Emphasis Preaching Journal

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
This passage from Exodus comes from the biblical instructions for the Passover Seder meal: it is to be eaten hurriedly, "on the run," as it were. The loins are to be girded -- meaning the people are to pull up the hems of their long robes, and tie them around the waist (freeing the legs for running). Sandals on the feet, staff in hand: the people of Israel make ready to depart at a moment's notice.

There's a lesson for us in the ritual of the Passover meal. Compared to our society's fascination with the drive-through lane, this ancient remembrance of "fast food" has nothing to do with the random, chaotic way so many of us chow down on meals that come from paper wrappers and styrofoam cups. Far from being a random, distracted way of eating, the Passover meal is filled with intentionality and purpose. Every member of the Jewish community, that night, is focused on that story. Each one pledges to make ready to depart at a moment's notice, should the Lord require it. The feast concludes with an earnest admonition, spoken by one and all: "Next year ... in Jerusalem!"

There's a difference between being rushed and being ready. Fast food is rushed. The unleavened Passover bread and wine is a meal of readiness and holy expectation.

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
During Holy Week many churches act out various scenes of the Passion. Jane participated in the dramatic Passion narrative reading. She was a member of the crowd, her only line was to join the others in shouting, "Let him be crucified!" This part of the reading is frequently a significant moment for those who take part. Some are moved to tears as they say those words.

Some people find their faith rekindled or renewed after taking part in the Passion narrative. Following the worship service people were sharing how meaningful they found the service. People told how they felt when they shouted, "Let him be crucified!" At this point Jane said, "I just couldn't do it! I just couldn't say it! I just couldn't say such an awful thing!"

Her pastor reflects, "In her stubbornness, Jane could not identify herself as a sinner like everyone else. She could not admit that she, too, was capable of evil thoughts and deeds. She was preoccupied with her own virtue and could not see who Jesus is." If we cannot look at the cross, then we cannot look at ourselves either.

The Lord God instructed Moses concerning the Passover. This was a significant moment in their faith journey. It would be a life and death struggle for the people. God said, "This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance."

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
It might seem silly now, but at the time it seemed so important. The "Candy Girls" were a clique of eighth grade girls -- the in crowd. Girls who made the group proudly displayed a braid of green, red, and white yarn on their backpacks. That ribbon protected the wearer from the vengeance of the candy girls. There was no physical violence involved, but many girls who didn't live and move under the protection of the multi-colored yarn, were the target of gossip, innuendo, or shunned outright.

Far more serious was the first Passover, when the blood on the lintels saved the life of the firstborn.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
In medieval times, when Catholicism blanketed Europe and society demanded attendance at church, communion was occasionally withheld from laypeople as a punishment. To us today, that doesn't seem like a huge punishment, but for the people of the time, being cheated out of the Eucharistic feast was a huge deal. They needed their spiritual food. Today, while some churches serve communion each Sunday, some churches only serve communion once a month, and more liberal denominations even less than that. We remember Jesus other ways in our daily lives -- through prayer, reflection, devotions. But there is something about sharing the bread and body of our Lord that brings us together with our brothers and sisters in Christ right here in the sanctuary. It brings us together with Christians throughout history who have taken the bread and wine. It brings us together with Christ and his disciples at the Last Supper. Now imagine someone taking away that heritage. Small wonder that medieval Catholics were so upset -- by being deprived of the bread and wine, they were being deprived of a great symbol of their heritage in Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
I can't smell lilacs without thinking of myself as a schoolboy stepping from my parents' house and walking past the blooming lilacs. One smell and it's a spring morning and I'm young again, walking beyond the lawn and onto the street to catch the school bus. But more happens. I then think of the poem I was learning in high school: Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd," his poetic weeping for the death of Abraham Lincoln who was assassinated when the lilacs bloomed: April 14, 1865.

Smells, tastes, sounds, and especially songs and poems bring instant associations to our minds, as when we come to our Lord's table: smell of wine and bread, familiar words from our Lord. We immediately do what Jesus commands us: remember our leader who was executed in the spring. Here at this table we do more than remember or mourn, we pray and rejoice. Our leader is risen.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For the apostle Paul and for us today, holy communion is central to our worship service. We demonstrate a powerful message as we gather at this table, a sermon that speaks louder than any words can. This is the most sacred event that we as Christians participate in together. The story of the last meal Jesus and his disciples shared is simple one, yet with eternal implications.

It is truly humbling to realize that Jesus of Nazareth, King of kings, invites us to a celestial banquet in his honor. In these simple earthly elements of bread and wine, the risen Christ comes to us and is truly present to and for us. Jesus comes to us in a tangible way. Feel Jesus reaching out to welcome you, touching you, embracing you. You will not leave this table as the same person who came. You will have been changed eternally.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The basin of foot washing is not the only basin in the story of Jesus' Passion. There is another. A short time after the foot washing, Jesus was hauled before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate, too, took a basin: not to wash Jesus' feet, but to wash his own hands; not to serve, but to absolve himself from guilt in the travesty of justice that sent Jesus to the cross.

These two basins are worthy of our reflection: because, again and again, we have to choose between them. Do we, most often, choose the basin of humble discipleship? Or, do we choose the basin of guilty denial of responsibility: our responsibility to love and care for one another?

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Melvin acknowledges that Holy Week is a somber and subdued time as Christians recall the last earthy days of our Lord Jesus. On Maundy Thursday we remember the night our Lord was betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas. Another, Peter, the leader of the group would deny knowing him. In spite of knowing this Jesus longed to spend the evening with his friends. They ate together in the upper room. That night Jesus also knew that he would suffer and die; yet he continued to love his disciples. He challenged them to continue loving each other as he had loved them.

"I am moved by Christ's willingness to embrace suffering," Melvin reflects. "Even in the face of death, Jesus' primary concern continued to be doing the will of God."

At those times when Melvin is faced with making a difficult decision he remembers what took place that night. While acknowledging that he does not face anything as agonizing as crucifixion he is from time to time "tempted to take the easy way out." Every time he is tempted to do something wrong he claims that it makes it even harder to do the right thing next time.

Maundy Thursday reveals the strength of Jesus' character and the depth of his love for all people.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Gladys Stains is an example of a servant. Although her husband and two sons were murdered by Hindu extremists in March 1999, Gladys and her daughter remained in India and continued the work that she and her husband had been doing -- working with lepers through the Mayurbhanj leprosy home. As recently as 2007, Stains wrote a letter to the Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, asking for restored peace in Orissa. She is an example of one who follows the call of the Lord, even into dangerous situations.

Jesus set the example that we are to be servants of all people, stooping down to wash his disciples feet on the night in which he was betrayed.