John 13:34

Latin:

Mandatum novum do vobis: ut diligatis invicem,
sicut delexi vos, dicit Dominus.

English:

A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another,
as I have loved you, says the Lord.

Psalm 119:1

Latin:

Beati immaculate iin via: qui ambulant in lege Domini.
Mandatum novum.

English:

Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in the law of the Lord.
A new commandment.

We will take a look at this New Commandment shortly. First, when we think of Maundy Thursday, the first thought that comes to our mind is our Lord's Last Supper.

The Last Supper is described in Matthew 26:20-35. Let us took a look at Matthew 26:26-29:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

So, on Holy Thursday Jesus instituted the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. During the Last Supper, Jesus offers himself as the Passover sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb.

The feast of Maundy Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist.

Jesus talked about a new covenant when he instituted the Eucharist. Dr. Mark Giszczak explained what this new covenant is in his article titled, "What's so 'New' about the New Covenant?":

"Jeremiah prophesied a New Covenant (Jer 31:31). The New Testament writers see the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Luk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:13, 9:15, 12:24). In fact, the word "Testament" is an older English translation of the Greek (diatheke) and Hebrew (berit) words for covenant. The covenant is made in the blood of Christ. He is the "mediator" of the new covenant (Heb 12:24), the apostles are its ministers (2 Cor 3:6), and through it, we are not only redeemed but promised an inheritance (Heb 9:15). Under the old covenant, one could look forward to the promise of a peaceful life in the Promised Land, but under the new covenant, we look forward to the eternal Sabbath rest of heaven.

Yes, the New Covenant is still new. It will always be "new" in that it offers us not a code of external prescriptions, but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is new in that it is available to all, not restricted to any one group of people. And the new covenant is always new in that it can transform each of us when we are willing to open our hearts to its Mediator. He is always ready to offer us the freedom, the salvation, the transformation he bought with the price of his blood."

Jesus also gave his disciples and us a new commandment that day. He did that by washing the feet of His disciples.

Jesus tells His disciples that if they wanted to be like Him, they should Love one another, a new commandment. Love trumps law. We are to do as the Lord Jesus did. We are to love as our Master loved. He gave us a new commandment – to give our lives away in humble service even unto death.

Thursday evening marks the beginning of the three holiest days in our church.

We should enter into these three days with awe and wonder, because we know that the Lord Jesus deliberately chose to do what we gladly run away from. In love that is beyond our imagination and our ability, God in the flesh willingly and without hesitation went the way that we cannot go if we are left to our selfish selves.

Reflection:

Imagine what it would feel like, if your loved one was taken to prison without due cause.

Imagine how the apostles felt as Jesus was carried away.

Now imagine the agony felt and being experienced by thousands of our fellow Christians in Middle East being persecuted by the likes of ISIS, Boko Haram, etc. The members of the family are kidnapped, abused and tortured, women abused, some burned in fire because they refuse to leave Christianity.

Remember the Egyptian Coptic martyrs who were murdered in Libya because they refuse to renounce Christian Faith.

Remember the two Bishops and Clergy who were abducted in Syria, who are still missing.

As we recall the passion of Jesus Christ, we can also pray that the passion of our fellow Christians will be shortened by the mercy of our God.

If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savour the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love.

But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Saviour.
Saint Aelred, Abbot, "Christ, the Model of Brotherly Love"

By Fr. Altier

Scripture:

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
St. John 13:1-15

Today we celebrate the feast on which the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood took place. It is also, therefore, the day on which Our Lord, exercising His priesthood, offered Himself as a sacrifice sacramentally. He had not yet physically sacrificed Himself, that would take place the next day (Good Friday), but already in the Blessed Sacrament at the Last Supper He offered himself in a sacramental form under the forms of bread and wine so that He could give Himself to His disciples in the most intimate way.

But in order to demonstrate what it was that He was doing, He first washed their feet. This is something that they did not understand. Peter, of course, objected. "You will never wash my feet," he said. But then Jesus said to him, If I do not wash your feet, you have no part of My inheritance. Now if we consider what this really means, remember that Our Lord Himself told us that He came into this world to serve and not to be served. Saint Paul says,

He took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men.

But even that was not enough to be able to understand what it was that He was doing because we recall that by Jewish law not even a slave could be forced to wash the feet of his master because that was considered beneath human dignity. Considering what they would have been walking through, wearing sandals and having no sanitation the way that we think of it with sewer systems and all the things underground, all of their things would have been above ground and their feet would have been pretty filthy. And absolutely no one could be required to wash the feet of someone else.

So Our Lord, in order to demonstrate to His disciples the extent to which He was willing to go, lowered Himself and became less than a slave. He was willing to deny Himself in everything for the sake of those who would follow Him.

