As a kid, the Maundy Thursday service was always one of my favourites of the year. I was fascinated by the symbolism of the foot washing ceremony and always deeply moved by the stripping of the altar (and entire worship space) at the end of the service. But now that I’m in a season of life where the ritual aspects of the faith speak less to me (this is neither a good nor bad thing, it simply is — and I hope and trust that there will be future seasons where they take on renewed meaning for me), different parts of the Maundy Thursday commemoration stick out to me. Specifically, I find myself haunted by Jesus’ last words and final commandment, which echo the ‘second’ commandment in his summary of the Law: “Love one another.” These are the words I’d like to focus on in today’s post.
But first, let’s remind ourselves of where we’re at in the story: Jesus has been betrayed by Judas, but that’s not yet common knowledge. He gathers his disciples together for the Last Supper. The text says of Jesus, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13.1). He demonstrates this love — and what his kind of love looks like — by washing their feet,taking on the role of a slave. (Much to the scandal of Peter.) Afterwards, he tells the disciples that they are to do the same:
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. (13.14-17)
The passage ends with Jesus issuing his final commandment:
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.” (13.34-35)
There’s a something of a chiastic structure to the passage that illuminates the theme of love:
- Jesus loves his disciples
- Jesus washes their feet
- The disciples are to wash each other’s feet
- The disciples are to love one another
It’s all about love. Practical, humble, and service-oriented love.
This should come as no surprise to those of us who read the Scriptures. After all, Jesus summarized the whole of God’s law as to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22.37-39). And, while the focus of Jesus’ message here is to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us, the call to love our “neighbour” extends even to the person we’d least like it to be. Again, it’s all about love. This is the entirety of the Gospel message. It is one tremendous outpouring of divine love for our sake and for the life of the world, a love which we are then called to share with everyone and everything around us (as is the way of God’s economy). St. Maria Skobtsova put it best: “No amount of thought will ever result in any greater formulation than the three words, ‘Love one another,’ so long as it is love to the end and without exceptions.”
The world right now is a very loud and angry place. And, shamefully, many of the loudest and angriest voices are from those claiming to speak for and on behalf of Jesus. But make no mistake: any message that tells us we can or even should opt out of loving our neighbour (and in a way they will recognize as being loving!) is not of God. Especially at times like this, we must not shrink back from the loving heart of the Gospel, but redouble our efforts and commitment to love.
There are no greater words than ‘Love one another’ — so long as it is love to the end and without exception.
Thanks be to God.
Matthew Root 