Seeing Death
Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2010
Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The words around Holy Communion are so familiar that we can almost nod off and tune them out. We can bury our heads in the book. We can assume that is what is going on is normal, even ordinary because the ritual is familiar and the bread and the wine seem so ordinary, nothing special. Who can blame us? We have a lot on our minds. We have a lot on the go.
But tonight we might hear. On this night, the night before we attempt to fully remember Jesus' death- we might be paying a little more attention. Please, listen! " The Lord Jesus ON THE NIGHT WHEN HE WAS BETRAYED took a loaf of bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' And then Paul adds, For as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
As often! For most of us that's pretty often – eating the bread, drinking the cup. It's at least once a week, occasionally like this week twice or more. But do we want to proclaim the Lord's death? Do we want to proclaim anyone's death?
Obituaries often begin, "We regret to announce the death or passing of …." Sometimes they begin with a deeper honesty, "It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of our mother, our father, our husband, wife, son or daughter". Obituaries point us to a truth - usually we don't want to proclaim or announce anyone's death. But if we have to do that, it will be as infrequently as possible. I mean many people now are opting not even to have a funeral. Let's attempt to put death completely out of our minds.
Nevertheless, the tradition that Paul receives declares unapologetically that whenever Jesus' community gathers to obey his command around the bread and the wine they (and we) are proclaiming Jesus' death until he comes.
Now, Jesus' death is not like my death or your death in at least two very important ways. Jesus' death accomplishes much more than merely dividing his "things", his "possessions". Jesus' death shakes the foundations of the earth. People who had been with him before his death and immediately following his death had been divided and afraid. They were captivated by the things that so easily entrap all of us: fear, pride, envy, jealousy. But Jesus' death and it's aftermath bring them together. Now they begin to move to a different place, a "place" where there is a deep and ever growing realization that God is for all people and all creation. Jesus' death as horrible as it was, as it still is, achieves wonder and good beyond what any human being's life or death can do. The REALITY OF JESUS' DEATH then MUST BE PROCLAIMED. The reality of Jesus' death needs to be experienced and shared in every nook and cranny of our lives.
Part of the reason we struggle with proclaiming death, even Jesus' death, is the horror of it. Depending on which Gospel or Gospels you read, the power of evil operative in killing Jesus mocks him, spits upon him, derides him and delivers him into excruciating pain. We don't want to think about that, or dwell in that for any period of time. This continues to be true in the present. So, we "pretty up" bodies before they are buried. We cover the dirt excavated to create graves with artificial green carpet as family and friends come to the cemetery for the burial. We place people who are dying more quickly than the rest of us in special hospital rooms and post signs outside that room saying, "Family Only!"
Nevertheless death remains real and very powerful. Jesus' death is horrific. The powers of death operative around us – particularly among the poor, those obsessed with consuming, and of our earth that groans under the weight of our consumption, are real and horrible. We don't want to look at any of this death and its power. We don't want to deal with it.
But such denial doesn't end death's power. Evil and death are still part of our reality, seeking to control us in whatever manner, shape or form they can. So God comes to us in the flesh. God comes to this earth, to people and creatures in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, as God in the flesh, is so many things that mere mortal words cannot sum him up. He is the light of the world, the suffering, dying Savior. Jesus dies for us. Jesus dies for the world. In His dying He empties himself on our behalf.
Do you see Him? Do you experience the power of His vulnerable dying? Do we experience the reality that He longs to and wills to join us to each other not because we deserve it, but because He loves us so much. It is only in being joined to God that evil can be overcome. Then the separation between ourselves can be overcome. So, he dies.
Yet before He dies He gives us guidance. Watch and listen! He takes a loaf of bread that night. Among those who will abandon and betray Him, He gives thanks. Then He breaks the bread and says to them, (in effect to all of us), "THIS IS MY BODY FOR YOU. DO THIS TO REMEMBER ME". In the same way He takes the cup of wine after supper and says, "THIS IS THE NEW COVENANT", the new promise in my blood. "As often as you drink it, remember me".
Will we? Are we remembering him, not just with our minds, but in all the ways we live our lives? Because of Jesus, death and evil do not have to, must not have their lasting, longing way with us, nor with this world. We cannot overcome them by pretending they don't exist. Sooner or later, right now all around us they are rearing their ugly heads.
But, dare to proclaim our Lord's death by daily living open to His gifts and by sharing the bounty of His love with others and God's creation, and I am convinced that we too will see that Jesus comes. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.