Consider what He does for us today. If it was not too much for Him to wash the feet of His disciples and make Himself lower than a slave, today He gives Himself to us in the form of a piece of bread. He is Almighty God, and He comes to us in a way that is so humble that unless He Himself had said it no one would believe it because, once again, it is lower than a slave. Yet He told us that we have to do the same. When we recognize what He has done for us, then He tells His disciples that they have to do the same, that we have to be willing to make ourselves less than everyone else, which He also said in other places. But if we understand it in its context, it makes perfect sense.

Recall that the two sacraments which are most closely aligned are the Eucharist and marriage; all of the symbolism are identical. And so what Jesus is requiring of Saint Peter and of the other apostles is that they had to receive the gift which Our Lord was giving, just as a married couple receives from one another the gift that is being given. When you think about it from the point of view of the giver, it is a beautiful gift but a very humble gift because it makes one completely vulnerable and places one completely at the service of the other because it is giving, not taking. But part of the gift that a married couple offers to one another is to receive the gift that the other is offering. So too with the Eucharist. If we are not willing to receive what Jesus is giving, if we try to take it instead of receiving it (which is a purely selfish act, then), we have no part of Him. But if we can receive in love the gift which He gives in love, then we have part of His inheritance, then we are united, because we give ourselves to Him as a gift and we receive His gift of self to our own selves and then we become one. That is precisely what Our Lord desires for us.

But in order to become fully one, we have to give it all. We have to become less than a slave. A slave has to give to a certain point; and when the slave is giving, it is because he is being required to give. It is not that way with Christ; it must be a gift, not something which is required. So He tells us, when He says what is required, that we have to do the same – but, once again, it cannot be under force; rather it must be freely chosen, freely given, and freely received – to make ourselves completely vulnerable, to open ourselves entirely to Him. Of course, in order to do that, it means also placing ourselves at the service of others, precisely the thing He told us to do when He commanded us to love God and to love our neighbor. That is exactly what we have in the Blessed Sacrament, the example that Jesus continues to give us.

If He Who is God, He Who is Teacher and Master, is willing to do what a slave could not even be required to do, is willing to humble Himself so completely that He would give Himself to us in the form of a piece of bread so that we could actually receive Him into ourselves, then we have to look and say, "What's wrong with me that I am not willing to do the same? If God is willing to do this for me, why do I think it beneath my dignity to serve others? Why do I think it beneath my dignity to accept the ridicule of others? Why do I think it beneath my dignity to remain silent when people heap disgrace upon me? Why do I think it beneath my dignity to become a slave of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother?" That is what we need to look at. When we see that He has made Himself lower than a slave for us, that He came into this world and loved and gave Himself completely in love, what are we willing to do in return?

Again, when we look at marriage, it is not a 50-50 proposition; it is 100-100. Jesus gave one hundred percent. If we are really, really generous, maybe some of us are willing to give 60…70. That is not enough. For those of you who are married, imagine what that would be like. "I love you with half of my being." "I love you with three-quarters of myself." "I'm willing to give part of me to you." What would that do to your marriage? It would result in exactly the problem we have in marriage today: It would be a disaster.

by Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

There is a great hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas. It is O Sacrum Convivium (in Latin) and it serves as a wonderful summary of Eucharistic theology that is worth our attention. With that in mind I'd like to make a brief reflection on some of its compact teachings.

First the text, then some commentary:

Original Latin:

O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis eius:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.

English Translation:

O sacred Banquet
In which Christ is received
The memory of his Passion is recalled
The Mind is filled with grace
And Pledge of future Glory is given to us.

O Sacred banquet (O Sacrum convivium)

In recent decades there was perhaps a tendency to over emphasize the meal aspect of the holy Mass, without due and balanced reference to the sacrificial aspect of the holy Mass. But the necessary correction in more recent times, back toward emphasizing that the Mass makes present the Sacrifice of the Cross, should not lead us to forget the mass is also a holy banquet, a sacred meal with the Lord.

For the Lord says, For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink (Jn 6:55).

Thus, the Holy Eucharist is no mere sign, or symbol, but is in fact the true food of Christ's true Body, true Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Eucharist, is also a foretaste, a praegustatum, of the great banquet in heaven, of which Christ says, And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Lk 22:29-30). And yet again, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20).

Note too that the Latin word convivium, of which "banquet" is an adequate translation, but also contains nuances that go beyond a mere meal. The Latin emphasizes a kind of coming together a sort of celebration of life. Con (with) + vivere (to live). Hence, the meal here is no mere supplying the food or calories. It is a coming together to celebrate new life. We receive the food of Christ's Body and Blood, which not only gives an ingredient for life, but is in fact the true and very life of Christ.

