How God gets us to love him
Commentary
The theme common to these texts for Maundy Thursday is to consider what God does to get us to love him.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 is the Priestly oral tradition’s version of the establishment of The Passover. This tradition is an oral strand dating back to the 6th century BC transmitted by Temple Priests or those inclined to regard the Jewish faith primarily in terms of Temple sacrifice. The account follows the description of the final plague that the Lord worked against Pharoah, which does not succeed in liberating the people (Ch.11). The month of Nisan (March-April) is to be designated the beginning of the year (v.2). It is noted that on the tenth of that month each family is to a take a lamb or share a lamb with its closest neighbor and divide the lamb (vv.3-4). The sacrifice is to be one year old without blemish (v.5). Instructions are then given to put the lamb’s blood on the doorposts and lintel in the houses of the people. The lamb was to be eaten the night it was killed and instructions are given on how it is to be prepared and what is to be eaten (vv.7-9).
The blood that is on the doorposts represents a kind of sacrifice to Yahweh, most appropriate since it functions for the Hebrews as a symbol of life (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11) and so must be returned to God (Leviticus 17:3-6; Deuteronomy 12:16). The lamb is to be entirely consumed, except for the remains to be burned the next morning (v.10). Instructions are given on the attire one is to wear when eating the lamb, which should be consumed hurriedly (v.11). This seems to be because people must be ready for the march in commemoration of Israel’s hasty Exodus after the angel of death passed over the people of Israel.
Finally Passover is said to explain how the Lord would strike down the first born of all living things in Egypt, but the blood on the door posts would be a sign for him to pass over that house so that the plague would not destroy them (vv.12-14). Henceforth the day was to be one of remembrance, a celebration of perpetual observance (v.14).
If the lamb’s blood is understood as prefiguring Christ’s sacrifice, then sermons on this text might aim to clarify Christ’s atoning work. This is a theme we may need in view of the fact that only 28% of Americans in a 2005 Barna Research poll believe Christ is the only way to heaven.
Other angles for sermons on this lesson would be to focus on the Passover origins of the Lord’s Supper or to comment on how just as Jews celebrate their liberation in thanks, so may the Christian faithful, ever mindful that the struggle for freedom and equality must continue on American soil. We clearly remain a nation plagued by prejudice and oppression. Sociologist Maria Krysan conducted a 2015 poll showing that 20% of whites said their ideal neighborhood was all white and only 25% of white respondents said they would live in a neighborhood where one-half of their neighbors were black.”
Most of us know in our guts that we have not reached the promised land of justice and equality. A 2016 Gallup poll reported that 6 in 10 Americans believe racism is widespread in America. And in that same year we elected a president who won by bashing immigrants. This lesson invites sermons which identify us and those among us who are victims of such prejudice to see ourselves as the Israelites, led by a God who has and will continue to work to set them (and all of us) free. The Lord’s Supper could also be related to the Passover meal at which Jesus originally instituted the Sacrament, so that from now on hearers of the sermon would be encouraged to view it as a meal which nurtures our commitment to freedom and justice, the very theme which permeates the Passover celebration in which the Lord’s Supper was originally embedded. Either way, the appreciation of God’s concern with those “left behind” by prejudice and injustice is likely to drive us to love the Lord ever more.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
This text is part of a letter Paul wrote to a troubled church which he had established in Corinth. He critiques certain aberrant practices pertaining to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, addressing those practices which were further dividing the church. Apparently those well off were eating full meals in the worship space in the home in which the Sacrament was to be held and letting the poor watch them eat without sharing the food that the richer segments were consuming (vv.17-23). Paul then proceeds to report what he received from the Lord (v.23). This seems a strange claim since he had not known Jesus during our Lord’s time on earth. Perhaps it is a reference to what the great evangelist claims he has learned from the traditions of Christ, the Church’s liturgy. The Words of Institution for the Sacrament are cited. In trying to sort out what is meant by the charge to remember Christ [anamesis] (vv.24-25) it is important to keep in mind that the term’s Hebrew equivalent zakar entails that when we remember people they are really present, as remembrance of God at Schechem summoned him actually to be present to engage Israel in covenant (Joshua 24). Paul proceeds to testify that as often as the bread and wine are eaten and drunk we proclaim Christ’s death until he comes (v.26).
