& i believe the resurrection's on

& we were wrong

The scripture for Maundy Thursday is John 13

This has easily been one of, if not the most disastrous Lent. Hasn’t it?

Truth be told, though, for me and Amanda it actually started way by in Advent. When her beloved grandmother, Jean, died. 

I remember how Jeans death put our Advent into a tailspin…

And at first, I fought against it.

Even though our schedule was upside-down, I struggled to make sure we kept the house in order, got gifts, and even took time to read our Advent devotional…

But as time went on, it got to be too much.

By the time Christmas rolled around, we were doing everything we could just to keep up… 

After Christmas, New Years and Annual Meetings, though, life seemed to have returned to a semblance of normalcy…

…But then; well, you know what happened…

If I had thought Advent was a mess, this Lent made Advent seem like something straight from Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

Take the explosion out of the mix, and we’ve still had a rough Lent. Haven’t we? 

Between laying beloved members to rest and wrestling with hard to hear diagnosis, we’ve been through the wringer this lent…

We’ve had a rough go of it…

Of course, that’s nothing compared to what the disciples were about to go through…

On the night before Jesus would be arrested, sentenced to death and crucified; Jesus gathered the disciples for a final meal…

And thick-headed though the disciples could be, even they knew that night was significant.

Whether it would through angels coming or a popular uprising; the disciples knew the big battle between God and their oppressors was at hand.

…What they never could have imagined, though, was that the way Jesus was going to wage this battle; by being arrested, sentenced to death, being crucified, and finally dying…

But that night, before everything they had counted on went through the wringer, Jesus gathered them.

…And then he did something strange… He took off his robe and did the menial work of a servant; he washed the disciples’ feet. 

And of course the disciples protested. 

On the night before the big battle, the last thing you want to see is your leader kneeling down and doing the work of a lowly servant. You want to see your leader strong and confident. 

So of course the disciples protested.

But Jesus just meets their protests with the observant that they don’t understand now, but later they will. 

And never a truer word has been spoken.

Because that’s the way it always goes when we go through the wringer. Isn’t it? In the midst of it, we don’t understand the way Jesus gets to work in our lives. 

And I suspect that’s where some of you are this lent…

It’s okay to admit. 

In fact, if there ever was a night to come to church and admitting you don’t understand, that you’re limping into Easter; tonight’s the the night. 

Tonight is the night to admit Trinity’s foundation wasn’t the only thing that was rocked last month. To admit you’re not your holiest this Holy Week…

It’s okay because this night, is the one where Jesus gives something for these struggles and doubts. Love.

And not just any love. Certainly not some sentimental love. But love like Jesus’. Love that is in the shape of the cross.

Love is much vaunted these days, and for as much lip-service as we give it, when the going gets rough; Love is often the first thing to go. Isn’t it? 

When we going through the wringer, we tell ourselves to buckle-down, chin-up, hold it together. Not love.

Not love, because when the going gets rough, love looks altogether too weak. Doesn’t it?

I mean, let’s admit it, how many of us have asked the insurance adjusters to come in here and help us love. No, we want answers, we want money, we want brick and mortar. Not love.

Like the disciples, when Jesus meets us in the thick of it, and gives us something as weak looking as love; we protest…

I remember my first Maundy Thursday. The service was over, but I had a few things to take care of. After I had done whatever it was, but before I went home, I stepped into the sanctuary. 

*There were a few others of you sitting in there, too.

And as the light came in through the stained-glass windows, I had an epiphany. That it could all be true. That what we had done wasn’t play-acting but going to the place where the things we trust crumble.

The disciples trusted Jesus’ worldly power, and on the cross all that crumbled. 

We trust the strength of our edifices. Trinity and this one. And on March 16, that crumbled, too. Didn’t it? The altar won’t be stripped this year…

And in that place, Jesus gathers us and tells us to love. Gives us his love. But it’s not easy to trust. Is it? In fact, all you can do is trust it. But only because there’s nothing else to do…

Tonight Jesus gives us his love. Not the love of the movies. And not the sentimental “love conquers all.” His love. The love that’s in the shape of the cross. Love that loves with no props. Love that loves with no return of investment. 

And this year, that’s where life has brought us. Hasn’t it?

The truth is, we can’t make heads or tails of this. We don’t understand. Do we?

But, through it all, Jesus words have proved true. Haven’t they? 

When everything else has crumbled, Jesus and his cross-shaped love have stood strongest. 

Jesus told the truth. Didn’t he? He didn’t offer empty platitudes. He really gave us the goods. The thing that has sustained us when everything else crumbled; love. His love. 

This lent we’ve been through the wringer. So many of the things we’ve trusted have crumbled.

And all we’ve been left with is love. Weak, though, this love has looked; it hasn’t failed us. Has it? 

And it won’t.

The truth is, Jesus victory over death tomorrow won’t look like a victory. Will it?

It will look like being arrested, sentenced to death, crucified and dying. It will look like losing. But in the upside-down kingdom Jesus gives, it turns out to be victory.

And it is no different with us and the love Jesus gives us tonight, too.

In the face of all the things that would rock our world, it looks like weakness. BUT in the upside-down kingdom Jesus gives, it turns out to be the force that abides through it all. 

“I give you a new commandment,” Jesus has said. That we love one another. Just as Jesus has loved us, we should also love one another.