Making Love manifest

 Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom

Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021

Psalm 116:1,10-17;1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17,31b-35

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

It is Maundy Thursday. I want nothing more than to be gathered in the same place as you all. To honor the holiness of this day by washing each other’s hands or feet and by breaking bread together. Oh how we do not realize how much the tangible aspects of our faith matter until we cannot share them with each other. We are embodied. We worship a God who was incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Our bodies matter. Touch matters. To feel the water on our skin matters. To taste the bread matters. To sip the wine matters. All of it matters. 

There is lament on this day. Lament for what is not possible. Lament because this is Holy Week. Lament for a week and a world that have reminded us of the horrors we human beings can inflict upon each other. The tragedy of gun violence. The trial of the officer who killed George Floyd. We have been reminded of the realities of loss and oppression all too well this week. But that is not all we remember today. 

It is Maundy Thursday. Maundy from the Latin for “Mandate” - for the new commandment that we have been given. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’” At its foundation, at its heart, that is what today is about. 

The pouring of the water. The gentle touch of a towel. The feel of the bread in our hand. The sharing of the cup. All of those are expressions of love. They are merely tangible manifestations that point us to that far deeper and more profound truth. Ah. There it is. The reminder I found myself searching for in the midst of all the lament and loss of this week, of this season. As much as I wish to be gathered in person. As much as I wish to share the water, the bread, and the wine. Those things, those tangible realities are not the point. Love is the point. That beautiful truth. That profound reality - that we are beloved of God. So beloved that God would give anything, give everything, to show us the depth of that love. That love is not contingent on anything. It does not require us to do something. It does not require water or bread or wine to show up. The love of God is present with us, always - wherever we are. 

Now I do not want to discount the tangible manifestations of God’s love. Just because we cannot have the ones we are used to, the ones we expect, the ones we long for, does not mean we are without signs of God’s love. It does not mean we cannot make God’s love manifest for each other. 

Indeed my friends, you have been doing just that, making the love of God manifest here in this chapel space for over a year. You make it manifest with your smiles, with your words, your presence. With your trust, your tears, your grace. And I know that this time is a mere glimpse into the rest of your lives, and it consoles my spirit to know that you are making that love known in the world throughout your day, wherever you are. 

We have a new commandment. A foundational commandment. Love one another. Make God’s love manifest in the world. Let the depth of this day, of this week, of this season, of this reminder of just how profoundly we are loved by God - a love that is an outpouring, a self-giving, a love that is not earned. A love that is not contingent on anything. Let this love fill your hearts, so that you may continue to go about your lives making it manifest for all the world to see. The world needs that love. Today and always. Amen.