In the Eucharist, we receive Life Himself

For Christ said of himself, I am the life (Jn 14:6). And further, he declares, As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will have life because of me. (Jn 6:57).

Of this life, he further describes it as "eternal life," a term which refers not merely to the length of life, but also to the fullness of life.

Thus the Holy Eucharist is a meal, but no mere meal, it is Life, it is a convivial celebration of that life; it is a banquet which gives Life Himself.

In which Christ is received (in quo Christus sumitur)

Here again, is affirmation that we do not receive mere food, we receive Christ himself. This is no mere symbol, no mere wafer, no mere memory. It is Christ himself that we receive.

The verb here, sumitur, is in some sense bold. More literally translated than "received," it is more literally translated as "taken up." It is a present passive indicative form of the verb. And this indicates the great humility of our Lord. He lets himself "be taken up."

Imagine, the Lord being in a moment of a passive relationship with us.

He lets himself be taken up, or taken in by us. He is taken up, and becomes our food. Here is an astonishing humbling by our God, who then allows himself to be assimilated by us, and thereby assimilates us into him.

His humility, is meant to conquer pride in us.

Yes, in this great banquet Christ himself is taken up, is received, is assimilated by us. And in this humble manner we are taken up into him, taken in, more perfectly to be a member of his body.

The memory of his passion is recalled (recolitur memoria passionis eius)

The Eucharist is not only a meal, it is the making present of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In every mass, we are brought to the foot of the cross, and the fruits of that Cross are applied to us.

We are also at the resurrection, for in Holy Communion we receive Christ who is living, present, and active.

The Latin verb recolitur, is properly translated "recalled." However, once again there are nuances in the Latin verb which are hard to render with one English word. The Latin verb recoleremeans "to cultivate anew." This somewhat agrarian image points to a kind of careful and intentional growing and fostering of something, in this case the memory of Christ's Passion.

To cultivate in agriculture, is also to prepare for, and or pave the way for the growth of something. It means to prepare the soil.

In non agrarian settings, to cultivate anything implies a kind of care for it, and intention to foster the growth of something, to further or encourage something.

In all these images we see that the memory of Christ's Passion is something that we should cherish, encourage and foster. It is something in which we should prepare the ground of our heart for ever deeper insights and for new growth in the memory of what He's done for us

The other word, "memory," is also a very precious word.

What is memory and what does it mean to "remember?" To remember is to have deeply present in my mind and my heart what Christ has done for me, so that I am grateful, and I am different. It means to have it finally dawn on us what Christ has done for us in such a vivid and real way that our hearts and minds are grateful, transformed, and different. Our hearts of stone are broken open and God's light and love flood in and we are changed. This is what it means to remember.

It is of course and ever deepening process to recall the memory of His Passion, not a mere one time event.

The Mind is filled with Grace (mens impletur gratia)

There are many graces of course that come with holy Communion:

Our venial sins are forgiven, our holiness is increased, our union with Christ becomes more perfected, we gradually become the One we receive, we receive strength and food for the journey across the desert of this world unto the Promised Land of Heaven, we receive life, and begin to participate in eternal life, our union with Christ and membership in his body is strengthened, as is our union with one another, and our union with the saints in heaven.

Yes, so many grace are infused, are poured forth into the mind and heart!

And a pledge of future glory is given to us (et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur)

With the reception of Holy Communion come promises from Christ:

But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever….Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day….Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." (John 6:50-58)

Yes, here is a pledge of future glory, of victory.

Jesus alludes to the manna in the wilderness that sustained them for forty years in the desert. It was a sign of the victory to come. For why would God sustain them in the desert if he did not will to lead them ultimately to the Promised Land? It is the same for us. That God feeds us in this way is a sign and promise of his will to save us and bring us to the Promised Land of Heaven. He blesses and strengthens the journey and so adds surety and the pledge of the destination of future glory.

To this pledge the Lord also adds a warning:

I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (Jn 6:53)

And St. Paul also adds:

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Cor 11:27-29)

Not a bad little summary of Eucharistic theology, all in a short hymn (antiphon).

About The Author:

by William G. Carter

Gospel: Luke 22:7-23, 28-30

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, 'Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.'

We know the story. We hear the heart of it during the Eucharist. Tonight we hear it in its expanded context. It was a Passover banquet. That means the matzoh was baked, the lamb was roasted. Bottles of wine are uncorked and friends have circled around. Passover is celebrated with serious joy.

Around a family table, the celebrants recline in freedom. They sing the psalms of God's saving power and recount the story of how God brought them out of slavery. This is a night of serious joy. The carpenter pulls on a clean tunic. The fishermen scrub their fingernails a second time.

