Maundy Thursday, Year B Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." 12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 31 Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13.1-17, 31b-35 NRSV) “LAST SUPPER” We know that the combination of food, people, and a purpose is one of the powerful things in life. Those combinations form much of our lives together. They define who we are and go with us along the year, year after year, into the years of our whole lives. Take, for example, a group of family and friends with chips and dip and a big-screen TV in late January. They are gathered to watch the Super Bowl together. A couple with roses, strawberries dipped in chocolate, champagne, and love in the air in February. Celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. Cake, candles, a special song, and gifts and best wishes. A birthday. Burgers, potato salad, brats, and fireworks and a reminder of freedom. The Fourth of July. Formal attire, music, the promise of the future, and rings amid a huge crowd. A wedding. Turkey (or ham), stuffing, prayers of gratitude, and a chill in the air. Thanksgiving. Holly, cider, a tree with lights, a child in a manger. Christmas, of course. We go through the year with these expected and sometimes unexpected holidays and events. We get together to join in the festivities of the seasons with loved ones and acquaintances, to eat familiar foods, do familiar things. There is something about celebrating these events that binds us together. This evening we hear again about the last supper of Jesus with his disciples. It was the time of Passover, when the Jewish people recall the deliverance from slavery in Egypt. They do it by coming together, telling the story, eating familiar things. We see the scene as depicted by Leonardo da Vinci in his painting. It is marvelous, but is it correctly named? Is this the last supper? In a way it is, as it is the last meal before our Lord’s death on the cross. The time had come for him to depart from the world, the Gospel says. But it is not the last supper. In three days he will be eating again, in a new way, with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The time will come when he will eat fish with them and have breakfast by the sea. And not only that, this meal is itself a commandment. The words of its institution tell us that we are to continue this meal until Christ returns. This, what we hear about in the Gospel, is not the final meal, not the last supper. It will continue on, as so many of our family and cultural traditions do, from generation to generation. Jesus leaves behind a community. They are joined together in belief in him and in the life he set out for them. He brought them together and will keep them together. He gives them commands to do that. One is that they love each other. That is the foundation. They also share many things. They share Jesus’ washing their feet. It is a reminder that Christ serves them. The master is willing to be their servant. They share in forgiveness. When Peter refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, he misunderstands. It is not a simple cleaning up after the day on the dusty roads he offers. It is to have a part in his work, his sacrifice for the world. They, and we, are to trust in that work for us. That is what brings them together. Jesus leaves behind a meal. It is simple meal, bread and wine, but behind it is the memory of who gave it to us. It is like the retelling of one’s romance, or life’s story, or the tale of our independence, or how the first settlers survived and were grateful, or Christmases past. It invokes the memory of the one who gave it to us and how we are thankful for God’s grace and hand on our lives. It is also the presence of Jesus with us, that as we celebrate this meal, he honors his promise to be with us in it. Jesus leaves behind a tradition. It is like the old purpose, to remind the people of long ago when God liberated them from slavery. But it is also new. The slavery we are freed from is slavery to sin, slavery to self, slavery to the world. It is a new life, putting aside the old one. It is a new freedom to be the people of God. It is to be passed down from generation to generation as the best tradition. All this is found in this sacred meal, this holy feast. It shows us who God is and who we are. It shows us the community to which we belong. Oscar Greene talks about how this meal brings past and present together. He is proud of his grandson Shawn who came with them to church on World Communion Sunday. At the age of eleven, this would be his first opportunity to take communion. Oscar thought back to the first time he took Communion over 70 years ago and how the sacrament never lost its meaning to him. He says this, “‘Do this in the remembrance of me,’ Christ said, and for nearly two thousand years, people have followed Him. Now it was Shawn’s turn.” This tradition was delivered to us, given to us so that we can take part in it. This evening we remember a supper. It was not the first. It is not the last. But it is one with everlasting significance. It gathers a community around it, as it has done over the centuries. That community continues on as the commands of the Lord are followed. It is one of special food, taken from the ordinary way we live our lives, but a reminder of God as the source of and support for our lives. That meal continues on as we hear the eternal word and promise of God. It is a sign of our freedom. That continues on as we live in Christ’s presence daily. This is not the last supper, but it is one that carries us into eternity.