St Ursula's Church
Berne, Switzerland
A Church of the Anglican Communion, welcoming all who seek the Lord Jesus Christ
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| St Ursula's Church A Church of the Anglican Communion, welcoming all who seek the Lord Jesus Christ | ||||||||
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Notes for this service
1. As you prepare to join in with this service, it might help you to have a bowl of water and a towel in front of you as this will be referred to during the sermon.
2. As is traditional, this service ends without a blessing, but ends instead with the Gospel of the Watch.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 13.34
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
and also with you.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
'if you love me, keep my commandments.'
'Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.'
Let us confess to almighty God our sins against his love and ask him to cleanse us.
Silence is kept
Have mercy on us, O God,
in your great goodness;
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out our offences.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Against you only have we sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Purge us from our sin and we shall be clean;
wash us and we shall be whiter than snow.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
God our Father,
you have invited us to share in the supper
which your Son gave to his church
to proclaim his death until he comes;
may he nourish us by his presence,
and unite us in his love;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 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.
23 Beloved, I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you O Lord.
1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Social distancing is painful. We can no longer meet with friends, hug and embrace them. We must keep our physical distance. Many of us are deprived of sharing a meal with family and friends, and some of us are deprived of physical touch. In some households, family members are self-isolating from one another and avoiding touching one another; some people live alone and have no physical contact with anyone at all.
On Maundy Thursday we usually gather to celebrate the Eucharist and remember Jesus' last supper with his disciples, as he shares with them the Passover meal. During the service it is traditional for the priest to wash the feet of several members of the congregation to remember Jesus stooping down to wash his disciples' feet. It is an especially physical service as we not only share the bread and wine but also have our feet washed. Of course this year we cannot do these symbolic physical actions; we cannot even meet together to worship.
Some of us may find it very difficult indeed not to receive the bread and wine regularly. Perhaps for all of us, the fact that we cannot receive communion at the moment may make us reflect afresh on its significance for us and the mysterious way God nourishes us through the bread and wine. At the last supper, Jesus gave the bread and wine to his disciples saying 'this is my body' and 'this is my blood' and told them to continue to do this in remembrance of him. Not being able to share the bread and wine together is a real loss to us. We know that God meets us in his grace in other ways, nevertheless the Eucharist is central to our life as the body of Christ and we look forward to being able to celebrate communion together again in the future.
However, I want us to focus in this sermon, not so much on the meaning of the bread and the wine, which, in normal times, we share every Sunday, but on the footwashing which we remember particularly at this service, once a year.
I would like to encourage you to use your imagination as we reflect on our gospel reading. If you are able to, put out a bowl of warm water and a towel to help you picture Jesus washing his disciples' feet.
In one sense this is a homely scene: Jesus shares a meal with his friends and during supper their dusty, tired and smelly feet are washed. In dry and dusty conditions people had to have their feet washed regularly - though this rather unpleasant job would usually be done by a slave. But this scene is not of course just that of a homely meal. There is a dark backdrop. Jesus knows that the hour of his death is near and that one of those closest to him will betray him. Indeed the sense of gathering darkness is made explicit in some of the words missed out of our reading this evening. Jesus speaks to Judas after he has received his bread and dipped it in the dish, knowing that he is about to betray him. And we're told that Judas immediately went out. 'And it was night'.
So Jesus knows his hour is almost come; his death approaches. Jesus, as John emphasises, is the one who has come from God and the one who will return to God, yet he is also the one who wraps a towel around his waist and stoops to wash his disciples feet. I am reminded of our reading from Philippians last Sunday. Jesus was in the form of God but did not grasp that status but humbled himself, being born in human likeness, and taking the form of a servant, a slave. Here he is in this gospel scene, taking the role of the slave and bending down to wash his disciples' feet.
When it comes to Peter's turn, he is so appalled he cannot keep quiet. He is incredulous: 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Then he responds with determined resistance, 'You will never wash my feet!' This just cannot be right. Jesus is their teacher, their Lord. How can he wash their feet? They should be washing his feet, as in fact, Mary of Bethany had already done, as recorded in the previous chapter of John's gospel.
I wonder how we would have felt if Jesus had knelt to wash our feet? Many people are particularly embarrassed by their feet, viewing them as misshapen, smelly and unsightly, so they like to keep them hidden. Look at the bowl of water and the towel and even (if you can bear it) at your own naked feet. Can you imagine Jesus bending down to wash your feet? How would you respond? Perhaps we would feel a little like Peter.
But Jesus' response to Peter's resistance is: 'unless I wash you, you have no share with me.' He is not here simply talking about Peter's need to have his dirty feet washed. These words have a much deeper meaning. Jesus insists that Peter cannot be his disciple, cannot follow him and share his life, unless he is washed, that is cleansed, deep within.