But why is this Passover different from all other Passovers? Jesus seems to have made secret arrangements for the meal, probably because his life is at risk. His friends do not know this will be their last meal with him. All they know is that this will be a Passover feast. They remember Moses standing up to Pharoah, and God sending Ten Plagues to soften Pharoah's will. They recall how the angel of death "passed over" the homes where lamb's blood was smeared over the door. Regardless of whatever precautions they took, they had no idea that the first-born Son of God would be struck down by the angel of death in a matter of hours.

Just then Jesus makes it plain. "I wanted to have this meal with you before I suffer." Or to translate more accurately, "I really, really, really wanted to do this." I need to do this, I deeply desire to do this - with all of you – before I suffer. This is the moment when the Twelve friends realize that something deep is going on. Both his intensity and his sense of a deadline ("before I suffer") reveal that meal's importance.

But then Jesus said something unusual, something to which I never paid much attention, something he says twice. "I won't eat the meal until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. I won't drink the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes." It is the Last Supper before he suffers, but then he will eat it again "in the Kingdom of God."

He has spoken of the Kingdom many times. Forty-two times, to be exact, just in the Gospel of Luke. God's Kingdom is an invisible dominion. The Kingdom is not in some other place, said Jesus; it is already among us. We don't see it – but it has begun. Children belong to the Kingdom, and people who become like trusting children will enter it. Kingdom is the banquet where poor, crippled, blind, and lame are honored guests. Kingdom is where prodigals are forgiven and Samaritans are our neighbors. Kingdom is where God presides over all things and human willfulness is set aside. This is how Jesus speaks of the will of God working itself out, both in our lives and beyond our lifetimes. God rules like a Sovereign. The Kingdom starts small, like a seed, and grows until it takes over everything.

Tonight Jesus adds that the Kingdom comes after he suffers.

A lot of Christian people have had a lot to say about the sacramental Supper that we share tonight. They have written books, outlined doctrine, even divided churches over their views of this Supper. What strikes me tonight is that this is a Kingdom Meal, right here in the midst of our own human suffering. Jesus has gone through his suffering – his body was broken and discarded, his blood spilled.

We recount the story tonight and tomorrow. It resonates with our own awareness of how broken the world is. We remember yet again how cruel people can be to one another, how otherwise good people will cash in their friendships, to say nothing of how addicted we are to violence. It is disturbing but it is not defining. Bad things happen on this dark night, but God's goodness is still here, and it continues to advance.

This begins, after all, as a Passover meal. The Jews know Passover. Passover is the feast of freedom. Passover means that nobody enslaves anybody else. Passover means that nobody puts down, oppresses, or takes advantage of anybody else. Passover means Pharoah can't force you to make bricks, or force you to make more bricks without any straw. Oh no! God hears human suffering, and brings us out of that bondage. Even though Pharoah still has his brick factories, even though his taskmasters still afflict and demean, Passover says there is another way.

It can be hard to see. It is difficult to claim. Ask the man who works in the storeroom at the Big Box Megamart. Once he had his own business, was his own boss, but then the economy unraveled. After weeks of looking for a job, he landed in the Big Box storeroom. Now he punches somebody else's clock. He goes in when they tell him to go in. He would like to join us for church on Sunday, but he has to work when they tell him to work. Otherwise the groceries don't get bought, the bills don't get paid. Talk about Passover, talk about freedom; it can sound like a distant dream . . . except it is real. We can flourish even in the midst of the affliction because it does not own us.

Jesus breaks the bread, the Bread of Affliction. He breaks it just as his body will be broken. He says, "I give this to you," because there is something more to life than suffering.

He pours out the cup among his fellow Jews, and declares, "New covenant!" Jewish Passover will become the model for all human relationships. No more brutality. No more oppression. Jesus says his suffering will create a new fellowship between people and their God. After his suffering is finished and past, he will eat and drink with his friends again.

These sound like Easter hints before Good Friday. I take them as that and a whole lot more. We gather for the Lord's Supper, not the Last Supper. Tonight we hear of Christ's suffering and take stock of our own. But we affirm that He is here, in the midst of us, because his suffering is past and the Kingdom has come near quietly.

by Mel Lawrenz

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."
- John 15:9-13

Jesus said, "They hated me without reason." He was neither the first nor the last person to be subjected to senseless rejection and persecution. But because he was the only perfect, sinless one, the hatred played out against him was the vilest the world would ever see. His haters called light darkness; they saw righteousness and called it wickedness. They even called the work of God the deeds of the devil.

