Mandatum, 2016
24/03/16 05:21
Maundy Thursday is the traditional day for a service of washing feet. The practice has been a part of Christian liturgy for many centuries. A formal foot washing ceremony is embedded in a worship service after the reading of the Gospel. The Gospel story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples appears in John 13:1-17. Luke 22:27 makes an indirect reference without mentioning the actual washing of feet. In that passage Jesus reminds the disciples that in contrast to worldly practice, Jesus came among his disciples as one who serves.
The practice, in worship, is symbolic. After reading the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples from the Gospel of John, those who have their feet washed are taken to chairs prepared for the practice. They remove one or both of their shoes and stockings. The officiant pours water over their feet into a basin and dries the feet with a towel. In some ceremonies the shoes are not removed and the officiant simply wipes their feet with a special towel.
It is an awkward moment. We’re not comfortable with showing our feet in public. We’re not comfortable with having them washed while others look on. It was an awkward moment for Jesus’ disciples as well. Peter protested: “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus’ answer was sharp: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Peter replies that it is not just his feet that are unclean, Jesus counters again. The recording of their conversation in the Gospel forms a permanent record of the awkwardness of the moment.
When we have offered an optional foot washing ceremony in our congregation, there have been very few who participated. Even though the practice is symbolic, there is discomfort about it. I happen to believe that discomforting myself periodically is probably a good practice. Clergy are assigned a role of authority in the church and in the community that occasionally needs to be questioned. But I’m not sure that the people I serve need to be made uncomfortable just to serve as a reminder to me of my role and place in the community.
The granting of a stole to an ordained clergy person has its roots in the ceremony. The stole is invested at ordination with the advice that it is to be worn as a reminder that the ordinand is called not to be placed above the people, but as a servant of the people. Clergy who follow traditional investiture procedures say a prayer each time they place a stole on their shoulders asking that they not forget their call to service.
The traditional day for the washing of feet is Maundy Thursday. It is also the day for the sacrament of communion, reminding of Jesus request that his disciples “do this in remembrance.” Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin Mandatum, which means “mandate.” The mandate from which the day gets its name comes from the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet, but the mandate is not about the specific practice of washing feet. Washing feet is not a sacrament like baptism and communion, even though Jesus did instruct disciples to wash each other’s feet: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15)
The mandate comes from the words Jesus gave after washing the disciples feet: “A new commandment (mandatum) I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)
In the church we have surrounded the day with all kinds of activities and ceremonies. Tonight in our worship we will share Holy Communion. We will have a series of readings and extinguishing of lights called tenebrae. In monastic communities the last service of the day on the last three days of Holy Week contains the practice of successively extinguishing lights. This practice has been formalized into a service that is usually celebrated on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday in Protestant congregations. In our congregation one candle will remain lighted at the end of the ceremony. It is our Paschal candle, the candle that we first lighted at the Great Vigil of Easter the previous year. It will be the last time the candle is lit in our worship. Saturday evening, at the service of new light, a new candle will take its place to serve us for the new year.
It is important to remind ourselves, however, in the midst of all of the ceremonies and acts of worship, that we have taken on a mandate by choosing to be disciples of Jesus. We have agreed to love one another as Christ has loved us. You can strip away all of the pomp and ceremony, you can strip away all of the special liturgical clothing, you can strip away the titles and position of clergy and remain Christian. If you do, what will remain is the mandate to love one another.
I strive to remind myself of that mandate not only on Maundy Thursday, but every day. When I was ordained and the stole placed on my shoulders it was an act of love intended to perpetuate the love of Christ in my lifetime and beyond. The love of Christ is passed from person to person. As I have received, so too, I must give.
Sometimes the people I am called to love fail to behave in lovable ways. They, like me, are human. And we humans make mistakes. We can be cruel. We can hurt the feelings of others. We can behave in ways that make it difficult to love us. When I recognize the human failings of those I serve I need to redouble my efforts to be a person of love in their lives. When there is fear or pain or sadness in my community, I need to share the gift of love.
