5th April 2007Maundy Thursday

Fr Julian Browning

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Maundy Thursday comes from Mandatum Novum, the new commandment which Jesus gives us today.

Maundy Thursday has a very special character, it has a warmth and beauty and peace about it unlike any other day. Our procession through Holy Week halts here, just for a while. It is the calm before the storm. It is the peace before the violence. It is the beauty before the disfigurement. The three ceremonies, the washing of the disciples' feet, the acceptance by this parish of the holy oils blessed by the bishop, and the last supper, are all the more moving because we know what's coming next. And we know, that when it comes to the crunch, we shall, like the disciples, run away. The last supper indeed. There's a dream which all priests have as keen young things in fashionable black straight out of the box, of being one of God's servants bringing good news and healing to the world; not quite perfect but more perfect than others. It's a dream all Christians have, that we can do it, we are keen, we are empowered. And it's real, it's true. But the world is not on our side, and a sort of corrosion sets in. It's not a loss of faith. It's a loss of confidence, and sort of disappointment that we have not turned out as we hoped. Like the disciples, at the first sign of danger, we have forsaken Christ and fled. The Gospels show us as we are.

Today the Gospels show us Jesus at the point of no return. This is the point when Jesus Christ hands over to us and all mankind His Body and His Blood. Holy Week is not much fun for the squeamish, because it is about a Body which is broken and Blood which is shed. It is about a body of disciples which is about to be broken up by betrayal, denial, fear and death. There is no going back. So there's no going back for us either. The words, This is my Body, bring into being, out of a broken world, a new community. The words did it, just as the words do it at an eucharist. St.Augustine said, 'Words, those precious cups of meaning'. The words heal the divided community, they welcome us home again each time, forgiven, made whole. What was it that was so special about the Last Supper? What was the magic? I'll tell you. Jesus took his fate, the suffering and death that lay ahead, and showed it to us as freedom, freedom to belong, freedom to give your life away, freedom to make your life into a gift. That is what the Mass does, in so far as we let it happen, it sets us free to live with God's life.

Maundy Thursday is the day on which we are given this new freedom. By celebrating the Last Supper, Jesus announces the coming of the Kingdom. From now on we shall be the Body of Christ, not just looking back and recalling a Passover story, but looking forward, anticipating the Kingdom of the future. Another way of understanding this is to think of the Kingdom of God, so long awaited by each of us, breaking through into our own lives, and Jesus saying this is where you belong. In this Kingdom God takes a risk, the greatest risk ever taken, and He gives us a new responsibility which will change us and change the world. And He does it today, at this hour. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. This is my Body which will be given up for you. This is my work I am giving you, this is my life I am entrusting to you. Jesus takes the risk of putting his life in our hands, as we take his life literally in our hands at communion. Living with his life is so important to us now, so necessary for our dream of being a servant of God to be fulfilled, that at the end of this service we follow him to the Garden of Gethsemane. Where he goes we must try to follow. The dream we thought we had lost, corroded by the world, becomes real again. We are doing what God has asked us to do. No deep thoughts necessary, just watching. No need for self-congratulation afterwards. We're doing in a liturgical form what we should be doing all our lives, being aware of Jesus being close to us, for just as we ask for his company and fellowship in our lives, so He asks for ours.

Maundy Thursday comes from Mandatum Novum, the new commandment which Jesus gives us today. I give you a new commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. It is addressed to us individually, but also as a church. The oils are a sign of what this church can do. We can heal, we can open the gate of heaven, through forgiveness we can change ourselves and others. It's a commission to each and to all of us. Although the washing of feet, the breaking of bread, the watch at the altar of repose are acted out, it is not just a sacred drama. The liturgy speaks to us about how human lives can be led, even now. It's a hopeful, very special day. In the middle of this dreadful week, with his enemies gathering  together, in the shadow of the cross, Jesus starts to speak of joy: 'I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.' In the shadow of death, he speaks of joy. And in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays for us. So let us pray to Him: Look graciously upon us, O Lord, and give us thoughts that pass into prayer, prayers that pass into love, and love that passes into life with you for ever. Amen.