Friends are sitting in a dimly lit room, settling in to share a meal. It’s a small room, and the décor is simple. It’s an intimate setting, with intimate friends. The leader knows there will be an ultimate betrayal later. He knows his time with his friends is limited, and that the circumstances will be hard. Despite this, the leader of the group takes off his cloak and offers to wash the feet of his guests, of all of his guests, including the one he knows will betray him. The feet were filthy, having done the job of carrying the sandaled friends through the dirty, dusty streets. The job of washing the feet of guests was normally reserved for the lowest servant. And here was the teacher washing and drying the feet of his friends.
The friends could not believe nor comprehend this action. After it was all over, the teacher told them that they were to love each other and to serve each other, just in the unbelievable and incomprehensible way he just had.
The human love and concern shown and experienced by God-made-man up could make one weep. It’s so intimate, personal, and loving. This is what we heard and shared last night in the Gospel reading.
After the teacher washed their feet, the group in the small intimate setting continued with their evening, and the teacher shared bread and wine. He tried to instill in them the importance of sharing this meal, that he teacher would be with them whenever they gather and share the meal. The friends could not understand. Through this point in this week’s story, God-made-man experienced beauty, intimacy, joy, love and empathy. These are emotions we cherish, and being fully human in Jesus Christ, God could too.
After dinner, the teacher goes out to pray to be closer to God, the source of all life and love. His close friends join him, and he asks them in his anguish to sit awake with him as he prays, to sit vigil with a friend in need. His friends, with whom he’s just shared great intimacy in the meal and foot washing, cannot stay awake with him. As a man facing horrors, he experiences the other emotions we humans share. Loneliness, abandonment, disappointment.
One of the friends whose feet he’d just washed, had slipped away after the meal. He returns to the place where Jesus is praying with guards to arrest Jesus. Regardless of how much the teacher anticipated or knew what was going to happen, here, he experiences betrayal, and betrayal by a close friend. Foreknowledge does cannot lessen the sting.
The religious leaders, his religion’s leaders – the leaders of the faith and a God he shares, are willing to tell the political leaders that they have no King but the political King, going against a basic tenant of their faith. We have no king but Caesar. They are willing to renounce their God. Renounce God because this God-Made-Man is too disruptive to their human construct of religion. Hypocrisy.
Because of the betrayal of his friends and his faith leaders, he is taken to be tried. The political leaders condemn him out of fear. They fear what this man can do, who he is, and what that will do to their position, prestige and power. The teacher sees fear, and resulting petty, punitive punishments.
He is beaten and mocked by guards. Cruelty.
His band of friends, with whom just the night before he shared the intimacy of the footwashing and meal, are nowhere to be found. They have abandoned him.
One friend, one incredibly supportive friend even denies that he is a follower, denies that he is a friend of the man. Denial.
He is nailed to a cross, a device designed to exact a tortured, public, humiliating death. Pain. Humiliation.
As he is dying, he sees a few friends, and his mother. He sees the sadness and despair in their eyes.
This God-made man, who showed immeasurable love and asked his friends to do the same, dies after seeing and experiencing the worst of humanity.
It is a horrible story, that year after year, we gather to hear. We put ourselves through this emotional roller coaster of highs and lows, and it’s important that we do, and do it together. Whatever emotion, happy or sad, betrayed or befriended, Jesus went through it all. Through Christ, we have a God who understands.
Through the beauty of this story, we are reminded that our God, through Christ loves and forgives everyone. Despite our best intentions, we all sin. We all fail to love one another. And as we will hear in the continuation of the story on Easter, God transforms that sin and evil into something renewed, restored and forgiven.
Through this hard part of the story, we hear the set up that there is great transformation and forgiveness. That we are transformed and forgiven.
So today, in the middle of this holy three day liturgy, we sit with the evil and the horror. With what it looks like and feels like when it happened to Christ. When it happens to us. When it happens by us. And in the midst of it, we know God is with us.
Amen.
