Christ Church

Eureka California
Maundy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14, Psalm 116:1, 10-17, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
April 1, 2010
The Rev. Ron W. Griffin
“The Two Lists”

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the
Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of
eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from
this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved
them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot
to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into
his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table,
took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around
him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you
have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my
hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash,
except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he
knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to
them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are
right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as
I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are
messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed
if you do them.
Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If
God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at
once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said
to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love
one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another."

Good evening,
Years ago in the parish in Breckenridge there was a man who was hard to love. He
was a proud man and he was a large man 6’ 5”, maybe 6’ 6” when he was younger. He had
an opinion for everything and was loud when he shared it. I tried and avoid this person,
stay out of his way, avoid a conversation. But in small churches big voices take up lots of
space and energy and his did.
Someone once asked his wife about her husband and she remarked,” well I have
two lists, one is the list of those things that aggravate me, embarrass me, and frustrate me
and others about Bill, that’s the list everyone knows. And I have another list that reminds
me of all the qualities very few people ever get to see, how generous he is, how
compassionate, how protective and how smart and wise he is. When I have had enough of
the first list, I say “Bill stop” and he knows he has stepped beyond my good graces,
everyone’s good graces. He might grumble a bit but he stops.” One thing everyone could
always see and I was struck by it, was how they loved each other, I just wondered why he
seemed to be so hard on everyone.

One day at the grocery, he stopped me and began to complain about the new priest
at our church. He was upset that the priest wanted to have communion before the vestry
meetings. Not coming from a sacramental background, communion wasn’t an integral part
of earlier life he said in his large voice, he was there for the business of the church, not
communion. I listened to this large man fuming between the vegetables and the fruit, and
before I could stop knowing it was against my better judgment, I first remarked “Bill, the
priest wants to change what has become a Moose Lodge with a cross on top back into the
church, I agree with the priest.” The conversation was over.
In the midst of all this, our son became very ill. Not the kind of ill that you can
have an operation for and fix, but none the less life threatening, life robbing ill. He
couldn’t work, or drive or leave his room for days, he had scary dreams, scary thoughts,
what was left of life was miserable. One Sunday morning Charlotte and I slid into the pew
behind Bill and his wife. (The night before we had returned from a long trip to a safe place
for our son.) They turned around and noticed our son wasn’t with us and asked where he
was. We said he is back in the hospital. They knew enough to know, it wasn’t good.
Bill turned away and then turned back, tears falling off his chin. We will drive you
to the hospital; we will help you, let me help, what “can I do.”
 When our son came back home Bill was there, spending time and energy to be with
our grown son. He taught our son to play cribbage, asked him to walk over to see him for
afternoons, knowing the walk itself would be a challenge, for everyone. Bill began to love
our son, and through our son began to love us. And we began to love Bill. Bill was always
Bill; two lists, that I knew about. One had the words aggravate, embarrass, frustrating. But
another list was now recognized as Bill’s list. Generous, compassionate, protective, smart
and wise, and caring, Bill question had been answered by what he did.
The world says what really counts are riches, records and reputations. Jesus tells us
however tonight, it is relationships. But as you know, relationships are costly. There is the
sacrifice of time, not scheduling of time required to foster them.
There is the sacrifice of energy required to keep in sustaining them and working at
them. But even before those things, sometimes there is the sacrifice of pride ….. required
to establish them. Maybe it is the breathless pace we keep. Maybe it is the absurd rate of
change swirling around us. Maybe it is our cultures addiction to novelty, or the overload of
data and information that stalls us out. For all these reasons and more, we live in an age
that is prone to forget, or maybe it is just we don’t know what to remember, when it comes
to what the important stuff of life is.
Tonight on this Holy Thursday, we are encouraged to remember: to remember
who we are, that we all have our own lists. The emphasis in the Words of Jesus tonight, are
not loving others as we love ourselves, but loving others like Jesus has loved us. We're
told, if we do this, we will be the example to everyone that we are disciples of Jesus.
Mother Teresa wrote: "God's love is infinite—full of tenderness, full of
compassion. God loves the world through us—you and me. The way you touch people,
the way you give to people, the way you demonstrate love for one another. The Incarnation
is God's love in action. " Jesus really wanted his disciples to understand what was love in
action as he got up from the meal that night went over and got the bucket of water next to a
bench by the door and then began to wash feet that God's love must be made tangible by
doing.
Duke ethicist Stanley Hauerwas finds most practiced Christianity is far too
spiritual. , “Christianity is not a set of beliefs or doctrines one believes, he says, “ but
rather Christianity is to have ones body shaped, one’s habits determined, in such a way that
the worship of God is unavoidable.” 1
On this last night after 3 years of living and learning together, with all the
conceptual truths at his fingertips, Jesus doesn’t give or leave them something to think
about. He doesn’t eliminate the good list folks from the bad list folks, but recognizes we all
have lists. And to help them see past their own lists, and those of others Jesus gives them
something to do. He tells them what to do. “Love one another”, use me as your example.
Let my love for you; inspire you to love one another.

1
Stanley Hauerwas, “ The Sanctified Body,” in Embodied Holiness, ed Samuel M, Powell, Michael E.
Lodahl, Intervarsity Press, 1999, p.22.
 Each of our readings tonight offer themes of community, and our longing to
belong, and the place God is to have in our personal and communal lives. Tonight we have
all come with our lists. Some more public and known than others, we come in the midst of
life shared and life sheltered and we participate as flawed beings. Yet Christ kneels with us
and says do not be afraid to offer yourselves in love to others, I will be your companion.

Since Bill wasn’t naturally a pleasant person, the changes in Bill were dramatic, but
the point of Jesus words seems to indicate this isn’t about being good but being good for
something. It is about God's love in action, it is about doing, which will change our being.