Look back at the bowl of water in front of you. We all know that washing dirty feet with such water will make them clean. It may not get rid of bunions and swellings and sore toe nails, but it will make them clean on the surface and relax the muscles. And that can bring a wonderful sense of relief. I think of the luxurious feeling of washing tired feet after a long walk in the mountains. At the moment, of course, we are not able to go for long mountain walks and washing feet may not seem too much of a priority. However, we all know about the importance of washing our hands and may be doing this thoroughly up to 30 times a day, or more. Washing our hands thoroughly will not only remove the dirt we can see, but can even get rid of the virus we cannot see.
But, we know that however much washing we do ourselves, we cannot get rid of our past mistakes, the foolish words we have spoken, the ways we have hurt others, the wrong choices we have made, attitudes and actions of which we are ashamed and keep hidden away from others and even from ourselves.
What Jesus offers us is a complete cleansing. Look at the bowl of water again and try to name before God those attitudes and actions for which you need his cleansing and forgiveness. It may be that in this enforced confinement with so much less to distract us, that we all have a keener sense of our own failures and sins. We may come face to face with our greed and addictions, or we may be confronted by our bad temper, unkindness and critical spirit. Look at the water in front of you and try to name before God those areas of your life and heart which need his cleansing and forgiveness.
We are cleansed and forgiven through Jesus' death on the cross. His forgiveness, his cleansing is freely offered to all. His forgiveness even embraces his enemies. Jesus prays from the cross for those who are taunting him and torturing him, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' We may not think of ourselves as 'enemies' of Jesus, but we all know that we fail in following Jesus, as the first disciples did. This service ends without a blessing, but ends instead with the Gospel of the Watch, telling of Peter and the disciples deserting Jesus. Jesus is left alone. As he faces the cross, he is deserted by everyone.
I said earlier that social distancing is painful. We may feel very isolated and lonely. But we are not alone, because Jesus is always present with us through his Spirit. He offers us his cleansing, healing love – a love which cost him his very life. Yes, he is always present with us, even in the darkest and most painful times, even in the most godforsaken places, but we are not always present to him.
Let us ask for forgiveness, this Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, for the ways we resist him and desert him. But let us remember too his nearness, his love, his forgiveness and his cleansing.
I want to end with the final lines of Malcolm Guite's poem for Maundy Thursday. You can find the whole poem below:
'The God of love is kneeling at our feet.
Though we betray him, though it is the night,
He meets us here and loves us into light.'
| Maundy Thursday |
|---|
| Here is the source of every sacrament,
The all-transforming presence of the Lord, Replenishing our every element Remaking us in his creative Word. For here the earth herself gives bread and wine, The air delights to bear his Spirit's speech, The fire dances where the candles shine, The waters cleanse us with His gentle touch. And here He shows the full extent of love To us whose love is always incomplete, In vain we search the heavens high above, The God of love is kneeling at our feet. Though we betray Him, though it is the night. He meets us here and loves us into light. (Malcolm Guite) |
Jesus said: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you". We all want to show our love for God's creation – for one another, so let us pray now for the Church and for the world:
O Lord, hear our prayer.
On the night he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ washed his disciples' feet. He said, "Unless I wash you, you have no part in me." We pray for the Church, the body of Christ, that all may follow his example of love and service. On this night, he prayed for his disciples to be one. We pray for the unity of the Church.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
On this night, our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to love one another, but he suffered rejection himself. We pray for the rejected and unloved. We pray for all those who suffer because of the greed and selfishness of others. Give us the will to be the servant of others as our Lord was the servant of all.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
On this night, our Lord Jesus Christ shared a meal with his friends. You have invited us to share in this special supper. Today we cannot physically share a meal together, but we remember one another and thank you for our friends, families and community and the ways we can share together.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
During his ministry on earth, our Lord Jesus Christ healed sick people and cared for the outcasts. We pray now for all who are suffering and carrying the burdens of sickness, grief, or anxiety – themselves or for others. Guide them all towards freedom and wholeness.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters; for it is written,
'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." 29 Peter said to him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not." 30 Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." 31 But he said vehemently, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And all of them said the same.
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38 Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41 He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."
43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." 45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled." 50 All of them deserted him and fled.
51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.
53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. 56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58 "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'" 59 But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" 61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62 Jesus said, "I am; and
'you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power,'
and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'"
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?" All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65 Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!" The guards also took him over and beat him.
66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth." 68 But he denied it, saying, "I do not know or understand what you are talking about." And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. 69 And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." 70 But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean." 71 But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about." 72 At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept.