Holy Thursday - Homily 5

Homily 5 - 2018

If you wanted your family and friends, after you die, to remember you and what you were on about during your life with them, what would you suggest they do, or what might they keep as a memento that somehow sums you up [and we shall rule out photos]?

I was thinking about that briefly myself this morning – and found it rather hard. For one thing, I don’t have close family; and a lot of my best friends, the ones still alive, are scattered about all over the place. But I did think of two things. See how you go. Perhaps think about it after you go home this evening.

We know what Jesus suggested we do to remember him. He suggested two things, in fact. We read about the first one this evening: “If I have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.” Why? Because the only way our world will change for the good, become somewhere safe for everyone, is if we are prepared to relate to each other in an attitude of service, even being prepared to get dirty ourselves in the process. For some reason or other, his suggestion never seems to have been taken up seriously.

But there was another thing he also suggested to remind us of him and his insistent message for us and our world. He made the original suggestion at the same meal where he washed their feet: “He took bread, and giving thanks to God, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you’.” Just as he broke the bread, people would soon break his body. From his point of view, he would give his life out of love for us, to show us how far our love could go, too. Then later, to wind up the meal, “he took the chalice, and once more giving thanks to God, he gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins’.”

By drinking together from the cup of the covenant, he wanted us to pledge ourselves together to his project of addressing the sinfulness, the hostility, the mutual violence, lurking in our own hearts and the hearts of everyone else.

To remember him, he said, do this. What? Come together as friends, share a meal. That is what it is all about ultimately – friendship with everyone. Consistently loving our friends is hard enough. But loving our enemies certainly raises the bar. It will be costly. We need to be prepared to be broken somehow in the process, as he was. But we have each other. Consciously pledge to work together, he said, commit yourselves together in covenant love, inspiring, encouraging, empowering each other, knowing that he is there doing precisely that, and more, with us – nourishing us, strengthening us, motivating us. He is prepared to be our food. That’s something!

Might a bit more of washing each other’s feet have been a stronger reminder?