Maundy Thursday is yet another opportunity to serve the people of God. It is also an important reminder to me of my role in the community and the mandate to love others.
The practice, in worship, is symbolic. After reading the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples from the Gospel of John, those who have their feet washed are taken to chairs prepared for the practice. They remove one or both of their shoes and stockings. The officiant pours water over their feet into a basin and dries the feet with a towel. In some ceremonies the shoes are not removed and the officiant simply wipes their feet with a special towel.
It is an awkward moment. We’re not comfortable with showing our feet in public. We’re not comfortable with having them washed while others look on. It was an awkward moment for Jesus’ disciples as well. Peter protested: “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus’ answer was sharp: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Peter replies that it is not just his feet that are unclean, Jesus counters again. The recording of their conversation in the Gospel forms a permanent record of the awkwardness of the moment.
When we have offered an optional foot washing ceremony in our congregation, there have been very few who participated. Even though the practice is symbolic, there is discomfort about it. I happen to believe that discomforting myself periodically is probably a good practice. Clergy are assigned a role of authority in the church and in the community that occasionally needs to be questioned. But I’m not sure that the people I serve need to be made uncomfortable just to serve as a reminder to me of my role and place in the community.
The granting of a stole to an ordained clergy person has its roots in the ceremony. The stole is invested at ordination with the advice that it is to be worn as a reminder that the ordinand is called not to be placed above the people, but as a servant of the people. Clergy who follow traditional investiture procedures say a prayer each time they place a stole on their shoulders asking that they not forget their call to service.
The traditional day for the washing of feet is Maundy Thursday. It is also the day for the sacrament of communion, reminding of Jesus request that his disciples “do this in remembrance.” Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin Mandatum, which means “mandate.” The mandate from which the day gets its name comes from the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet, but the mandate is not about the specific practice of washing feet. Washing feet is not a sacrament like baptism and communion, even though Jesus did instruct disciples to wash each other’s feet: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15)
The mandate comes from the words Jesus gave after washing the disciples feet: “A new commandment (mandatum) I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)
In the church we have surrounded the day with all kinds of activities and ceremonies. Tonight in our worship we will share Holy Communion. We will have a series of readings and extinguishing of lights called tenebrae. In monastic communities the last service of the day on the last three days of Holy Week contains the practice of successively extinguishing lights. This practice has been formalized into a service that is usually celebrated on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday in Protestant congregations. In our congregation one candle will remain lighted at the end of the ceremony. It is our Paschal candle, the candle that we first lighted at the Great Vigil of Easter the previous year. It will be the last time the candle is lit in our worship. Saturday evening, at the service of new light, a new candle will take its place to serve us for the new year.
It is important to remind ourselves, however, in the midst of all of the ceremonies and acts of worship, that we have taken on a mandate by choosing to be disciples of Jesus. We have agreed to love one another as Christ has loved us. You can strip away all of the pomp and ceremony, you can strip away all of the special liturgical clothing, you can strip away the titles and position of clergy and remain Christian. If you do, what will remain is the mandate to love one another.
I strive to remind myself of that mandate not only on Maundy Thursday, but every day. When I was ordained and the stole placed on my shoulders it was an act of love intended to perpetuate the love of Christ in my lifetime and beyond. The love of Christ is passed from person to person. As I have received, so too, I must give.
Sometimes the people I am called to love fail to behave in lovable ways. They, like me, are human. And we humans make mistakes. We can be cruel. We can hurt the feelings of others. We can behave in ways that make it difficult to love us. When I recognize the human failings of those I serve I need to redouble my efforts to be a person of love in their lives. When there is fear or pain or sadness in my community, I need to share the gift of love.
Maundy Thursday is yet another opportunity to serve the people of God. It is also an important reminder to me of my role in the community and the mandate to love others.