We've heard stories of brave sacrifices—a soldier throwing his body on a hand grenade, a bystander pulling someone off a subway track, a firefighter charging into an inferno only to lose his own life. These are stirring, and they show humanity at its best. But Jesus' sacrifice was not the impulse of a desperate moment. He moved with resolve toward his own end. There truly is no greater love. We could look through every page of history and into every corner of the universe, and we wouldn't find anything that even comes close. Jesus looked at his friends, told them he would be laying down his life, and then required one simple thing of them (and us): love each other.

And so our one real chance at loving others is if we fully receive the love of God for us and let it change our entire perspective on our relationships with others. But this won't happen by a casual remembrance of the love of Jesus. When Jesus said, "Remain in my love," he meant we are to dwell there. We are to be conscious every hour of the day that the bedrock truth of our lives-the core of our identity-is we are loved by Jesus the Christ. Keeping our focus on the cross is the way to remain in his love.

Ponder This: What do you have to say to Jesus who laid down his life for you?

By Chrystal Evans Hurst

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 (ESV)

Once while attending a conference I found myself browsing through the vendor section.

Most, if not all, of the vendors had products available where the proceeds would be invested directly into a ministry or mission project designed to change the lives of people near and far.

The idea that my purchase could in some way be a small contribution to Kingdom work propelled me to actively seek something that I wanted to wear, use or display in my home.

I paused in front of a table featuring art prints with various inspirational quotes and verses. It was like a sea of words.

I figured that somewhere on that table were words I would want to display in my home. Words that would inspire me and spur me on to be the person God wanted me to be.

I found those words. But they weren't the warm and fuzzy words I was looking for. The kind that would make me want to smile when I walked by them in my home.

Instead I found words that cut deep and convicted me beyond my expectation. Words that inspired me … but solemnly. Words that did not yield a cozy experience, but certainly lit a fire within my heart and soul. The print said:

"Real love bleeds."

I bought it.

Loving people can be hard work. It can be even harder when the love you give requires the very essence of who you are to flow through wounds inflicted by the ones your heart beats for.

When I read these three small words penned by this artist-turned-missionary, I stopped in my tracks because I knew I had been doing exactly the opposite in my life.

Instead of being willing to "bleed" for the ones I loved the most, I had slipped into full-on apathy.

Why? Because sometimes caring for and loving others doesn't feel good.

Sometimes, it's easier not to love.

Over time, and unbeknownst to me, I had become an expert at self-preservation and pain avoidance.

Anything that hurt, I didn't touch — including the people I loved the most.

I grieved as I realized that the very love Jesus continually offered me — the same love that came at His own great personal discomfort and eventual agony — was unfortunately the kind of love I'd become unwilling to consistently offer.

Why? Because sometimes loving others hurts.

As I stood there and pulled out my wallet to purchase the simple yet beautiful print, I realized that great love comes at a great cost — as evidenced by the example of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for my sins, which we see in today's key verse.

I remembered His illustration of love for me and recalled His command that I follow in His steps: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34, ESV).

Now, let me concede this. I am completely aware that everyone who causes us pain should not be an automatic recipient of our deepest level of sacrifice. However, I am acutely aware of my own need to assess my willingness to love like Christ loves me and to sacrifice for those to whom I am called.

What I know for certain is this: There are times when the love I have for others is not a matter of feeling, but rather a matter of my decision to be obedient to Him — and it won't feel good.

The question is, when real love results in my personal discomfort or even a heart-wrenching level of pain, am I willing to love well anyway?

Father, thank You for Your love - a love that never fails and never gives up on me. You are the perfect example of a great love - a love that is offered full-strength even when love is not given in return. Help me to love like You. I want to honor You by doing my best to love others in the way You have loved me - even when it hurts. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

1 John 4:11, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (ESV)

1 Corinthians 13:13, "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (ESV)

RELATED RESOURCES:

Kingdom Woman by Tony Evans and Chrystal Evans Hurst will encourage and challenge you to be transformed by God's truth, seek His best and move forward in the abundant life He has for you.

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

Would the people closest to you say that you love them well? Why or why not?

Think of one person in your life who is hard to love. What one thing can you do today to love them anyway?

Source: Encouragement for Today

by Mel Lawrenz

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After 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 13:1-5)

The final drama was drawing near. The disciples went to the upper room where they would have the Passover meal and Jesus would teach them about things to come. Jesus "knew that the time had come." He knew that "the Father had put all things under his power" and that he was returning to God. Satan had already entered the heart of the betrayer, Judas Iscariot. With the stage thus set, Jesus chose to do a most peculiar thing. He removed his outer garment, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water in a basin, and began to wash his disciples' feet.

