We are in good company tonight. Peter, Judas, and all the disciples are tired and discouraged and all have a sense of foreboding. Jesus himself is weary and all too aware of what lies ahead of him, and here we see the full humanity of Jesus. Tonight he needs to be with his friends, with those closest to him.  So he gathers them together and shares a meal with them. And here, we can enter into the story: we know how it feels to gather around a table with our nearest and dearest. There would have been the telling of stories, the sharing of memories, the sharing of food, and the mutual support for one another.  

Tonight’s gospel takes place in the context of a meal:  Jesus is sitting around a table with his disciples, all of them reclining, propped up on cushions, dipping pita bread into bowls of fragrant hummus. The sound of conversation fills the room as they share stories and memories. From time to time, laughter erupts in the room. It is much like the meal we shared before this service.  

And then, while all of this is going on, Jesus quietly gets up from the table, removes his outer robe and wraps a towel around his waist. He pours water into a basin and begins to wash the feet of his disciples. There is much going on around that table and much going on within each one of them. Within a few short hours of this special time together, Judas will betray Jesus, Peter will deny him three times, and the rest of the disciples will fall asleep when he most needs their support. It is a failure of both friendship and discipleship. We could become very discouraged as we witness the weakness of the human condition, both then and in our own time.

But the good news is that it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus and what he does for us. At the Last Supper, Jesus continues his ministry of hospitality. The gospels frequently show us Jesus sitting at table and feasting.  We could say that the table is the base for his ministry – his pastoral office if you like.  The table was where he made friends and taught and offered pastoral care, but his hospitality shocked people because he’d eat and drink with anybody.  He developed a reputation for hanging out with the outcast, the overlooked, the offensive, and was constantly criticized for it. 

   
Jesus’ hospitality was inclusive, a prophetic act showing everyone the reality of the Kingdom of God, a place at the table for all. In Jesus’ world, people broke bread with people like themselves.  There were lots of social boundaries, but Jesus broke through all of that, 

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the last supper narrative focuses on the eucharist. The Gospel of John which we heard tonight puts the focus on Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, emphasizing the call to service. 
  
There are no exceptions to Jesus’ love for each one of us. No-one is excluded:  Judas Iscariot was at the Last Supper, and Jesus washed his feet, even though he knew that Judas would betray him. Perhaps, Judas was angry at Jesus, perhaps Jesus was not the kind of Messiah he expected.  We don’t know what was going on with Judas because he didn’t share it, he just reacted. Still Jesus accepted and desired Judas to be with him.  Jesus loves us no matter what.  That’s good news. 

Jesus’s response to the people in his inner circle who have disappointed him again and again is not to chastise or scold them, but to take a basin of water and a towel, and to get down on his knees and wash their feet, a task that was the role of a servant. So, the creator and Lord of all creation, gets down on his knees and serves us…think about how amazing that is, what a humbling and generous act of self-giving. 

Jesus is at all times a teacher:  tonight he teaches us how to be disciples: we are to serve one another. And Jesus, as the great teacher that he is, doesn’t talk about it, he teaches with his actions, he shows us how we are to live our discipleship.  At this last meal with his disciples, Jesus pleads with them to put aside their differences, and disagreements, and to love each other. He invites us to do the same. Tonight, Jesus tells us “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, Just as I have loved you, so you also should love one another. By this everyone will now that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another”. As it says on the sign in front of our church “All are welcome – no exceptions.” 

 

Amen 

  

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