A sermon on this text can offer the faithful an opportunity to appreciate how the Lord’s Supper builds community, as we see Paul trying to find ways to celebrate the meal in such a way as to avoid factions. This concern to find a way to celebrate the Supper in such a way that recipients feel they are doing it together in community is a word we need in our context. Americans are increasingly isolated, less involved in community organizations or with people in their lives whom they can count on in a crisis, even if they have hundreds of internet “friends.” (Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone). A 2016 Harris Poll found 72% of Americans say they experience loneliness. If we made clear to parishioners that every celebration of the Lord’s Supper is carried out in Paul’s spirit, to envisage the Sacrament as a rite which makes us all equal and so intertwined with each other, then receiving the Sacrament might be a wonderful solace to the isolation and loneliness that plagues so many. Saturated with this awareness each time we eat the bread and the wine, our gratitude to our Lord cannot help but emerge.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
This Gospel lesson is drawn from the last of the four Gospels to be written. It may be based on the earlier three. The book’s traditional identification with John the son of Zebedee was made in the first century by Irenaeus. Regardless of its origins, most scholars agree that the book’s main agenda was to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).
This lesson is the Gospel’s account of the events surrounding the first Lord’s Supper. Unlike the Synoptic accounts, this version offers no report of the actual Words of Institution for the Sacrament, but instead recounts preparation of the Supper with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and then predicting his betrayal. This retelling of the story in terms of speeches by Jesus is typical of this gospel. The account begins with the claim that before the Passover Festival Jesus knew it was time for him to depart and go to the Father (v.1). It is noted that the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into Judas Iscariot’s heart (v.2). Jesus is said to come from God, receiving all things from the Father and knows he is to return (v.3). It is reported that he then proceeded to wash the disciples’ feet (vv.4-5), an action that reveals his role as servant. Peter protests against this action, to which Jesus responds that unless one is washed he will have no share in him (vv.6-9).
Jesus proceeds to claim that the disciples are clean, but not all of them, indicating his knowledge of his betrayal (vv.10-11). Some New Testament scholars contend that the reference to being cleaned by water connotes Christian baptism in preparation for receiving the Eucharist. Jesus next explains the significance of his washing the disciples’ feet, though he himself was their teacher and lord. It is an example to the disciples, he claims (vv.12-15). Servants are said not to be greater than their master, nor messengers greater than the one who sent them. If these things are known there are blessings if they are done (vv.16-17). (These comments by Jesus here are also unique to the Johannine account, and where parallels exist in the other gospels they are not uttered like they are here at the Last Supper.)
After further discourse and the identification of Judas as his betrayer (vv.18-20), Jesus is reported to have left the room of the Last Supper. John has Jesus launch into his “Farewell Discourse.” He refers to himself as Son of Man who has been glorified and that God has been glorified in him (vv.31b-32). The author seems to understand this title in a Gnostic way, as a designation for the pre-existent one who became man and must be exalted again, though combined with the Christian theme of Messiah, an apocalyptic figure who will come at the end of time (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol.2, p.37; Ibid., p.49). Jesus then adds that he will only be with the disciples a little longer, and that they cannot go with him (v.33). He gives them a new commandment -- to love one another as he has loved them (v.34). By this, Jesus observes, everyone will know who his disciples are (v.35).
It would be possible to focus on the first verses of the Farewell Discourse, on who the Son of Man is. This might be an important word as in a 2015 Barna Research poll it was found that only 56% of Americans believe that God was actually incarnate in the man Jesus (and besides there is a lot of confusion among the faithful about what the title Son of Man means).
A sermon more in line with the theme of the day would be to focus on the humility Jesus displays, along with his exhortation to love one another. If God humbles himself, acting like our servant in bathing us (as he has in baptism), then there is no place for Christians to focus on themselves and their own importance. The Lord’s Supper is then also a reminder of this humility, as Jesus prepares us to receive the Sacrament with this self-denying love to which he calls us. This is a most relevant antidote to current social trends. Psychologist Jean Twenge, in her analysis of the millennial generation, has found that a consistent theme of this generation and their parents is their self-importance, the feeling that you have to put yourself first (Generation Me, pp.4,49,69,75-77). GenX-ers, Baby Boomers, and their elders have this problem too. We need more doses of God’s humble love in order to get such pride out of our systems.