Foot washing was not unusual in that world of dusty paths and dry air. What was unusual was for the master to do this for all his followers at this moment when everything held in the balance.

"Do you understand what I have done for you?" Jesus asked. "I am Lord. I am Master. Yet if I serve you in this way, surely you can serve each other. And if you do, you will be blessed."

Love each other. Care for each other. Serve each other. Do the dirty work for each other. Humble yourself before each other. Expend yourself for each other.

One more time Jesus showed the disciples what it means to be a disciple. And he also knew that only on the other side of the cross, when they would see just how far Jesus' service would go, would they understand it all.

Ponder This: What would your reaction have been if Jesus approached you in order to wash your feet?

by Dr. Ray Pritchard

Gospel: John 13:6-10

Thursday night
In the Upper Room
In Jerusalem

The disciples gather with Jesus for their final meal. They are all there-James and John, Judas, Peter, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon the Zealot, and all the rest. Reclining around the low table, they chatter in a nervous tone. The men know that something is up. Jesus seems pensive and quiet. He talks, but it seems as if he has something on his mind, and indeed he does. Jesus, as he eats that meal, knows that before long Judas will come with a kiss, the Roman soldiers will come to arrest him, and soon he will stand before Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate. In less than twelve hours he will be hanging on a cross. The conversation goes on back and forth and Jesus listens.

Suddenly he stands up, takes off his tunic, and wraps a towel around his waist. Taking a basin of water, he goes to the end of the table and kneels down. Without a word he takes the feet of one of the disciples, brushes the dirt off, and washes them with water, one foot at a time. When he is finished, he takes the towel and wipes the feet dry. He goes to the next one and does the same thing. In the room there is silence. No one dares to speak. They cannot believe what Jesus is doing.

I. Foot washing was a sign of common courtesy.

What seems odd to us would not have seemed odd in the first century. Because most people wore sandals and the roads were dusty, even a short trip meant that your feet ended up dirty. The Romans had built such a fine road system ("all roads lead to Rome" was more than a slogan) that some of those roads are still in use today. After constructing a road from one city to another, they put a kind of dirt on the road that provided a smooth finish. But that dirt left indelible marks on anyone who walked on the roadway. So it was common in the ancient world to provide a basin of water for visitors to wash their feet. The custom goes back so far that the first four mentions of the word "feet" in the Bible involve washing dirty feet (Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24). In each case the water was provided so that the visitors could wash their own feet. This was simply common courtesy in those days. And in fact not to offer water for a guest to wash his feet would be a breach of etiquette and an act of unkindness to a guest.

We see this clearly in Luke 7:36-50 when Jesus visits the home of Simon the Pharisee. A pleasant dinner was interrupted when a woman who had been a prostitute comes and kneels at Jesus' feet, weeping because of her love for him, and then drying his feet with her long hair. Simon was scandalized by this shocking, outrageous behavior. But knowing he was thinking, Jesus rebukes Simon with these stinging words:

Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet (vv. 44-46).

The woman loved much because she had been forgiven much. Simon didn't see himself as a great sinner so he didn't even bother to offer Jesus the signs of common courtesy:

Water for his feet,
A kiss to welcome him,
Oil to anoint his head.

II. Foot washing was the work of slaves.

In those days you normally washed your own feet after the host offered you a basin of water. You knelt down, removed your sandals, washed your feet, and then dried them with a towel. If a man had servants, they might be delegated to do the job for you. This was the mark of a high achievement in society-that servants washed the feet of your guests. But under no circumstances would the host wash the feet of his guests. The master would never stoop so low as to wash the feet of those beneath him.

Slaves washed feet.
Masters never did.

III. Foot washing by definition is a dirty, smelly, humiliating business.

Feet stink when they are dirty.

That's a human fact, not a cultural observation. After a long, hard day your feet have absorbed a pounding. If you wear sandals, they have been exposed to dirt everywhere. If your feet are in socks, they are likely to be sweaty. And then you have all the usual foot problems-ingrown nails, corns, calluses, cracked heels, and for some people, fungus of various kinds.

It's no great revelation to say that most people don't pay much attention to their feet. And men definitely pay less attention than women. For men feet are those things attached to the bottom of our legs. We think about them when we buy shoes, and we think about them when they hurt, but that's about it. Lots of men go a lifetime without having a pedicure. For women it's a different matter. But still, most of us don't think much about our feet unless they're bothering us.

Have you ever tried to wash someone's feet at the end of a long, hot day? Have you ever tried to wash somebody‘s feet when they are covered with grime and sweat? Have you ever put your face right down next to an ingrown toenail? It's not an easy thing to do. Some groups observe foot washing as a church ordinance. I have no objection whatsoever to that practice and in fact think it can be a beautiful remembrance of that night in the Upper Room. But if you know you're going to a foot washing service, what do you first? You wash your feet! That's what I would do. We just naturally do that because we don't want someone having to wash our dirty, smelly feet.

