Thursday of Holy week 9th April.
Collect for today (from the Prayer Book)
Grant, Lord, that we who receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ may be the means by which the work of his salvation shall go forward; take, consecrate, break and distribute us, to be for all people a means of your grace and vehicles of your eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. This reading is perhaps best known as, ‘the words of institution’. They are often said as the congregation prepares for Holy Communion. In this reading we are taken back to the events just prior to the crucifixion and Paul is bringing these events to mind for his people. Firstly we are reminded that it is a received word in other words it is an event that has been handed down directly from Jesus himself. As we celebrate Communion we are linking back to this primary event and doing as Jesus did. Communion is like a golden thread which links the whole Christian church together. We are a unity for all of us look back to this one tradition. In the Last Supper the Lord himself looked back to the Passover meal which went right back to the earliest Jewish origins. In this Passover Meal God declared the Covenant of Rescue encapsulated by the words, “I will be their God, they shall be my people.” In the Lord’s Supper Jesus said that it marked the beginning of the new Covenant. Through Jesus, God is the God of all people and all who believe in Jesus come under God’s salvation. The words of institution are not only words, as a received tradition we also believe that as the Supper is constituted Jesus himself is present with His people. As the Basis of Union says, speaking of the sacraments. “Christ himself acts in and through everything that the Church does in obedience to his commandment:”
For us, as we reflect on the events of Holy Week are reminded again that despite what Jesus had to face he was intentionally reminding his core followers that this event, this death and subsequent resurrection was instrumental to everything that God was doing. Each time we celebrate Holy Communion we look back to this key event but we also look forward to the final event when Jesus Christ will return and become Lord of all. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26 NRSV
Prayer: Lord as we remember sharing communion with our community of the faithful we also remember the times when we have seemed so very close to you. In the sacraments you come very near to us, indeed you are present with us in a very real sense. So in this moment, though we are a scattered community grant to us that sense of your presence, that your hope and consolation will fill our hearts and minds and lift us above this present situation into the amazing sense that we are all united together in prayer and adoration. You alone are the one true God and in you alone we find all that we need for daily living. So dear Lord, refresh us and renew us. May we be strengthened to serve you in all that we are able to do. We ask in Jesus name. Amen
Read. John 13:1-15. This is a challenging reading. John pictures the action of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in the middle of their final supper together. In the culture of the day it was the action of the lowliest servant. In a dusty climate with dirty walkways and roads to wash your feet would bring a feeling of relief. Jesus chooses this most special of moments to perform this act. We have seen key church leaders symbolically washing the feet of people in a church setting, but this was not what John is describing. Here we have a real washing, a real cleansing and a true act of humble service. No wonder Peter draws back from letting Jesus touch his dirty feet: But Jesus is determined and will not let him withdraw. Notice too that Jesus washes all of their feet including Judas as John makes perfectly clear. The comfort of cleansed feet is given to each one. We can marvel at this lowly action on this momentous occasion. However Jesus then goes on to say that this is what I want you to do, this is how I want you to act. In what is a special time, one could say a sacred time in the best possible sense, Jesus sets aside his teaching role and takes up leadership through the humblest service. And that is surely the challenge for each Christian to be prepared to serve as the lowest, not striving always to be on top. It goes alongside of the command to love without exception. As we approach the festival of Easter and rejoice in all that Jesus has achieved on our behalf it is to strengthen us for lowly service. We are not called to be in charge but to serve the Lord and attend to the needs of those around us. At Easter we are transferred from the kingdom that promotes struggle and strife into the kingdom of the Lord who brings peace and blessing: We can do this only under his leadership.
Prayer. Holy Lord as we consider the challenge of humble service help us always to look to your leadership in our lives. Help us Lord to be ready to renounce worldly ambition and unworthy methods and trust only in your direction and power. Grant to us Lord the willingness to always work together in a harmony that promotes your Lordship. May we keep in focus the good news of all that has been achieved through your death and resurrection. Show us the way that we should go through the direction of your Holy Spirit. Grant us the courage and the insight to follow your leadership without hesitation. Take us by the hand and lead us into the glorious future that is ours because of Easter. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
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