhere in His conversation with us, we realize that even now He is telling us that there is hope despite what we see, hear or feel. Hope beyond the situation and circumstances -- that we must continue to trust.
I was taught that the mandate of Maundy Thursday referred to Christ's new command to His followers to love. But this year I found several other mandates wound in these texts. I saw a mandate to humility as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and humbled Himself before them. I saw a mandate to know the time, or better yet to be aware of God's timing, as Jesus was aware that 'the hour had come.' I grasped the mandate to know and be aware of ourselves, in the same way Jesus was aware of how these things set in motion were the very will of His Father. Not pleasant, but God's perfect will.
Like a dream I had a few months back that continues to teach me -- the texts of Holy Week 2010 from the Gospel of John are still speaking to me for my good. They are still revealing, teaching me, encouraging me, causing me to wonder. And I in turn want to encourage you to sip and savor God's word to you. My sense is there is no end to what might unfold. Blessings and Joy, THE CELTIC MONK
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