But that's the whole point, isn't it?

If your feet aren't dirty, they don't need washing. If they need washing, someone has to stoop down and get up close and personal with your dirty feet. For most of us, that's a bit embarrassing and humiliating. Several years ago, when our oldest son Josh was spending his first year in China as an English teacher, the rest of the family took a trip to visit him in Beijing. We had a wonderful time and loved the country and the people. We visited the Forbidden Temple, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall of China. All very fascinating and amazing. One day Josh announced that we were all going to have a Chinese foot massage. I was skeptical but was promptly outvoted 4-1. So we took a taxi down to the main shopping district of Beijing where we found the foot massage establishment on the second floor of a building. It turned out to be a very nice setting. They seated each of us on a raised chair (like a barber chair) where we could watch TV or read magazines. They offered us tea and sandwiches. Eventually the foot massagers came out. Four women and one man. I ended up with a young lady who was maybe half my size. She looked up at me, smiled, and placed my feet in a pan of extremely hot tea, which evidently cleansed them and also took away most of the feeling. A few minutes later she came back and went to work-massaging, rubbing, stretching, pulling, prodding, and doing all manner of things to my feet, including popping my toes. At one point she looked to the side and made some of joke in Chinese. What can you do when someone is joking about your feet in a language you can't understand? She worked on my feet for a while, and came around behind me and massaged my neck and shoulders and upper arms. Marlene, Josh, Mark and Nick got the same treatment.

The whole experience lasted an hour and cost $12 per person. Even though all that rubbing made me sore, in the end my feet felt better than they had in months. In looking back on that experience, what I remember is how vulnerable it felt to have someone massaging my feet. It's humbling to have someone clean your feet even if you are paying for it.

IV. Feet represent the whole body.

This may not be apparent at first, but think about it. Your feet carry an enormous load. Did you know that the average person walks the equivalent of three times around the earth in a life time? And the foot itself is a complex mechanism made up of 23 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles and tendons. Whether you know it or not, your feet represent all of you. After all, wherever your feet go, the rest of you must follow.

If your feet hurt, your whole body hurts.
If your feet are cold, you are cold all over.
If your feet are dirty, you can't feel clean until your wash your feet.

Your feet take you anywhere you want to go. That's why the Bible says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:15) In our bedroom we have a picture of two pairs of feet. One is masculine and a bit rough-looking. The other is small and well-manicured. The first belongs to Josh, the second to Leah. Josh took the picture of their feet standing side-by-side. The picture is engraved with the words "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" And indeed, those feet are beautiful to us.

V. Foot washing exposes the heart for all to see.

Because the feet are a humble part of the body, washing them touches us deeply and reveals our truest feelings. That's why Peter reacted so strongly when Jesus approached him with the towel and the basin (John 13:6). In Greek the words are even stronger than in English. The words "you" and "my" are put in an emphatic position, as if Peter is saying, "You my feet are washing?" But even that doesn't express the shock Peter felt. "How can it be that you my Lord should wash the feet of someone like me?" Peter felt that this was simply not right, that somehow the roles had been reversed. It violated all that he had been taught for Jesus to touch his dirty feet. This simply could not happen.

By the way, this is one of the longest conversations between Peter and Jesus. And everything Peter says is wrong. Don't you love Peter? He swings from one extreme to another. The more Peter talks, the more confused he gets. First he is shocked (v. 6), then he flatly refuses for Jesus to wash his feet (v. 8), then he tells Jesus to wash his hands and his head too (v. 9). He speaks out of confusion born of frustration and complete misunderstanding. Nothing that Jesus says or does makes sense to him.

In verse 8 he refuses Jesus in the strongest language possible. He uses so many negatives that we can't translate it very well into English. It means something like, "You will never, ever wash my feet, not now, not ever, absolutely not." To which Jesus calmly replies, "Fine, but if I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me" And that's when Peter impulsively says, "Go ahead. Give me a bath. Wash me all over."

God bless Peter. He doesn't understand, but he wants Jesus to know that he loves him wants to be his disciple through and through.

That's what I mean when I say that foot washing exposes the heart. The lack of water for foot washing exposed Simon the Pharisee's callous indifference. Peter's confusion reveals the depth of his dedication. He wants to follow Jesus with clean feet, a clean heart, and with every other part of his body.

