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Sermon:
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There’s something really satisfying about 3 act story structures. We see it in Dante’s The Divine Comedy. We see it in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. We see it in a lot of modern Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Young Adult novels. We even see it in Pop Culture phenomena like Star Wars.
I mention this structure because it helps understand what today is really about. Though we do hear about it in Paul’s 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, Maundy Thursday isn’t simply a day when we remember the Last Supper. If that were the case, Luke’s account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper wouldn’t be an alternate Gospel reading; it would instead be the primary one. No, our Gospel comes from John with the Washing of Feet. At the very end of this Gospel, we hear Jesus giving a “new command”, to “love one another as I have loved you.” Maundy or “mandate” derives its name from this command.
Today is really the first book, if you will, of a trilogy, the Triduum as it is called. It is the first of 3 services, once celebrated as one giant 3 day celebration. These services are today with Maundy Thursday, tomorrow with Good Friday, and finally the celebration of the Great Vigil of Easter. All 3 of these stories tell of Jesus’ final hours with the Disciples, His trial and Death, and His Resurrection. This is not unlike the Original Star Wars Trilogy with suffering yet hope under the Empire, devastating loss, and the final victory for Good.
We do not, and cannot, celebrate this night without the full context of the Triduum of services. This night isn’t simply about celebrating the institution of the Eucharist. It is about remembering all that Jesus did, including washing His Disciples’ feet, to prepare them for the times ahead. It is about calling them to love the way that Jesus loves them, the way Jesus loves us. We will see that love more fully tomorrow. We will see the result of that love at 3 days end.
At best, the look at the Last Supper today reminds us of its place in our wider Faith. That is why Paul’s account of the Institution begins with the context for the meal: “On the night in which He was betrayed”. When we celebrate this event each and every Sunday, it is not as a reminder of the Lord’s Supper in and of itself. We do so in the fullness of what this gathering means in the context of all the events of these next 3 days, that is, the love of Jesus who was willing to die for us and rose again.
Don’t limit the scope of what this day, this Maundy Thursday, is about. It’s not simply about Communion. It is about so much more. It is the start of Jesus’ great act of love. It is about Jesus leaving the message of that love in this final gathering with His Disciples. It’s about the start of that great Trilogy, the Triduum of services, which places itself at the core of our Faith.