"Maundy Thursday Homily"
Sermon Presented April 5, 2007
When I was young, schools and many businesses shut down for Good Friday. Baptists didn't have services, but the Catholics did and we knew why they went to church and why there was no school. Today, unless Good Friday is at the same time as Spring Break, public schools don't close and most people carry on with business as usual without considering what the day commemorates. Therefore the Church is obligated to either tell of Jesus' passion and death on Palm/Passion Sunday or incorporate it into the Maundy Thursday service. I chose to do the latter.
In Luke's account of the Passion, we see that Passover is near. The Chief Priests and scribes are looking for a way to kill Jesus, but they haven't because they fear the people. Judas gives them the opportunity by leading them to Jesus when he is away from the crowds - at Gethsemane.
Before that dastardly act of betrayal takes place, Jesus sends Peter and John to find a room and prepare the Passover meal. Before they eat, Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer! He serves wine and then blesses and breaks the bread. After dinner they drink more wine.
Then Jesus announces that one of them will betray him. After conjecturing over who that might be, they begin arguing over who is the greatest - last week's sermon! Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Jesus three times. Next they go to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prays in anguish as his disciples sleep. Suddenly the Jewish leaders arrive, led by Judas, and they arrest Jesus. They take him before the Council the next morning and send him to both Pilate and Herod. Neither sees any guilt in Jesus and they suggest a flogging and release. However, those gathered in the inner court shout for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus is then crucified between 2 criminals. He dies and his body is laid in a tomb before the Sabbath begins at sundown.
What is the guilt that Jesus' followers must face as they deal with his death? There is betrayal, denial, and abandonment while he hung on the cross. They feared for their lives and also feared that what they expected from Jesus - an earthly kingdom replacing the Roman rule - would not occur. They forgot that Jesus had told them that "If you want to be my disciple, then take up your cross and follow me." A cross was too painful and too humiliating.
I believe that we modern-day followers of Jesus face the same guilt as they. I believe that we follow when it is convenient and when it doesn't require too much sacrifice. I believe we follow until we get impatient with the speed of God's action and then abandon our quest to serve others as Jesus showed us. I believe that before Sunday, we need to ask God to show us our failures, and then repent, trusting that God will forgive us as God forgave those early disciples. Let's prepare to meet the risen Christ on Sunday!
