{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Sermon - 4\/2\/26","description":"Year A \u2013 Maundy Thursday \u2013 April 2, 2026 Pastor Megan Floyd John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who loves us to the end. Amen. *** This is a somber night\u2026 somber for us, because we know what\u2019s coming. We are bracing ourselves for the wave of grief\u2026 over what we have done\u2026 and what we have left undone. We are bracing ourselves for the final moments before the cross\u2026 and we gather this evening to willingly dwell in that place of grief with Jesus, our Savior. And yet, let us also remember\u2026 that our story with Jesus is ultimately\u2026 a love story. It\u2019s a story so personal\u2026 so intimate\u2026 a story of our God who created us in love\u2026 and refused to allow us to drift away\u2026 and so, our God emptied themselves into the form of a slave\u2026 being born into human weakness\u2026 into the person of Jesus. And at every turn of his life on earth\u2026 Jesus subverted the usual power structures. On this night\u2026 we gather\u2026 we gather with the disciples around the table\u2026 a table of celebration\u2026 they don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming, but Jesus does. We gather around the table with Jesus, as Jesus does his very best to say farewell to his disciples\u2026 to his friends\u2026 whom he loves\u2026 completely. Jesus is imploring them to understand what he has taught them through his preaching\u2026 and shown them with his actions. Jesus is intent\u2026 and they can feel the tension\u2026 the heaviness in the air\u2026 the importance of their meal together\u2026 even if they don\u2019t fully understand why. This night\u2026 it feels different. And yet\u2026 how could they have known it was their last night with Jesus as he was? And then\u2026 \u201cHaving loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.\u201d \u2026to the end\u2026 not only a great, heavenly love, but\u2026 he loved them to completion\u2026 Jesus loves them\u2026 and loves us\u2026 with a fullness that began with the creation of the world\u2026 and continues to the end of the ages\u2026 Jesus loves them to the end. And knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, Jesus took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself\u2026 He poured water into a basin\u2026 and began to wash his disciples\u2019 feet. I can imagine the silent wonder of those whose feet Jesus washed first\u2026 not daring to say a word. But I think\u2026 I think I would have reacted like Peter\u2026 horrified at the idea of Jesus lowering himself to wash my feet! Having our feet exposed\u2026 and washed by another\u2026 it\u2019s vulnerable and awkward\u2026  and if you feel that way, too, you\u2019re not alone! And yet\u2026 this is what Jesus does. Jesus\u2026 our God incarnate\u2026 through his life and ministry\u2026 through his actions and his love\u2026 gives us a vision and an understanding of who God is. Our God is one who loves us enough to come close to us\u2026 who shows us how to love each other through humble service\u2026 but also\u2026 how to receive love in return. And as Jesus also washed the feet of Judas\u2026 he shows us how to even love those who would betray us\u2026 that is how deeply we are called to love. On this special night\u2026 we are called by Jesus\u2026 commanded\u2026 to not only love and serve others\u2026 but to allow ourselves to be loved\u2026 to both give and receive\u2026 service and care\u2026 and love. This life as a disciple\u2026 it\u2019s not all toil and suffering\u2026 it is a life of reciprocal love\u2026 and in that mutuality\u2026 in that holy community with others\u2026 there is joy! The kind of joy that bubbles up from the relief of bearing the weight of our shared need\u2026 of daring to be vulnerable with another, and being met with love, just as Christ has loved us. That is what Christ Jesus has shown us\u2026 this life of discipleship\u2026 is full of wonder\u2026 and love\u2026 and joy. And every day we live into this truth\u2026 every day we are made clean\u2026 and sent again by Jesus to walk in the world\u2026 to walk in the light of this commandment to love others as we ourselves are loved. However, the commandment to love others is not itself new\u2026 it is ancient and foundational for our relationship with God. But what is new\u2026 on this night\u2026 is how we now understand this command through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus\u2026 through how he cared for others, especially those who were most vulnerable\u2026 the outcast\u2026 the sick\u2026 the poor\u2026 the widows and children. And how through Jesus, God revealed the depth and strength of this love that we both receive and share. For as we practice bearing one another in love, we also practice receiving love from God. And as we practice humble service for one another, we also practice receiving what we need from the Holy Spirit. As we practice bearing another\u2019s vulnerability with tender loving care, we practice allowing our spirit to be vulnerable and true with our Creator, who loves us to the end\u2026 who loves us\u2026 to completion. This is the beauty and joy in Jesus\u2019 commandment to love\u2026 that as we practice this love for others, we grow in love for both ourselves\u2026 and for God. And as we practice loving others as we love ourselves, we more fully recognize the presence of God in each person, and the light of Christ that dwells in ourselves. So on this night\u2026 this somber and beautiful night\u2026 let us remember that practicing the vulnerability of having our feet washed\u2026 is to practice the necessary vulnerability to receive love and care. \u2026not only from others, but from Christ himself. And then later, as we gather around the table to share Christ\u2019s promised presence in the bread and wine\u2026 remember that we gather with amazement and joy as those who are loved beyond the violence of cross\u2026  We gather as those who are loved\u2026 to the end. Amen. ","author_name":"Your Faith Journey","author_url":"http:\/\/faithlutheran.libsyn.com\/podcast","html":"