By Pastor Lynn Sawyer Parks

Luke 19:28-44

The Passover night was supposed to be different from other nights and one of the questions a child in the house would ask is “How is this night different from other nights.” This night, for us, is different from other Maundy Thursdays because we are separated from one another. But in a way, it is even more intimate because we are all in each other’s homes by way of Zoom.

In thinking about what to share tonight, I thought about how this holiday was special for Jesus and the disciples. This is one of the big celebrations for Jews, just as Easter and Christmas are for us. They would have celebrated this meal with family and friends just like we celebrate Thanksgiving with our families and friends. Jesus said that he had looked forward to sharing this celebration with his disciples before he suffered because he wouldn’t share in this celebration again until after it found its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. He knew this was the last time they would celebrate like this for a long time.

Jesus wanted to show his love to the disciples because he knew a separation was coming. He was going to the Father and they were going to stay there and carry on the mission of telling the world about the resurrection. And so he washed their feet as a way to show how much he loved them. It takes love to wash someone else’s feet, especially if they are messed up. It takes love to put up with each other in isolation day after day, Amen? Let’s be real, it gets tense from time to time. We get on each other’s nerves after a while. I’m sure Jesus felt that same way at times with his disciples. But it didn’t mean he didn’t love them. He takes this opportunity to show them the extent of his love.

Jesus knew a separation was coming, a long separation, a separation that couldn’t be bridged by Zoom or Skype or Facebook. Jesus was going back to the Father and he and his disciples wouldn’t share in the celebration of God’s great deliverance again until it was fulfilled in God’s Kingdom. That celebration still has not happened. But when it does, we will be there.

This is what I want us to think about. How much do we miss the people we usually see in a week? How much do we miss our friends at school, our teachers, our co-workers, our friends we hang with on the weekends, our family that we can’t get together with right now? We don’t know when we will be able to get together again without social distancing. There are people we don’t know when we will get to see again. We hope it won’t be too long, but we can’t say when. I want us to feel that sadness, that uncertainty for a minute because that’s what Jesus was feeling. It wasn’t just that he was going to the cross, but it was also the coming separation of when he went back to the Father that was weighing on him. It’s bittersweet.

Jesus was also celebrating. He told his disciples in John 14 that he was going away to prepare a place for them and would come back to take them to be with him. He’s still working on that place for us. The separation still exists after 2000 years. We are still waiting for Jesus to come back. Jesus still feels the sting of that separation as well. But he also is anticipating the day when we will all be together again in God’s Kingdom and looks forward to the celebration we will all have.

I’ve been telling people I’m looking forward to when we are all gathered together again for worship. I’m already planning for that service. It’s going to be like a family reunion. There will be food and singing and sharing what we’ve been through and how God has been faithful. That worship service will be a small taste of the celebration God is planning when the Kingdom finally comes and we sit down to the marriage supper of the lamb. It’s going to be magnificent.

Jesus is looking forward to the day when we are all together with him and I hope we can appreciate some of what he is feeling as we also look forward to the day when we can be together for worship. As we celebrate communion and foot or hand washing tonight, and we remember the terrible cost of death, both Jesus’ death, and the death that is all around us with this virus, let’s also remember that a day of reunion is coming. It will be a day of joy and singing and life. Let’s take the bread and drink the cup tonight in faith saying, “Come Lord Jesus.” Amen.