Holy Week, Maundy Thursday
2The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; 4so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. (John 13:2-5)
Today, in the remembrance of Holy Week, is called Maundy Thursday. As I have shared in the past, Maundy comes from the Latin word “Mandatum”, which means commandment. On Thursday night of the original Holy Week, Jesus gave His disciples this commandment during the Last Supper: “love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Before Jesus gave His disciples this new commandment, Jesus got down on His knees and washed the feet of each disciple. I always stress when telling this story to think about the perspective of the times Jesus lived in. In Jesus’ day, everyone walked nearly everywhere they had to go wearing only sandals on their feet, so a person’s feet were very important, very dirty, and very stressed. Jesus washing the feet also symbolized the work ahead for the disciples, because after the Resurrection, Jesus’ disciples would take the Good News to the ends of the earth with those feet their Savior washed. Jesus did this on the Thursday night that would never end, as Jesus and the Disciples would leave from the Upper room and head to the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Garden, as Thursday turned into the early morning hours of Good Friday, Jesus would pray to His Father, asking for the weight of the world to be taken off His shoulders, but when God tells Jesus He must pay the price for all man’s sins, Jesus states: “Your will be done”.
What a leader. What a loving, compassionate, servant leader. Jesus not only sets the threshold of servant leadership by washing His followers’ feet, but He also shows the wisdom and Godly knowledge by giving them their final commandment: Love one another as Jesus loved them. This example displayed by Jesus IS the example for all Christians to follow. To be servant leaders, serving the world around us. Serving the communities we live in. Serving our families. Serving our workplaces. And doing it with a joyful heart. And the commandment to love one another as Jesus loves us. That IS the cornerstone of Christian faith.
Do you know how Jesus loves us? Do you honestly understand it? Do you think Jesus would “mistakenly” deport an innocent man to an El Salvador concentration camp and then refuse to rescue him? Do you think Jesus cares about border walls and military missions that seal up a country from those that seek asylum? Do you think Jesus cares about wealth and power? Well, the answer to all those questions is ‘no’. So, if Jesus, the one who sits on the throne would not prioritize any of these issues, why does America worship a leader that does?
As you are taking time to reflect on the events of Holy Week, if you, as a Christian, are not speaking out about the atrocities that are unfolding in America right now, you’ve become the one in the crowd that will be shouting “crucify Him!” on Friday morning.
Need more proof of this, read this article from Reverend Benjamin Cremer, who I have come to appreciate more and more as he consistency stands against the hypocrisy unfolding in the American Christian church on his social media platforms.
And to show the difference in having a true leader as a President and having what America has mistakenly voted into office, the latest update from the political podcast, MeidasTouch, paints a pretty clear picture. Click the video below to see for yourself.
Common Sense Reborn 