Don't miss the fact that according to John 13:4 the meal was already underway when Jesus began washing the disciples' feet. But the time for foot washing normally came before the meal. Why hadn't they washed each other's feet? Why hadn't someone washed Jesus' feet? Why did they start the meal with dirty feet? No doubt the events of the final few days had distracted them. But we get a greater clue from Luke 22:24, which tells us that in the Upper Room after Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper, "a dispute arose among them as to which of them was to be considered the greatest." Can you imagine that? Jesus has just revealed that he would give his body and blood for them, and now they are all looking out for number one. No wonder they didn't wash each other's feet. No wonder it was left to Jesus. The Master must become the servant of all so these big shots will understand who he really is and why he came to the earth.

VI. Foot washing pictures Christ's death on the cross.

That's what Jesus meant when he told Peter, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand" (v. 7). The dirt on their feet symbolized the dirt they all carried on the inside. The outer stain from the dusty roads mirrored the inner stain of sin no washing with water could ever remove. Jesus putting on the servant's towel pictured his willingness to die the death of a common criminal. And the water stood for his blood that cleanses from sin. The washing itself stands for the "washing of regeneration" (see Titus 3:5) whereby our sins are washed away. That's why Jesus told Peter that his feet must be washed or he would not have any part in him (v. 8). As long as Christ is outside of us, all that he has done for the world is of no value to us. It's not enough to say, "I believe that there was a person named Jesus who lived and died 2000 years ago." On that night in the Upper Room, it was not enough to say, "I like the idea of Jesus washing feet; I just don't want him washing my feet." As long as you stand apart from Christ, all the knowledge and religious experience in the world makes no difference.

Charles Spurgeon points out that Peter's many spiritual advantages made no difference:

He was humble but humility is not enough.
He experienced miracles but miracles are not enough.
He heard Christ teach but knowledge is not enough.
He walked with Christ but merely being close to him was not enough.
He performed acts of service but doing good was not enough.
He saw Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration but spiritual experiences are not enough.
He was full of enthusiasm for Jesus but even that was not enough.

Peter must humbly submit to having his feet washed by the Son of God, and he must do it even though he did not fully understand it. In the same way coming to Christ is like having our feet washed. We must come to him, dirty and unclean, embarrassed by the stain of sin we cannot remove, and we must do nothing at all while Christ does the work for us.

Coming to Christ is like having our feet washed.

We cannot wash away our own sin. Christ must do that for us. Many of our hymns speak to this truth:

"What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

"There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains."

"Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today."

"Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow."

VII. Foot washing shows our need for continual cleansing.

Jesus came to a world of dirty feet.

Our journey through life is much dirtier than we think. You never know what you might step in that will leave you defiled and unclean. We don't like to think about that but it is true. No matter how hard we may try to stay clean, we are all dirtier than we think, and we end each day dirtier than when we started.

That's why Jesus told Peter that although he was clean already, he still needed to have his feet washed. "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet" (v. 10). Two different words are used here-one meaning a complete bath and the other meaning to wash something. Coming to Christ is like taking a bath. We are made clean as our sin is washed away. But we still need daily cleansing by the blood of Christ.

No matter how hard we may try to stay clean, we are all dirtier than we think.

This pictures both our daily defilement through sin and our ongoing need for cleansing. We learn from this that we only need to be saved once. But because we sin every day, we need daily cleansing. We need to have the dirt removed from our feet.

When we come to Christ, the guilt of our sin is removed forever. Because we live in a dirty world, we need cleansing every day.

Regeneration cannot be repeated.
Cleansing must be repeated.

Think about the course of your life over the last 24 hours:

You have said things you ought not to have said.
You have responded unkindly or too quickly.

Through his bloody death on the cross Christ provides all that we need, now and forever.

You have done things you ought not to have done.
You have left undone acts of mercy.
You have not been perfect, nor have I.

That's why we need what Jesus offers. We need to be cleansed again every day. We need salvation that takes away the guilt of sin and provides for daily cleansing. Jesus fits us for heaven, he removes the guilt of sin, and he daily cleanses us from every sin when we call on him (1 John 1:9). Thus through his bloody death on the cross Christ provides all that we need, now and forever.

For many years I had heard that Martin Luther said that we should "sin boldly," but I never knew the context of that seemingly outrageous statement. Then I ran across this quote from letter Luther wrote to his friend Philip Melanchthon on August 1, 1521:

We are not imaginary sinners!

God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. . . . It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins?

If we are shocked by this, perhaps we have never appreciated the depth of our sin. And until we see the depth of our sin, we will never appreciate the great sacrifice our Lord made when he died on the cross.

Brothers and sisters, we are not imaginary sinners!

We are great sinners who need a great Savior. And we have one in Jesus Christ who stooped so low that he was not ashamed to wash our dirty feet.