The lessons provide different examples of what God does to get us to love him. All these ways relate in some sense to the Lord’s Supper. If this is noted, preachers do well to note that every celebration of the Eucharist affords an opportunity to celebrate or be nurtured in seeking freedom, justice, community and humility, ever recalling that all these are gifts of God.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 is the Priestly oral tradition’s version of the establishment of The Passover. This tradition is an oral strand dating back to the 6th century BC transmitted by Temple Priests or those inclined to regard the Jewish faith primarily in terms of Temple sacrifice. The account follows the description of the final plague that the Lord worked against Pharoah, which does not succeed in liberating the people (Ch.11). The month of Nisan (March-April) is to be designated the beginning of the year (v.2). It is noted that on the tenth of that month each family is to a take a lamb or share a lamb with its closest neighbor and divide the lamb (vv.3-4). The sacrifice is to be one year old without blemish (v.5). Instructions are then given to put the lamb’s blood on the doorposts and lintel in the houses of the people. The lamb was to be eaten the night it was killed and instructions are given on how it is to be prepared and what is to be eaten (vv.7-9).
The blood that is on the doorposts represents a kind of sacrifice to Yahweh, most appropriate since it functions for the Hebrews as a symbol of life (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11) and so must be returned to God (Leviticus 17:3-6; Deuteronomy 12:16). The lamb is to be entirely consumed, except for the remains to be burned the next morning (v.10). Instructions are given on the attire one is to wear when eating the lamb, which should be consumed hurriedly (v.11). This seems to be because people must be ready for the march in commemoration of Israel’s hasty Exodus after the angel of death passed over the people of Israel.
Finally Passover is said to explain how the Lord would strike down the first born of all living things in Egypt, but the blood on the door posts would be a sign for him to pass over that house so that the plague would not destroy them (vv.12-14). Henceforth the day was to be one of remembrance, a celebration of perpetual observance (v.14).
If the lamb’s blood is understood as prefiguring Christ’s sacrifice, then sermons on this text might aim to clarify Christ’s atoning work. This is a theme we may need in view of the fact that only 28% of Americans in a 2005 Barna Research poll believe Christ is the only way to heaven.
Other angles for sermons on this lesson would be to focus on the Passover origins of the Lord’s Supper or to comment on how just as Jews celebrate their liberation in thanks, so may the Christian faithful, ever mindful that the struggle for freedom and equality must continue on American soil. We clearly remain a nation plagued by prejudice and oppression. Sociologist Maria Krysan conducted a 2015 poll showing that 20% of whites said their ideal neighborhood was all white and only 25% of white respondents said they would live in a neighborhood where one-half of their neighbors were black.”
Most of us know in our guts that we have not reached the promised land of justice and equality. A 2016 Gallup poll reported that 6 in 10 Americans believe racism is widespread in America. And in that same year we elected a president who won by bashing immigrants. This lesson invites sermons which identify us and those among us who are victims of such prejudice to see ourselves as the Israelites, led by a God who has and will continue to work to set them (and all of us) free. The Lord’s Supper could also be related to the Passover meal at which Jesus originally instituted the Sacrament, so that from now on hearers of the sermon would be encouraged to view it as a meal which nurtures our commitment to freedom and justice, the very theme which permeates the Passover celebration in which the Lord’s Supper was originally embedded. Either way, the appreciation of God’s concern with those “left behind” by prejudice and injustice is likely to drive us to love the Lord ever more.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
This text is part of a letter Paul wrote to a troubled church which he had established in Corinth. He critiques certain aberrant practices pertaining to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, addressing those practices which were further dividing the church. Apparently those well off were eating full meals in the worship space in the home in which the Sacrament was to be held and letting the poor watch them eat without sharing the food that the richer segments were consuming (vv.17-23). Paul then proceeds to report what he received from the Lord (v.23). This seems a strange claim since he had not known Jesus during our Lord’s time on earth. Perhaps it is a reference to what the great evangelist claims he has learned from the traditions of Christ, the Church’s liturgy. The Words of Institution for the Sacrament are cited. In trying to sort out what is meant by the charge to remember Christ [anamesis] (vv.24-25) it is important to keep in mind that the term’s Hebrew equivalent zakar entails that when we remember people they are really present, as remembrance of God at Schechem summoned him actually to be present to engage Israel in covenant (Joshua 24). Paul proceeds to testify that as often as the bread and wine are eaten and drunk we proclaim Christ’s death until he comes (v.26).
