Father Gary’s Sermon

Inspired from John 13:1-15

Proclaimed on April 8, 2004

A certain man, who was not an Episcopalian, attended an Episcopal service for the very first time. As the service progressed and the priest gave his homily, the man began shouting. At certain points he would shout out, “Praise the Lord!” or “Amen!” or “Hallelujah!” The people in attendance were clearly uncomfortable as they looked in the man’s direction, while they squirmed in their pews. Finally, the priest remarked, “Man, I wish you wouldn’t do that. It makes me lose my line of thought.” Said the man, “I can’t help it! “I’ve got religion!” To which the priest responded, “Well, you sure didn’t get it here!”

This same story could easily be applied to our Gospel reading this evening. Jesus was meeting with his disciples for one last meal. It wasn’t just any meal; it was the Passover, the day of freedom in the Hebrew faith--their Fourth of July. It was a special meal filled with religious symbolism and a special liturgy with which everyone was well acquainted. And yet, at this Passover Meal with Jesus, you would not have known where Jesus got his religion. Like the outsider coming into an Episcopal service shouting camp meeting slogans, Jesus began doing things that were clearly out of place, making the others in attendance clearly uncomfortable.

It started at the very beginning. The disciples came in discussing their role in local politics, and especially which of them was the greatest. They knew the answer to these issues would probably be resolved that evening in terms of how they were seated by Jesus. Right away many of the disciples were upset with the order of the seating--especially Peter. When he was not seated in the place of honor, he became angry and took the last seat.

The next questionable thing Jesus did was to wash their feet. This was a real no-no! In a culture where people wore sandals and walked on dusty roads, this was a common custom done by willing servants or the host’s wife, but never by the host or a slave. Why? Because feet were symbolic in this culture. They symbolized a person’s power or authority. When a battle was fought the victor always placed his foot on the neck of the vanquished. To bow at one’s feet was an act of homage or worship. Jesus violated this rule, bringing immediate protests from his disciples, especially Peter.

But it didn’t stop here. Jesus went on with the meal, doing more outlandish things as the evening progressed. First he took the unleavened bread, which was a symbol for “hurrying” in the liturgy, for the Hebrews had to flee from Egypt, and he said, “This is my body!” And the disciples probably thought, “What did he mean by that!?” Later, Jesus took a cup of wine, the third cup of four served during this meal, this cup symbolizing the Cup of Redemption, and he said, “This is my blood!” Was this some kind of new religion? And where was the traditional lamb that was normally served at this feast? There is no reference to one being there. Like the priest in that Episcopal Church addressing the shouting newcomer, the disciples perhaps thought, “Man, I wish he wouldn’t do that.” But it was like Jesus was saying to each of them, “I can’t help it! I’ve got religion!” To which they rightly could have responded, “Well, you sure didn’t get it here!”

Later on, long after the terrible events of that evening were over, they would finally figure it out. Jesus was making with them a New Covenant. He was the sacrifice--no substitute lamb would do. And the changes in the liturgy--these represented the giving of a New Covenant, in which the people were elevated from slaves to the place of friends. It was a Covenant of Love in which we are expected to love each other as Jesus has loved us.

Tonight, we too will be doing things that we do not usually do, which might make many of us uncomfortable. I know, because I am. But that is the purpose of the service. It is intended to make us uncomfortable, as the original disciples obviously were. For tonight, we are now those disciples and Jesus is challenging us with something different. We must each ask ourselves, “Who is this Jesus to me? How is this going to effect my life?”

But this we must understand, regardless of what we do--whether we betray him, deny him, or abandon him, he still keeps on loving us. He can’t help it, because he’s got religion, and he wants us to have it, too!