A sermon on this text can offer the faithful an opportunity to appreciate how the Lord’s Supper builds community, as we see Paul trying to find ways to celebrate the meal in such a way as to avoid factions. This concern to find a way to celebrate the Supper in such a way that recipients feel they are doing it together in community is a word we need in our context. Americans are increasingly isolated, less involved in community organizations or with people in their lives whom they can count on in a crisis, even if they have hundreds of internet “friends.” (Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone). A 2016 Harris Poll found 72% of Americans say they experience loneliness. If we made clear to parishioners that every celebration of the Lord’s Supper is carried out in Paul’s spirit, to envisage the Sacrament as a rite which makes us all equal and so intertwined with each other, then receiving the Sacrament might be a wonderful solace to the isolation and loneliness that plagues so many. Saturated with this awareness each time we eat the bread and the wine, our gratitude to our Lord cannot help but emerge.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
This Gospel lesson is drawn from the last of the four Gospels to be written. It may be based on the earlier three. The book’s traditional identification with John the son of Zebedee was made in the first century by Irenaeus. Regardless of its origins, most scholars agree that the book’s main agenda was to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).
This lesson is the Gospel’s account of the events surrounding the first Lord’s Supper. Unlike the Synoptic accounts, this version offers no report of the actual Words of Institution for the Sacrament, but instead recounts preparation of the Supper with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and then predicting his betrayal. This retelling of the story in terms of speeches by Jesus is typical of this gospel. The account begins with the claim that before the Passover Festival Jesus knew it was time for him to depart and go to the Father (v.1). It is noted that the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into Judas Iscariot’s heart (v.2). Jesus is said to come from God, receiving all things from the Father and knows he is to return (v.3). It is reported that he then proceeded to wash the disciples’ feet (vv.4-5), an action that reveals his role as servant. Peter protests against this action, to which Jesus responds that unless one is washed he will have no share in him (vv.6-9).
Jesus proceeds to claim that the disciples are clean, but not all of them, indicating his knowledge of his betrayal (vv.10-11). Some New Testament scholars contend that the reference to being cleaned by water connotes Christian baptism in preparation for receiving the Eucharist. Jesus next explains the significance of his washing the disciples’ feet, though he himself was their teacher and lord. It is an example to the disciples, he claims (vv.12-15). Servants are said not to be greater than their master, nor messengers greater than the one who sent them. If these things are known there are blessings if they are done (vv.16-17). (These comments by Jesus here are also unique to the Johannine account, and where parallels exist in the other gospels they are not uttered like they are here at the Last Supper.)
After further discourse and the identification of Judas as his betrayer (vv.18-20), Jesus is reported to have left the room of the Last Supper. John has Jesus launch into his “Farewell Discourse.” He refers to himself as Son of Man who has been glorified and that God has been glorified in him (vv.31b-32). The author seems to understand this title in a Gnostic way, as a designation for the pre-existent one who became man and must be exalted again, though combined with the Christian theme of Messiah, an apocalyptic figure who will come at the end of time (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol.2, p.37; Ibid., p.49). Jesus then adds that he will only be with the disciples a little longer, and that they cannot go with him (v.33). He gives them a new commandment -- to love one another as he has loved them (v.34). By this, Jesus observes, everyone will know who his disciples are (v.35).
It would be possible to focus on the first verses of the Farewell Discourse, on who the Son of Man is. This might be an important word as in a 2015 Barna Research poll it was found that only 56% of Americans believe that God was actually incarnate in the man Jesus (and besides there is a lot of confusion among the faithful about what the title Son of Man means).
A sermon more in line with the theme of the day would be to focus on the humility Jesus displays, along with his exhortation to love one another. If God humbles himself, acting like our servant in bathing us (as he has in baptism), then there is no place for Christians to focus on themselves and their own importance. The Lord’s Supper is then also a reminder of this humility, as Jesus prepares us to receive the Sacrament with this self-denying love to which he calls us. This is a most relevant antidote to current social trends. Psychologist Jean Twenge, in her analysis of the millennial generation, has found that a consistent theme of this generation and their parents is their self-importance, the feeling that you have to put yourself first (Generation Me, pp.4,49,69,75-77). GenX-ers, Baby Boomers, and their elders have this problem too. We need more doses of God’s humble love in order to get such pride out of our systems.
The lessons provide different examples of what God does to get us to love him. All these ways relate in some sense to the Lord’s Supper. If this is noted, preachers do well to note that every celebration of the Eucharist affords an opportunity to celebrate or be nurtured in seeking freedom, justice, community and humility, ever recalling that all these are gifts of God.
