Sermon for Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday April 5, 2012

The Rev. Kate Ekrem

Here we come to it, the center of all we do and who we are. On the night before he died, Jesus did two things: he gave his friends bread and wine, saying, this is my body, and this is my blood, and he washed their feet. Then he told them, do this in remembrance of me, you also should do as I have done to you. It’s all right there, in this, tonight, as we remember this event of the Last Supper.

Just as our Jewish sisters and brothers remember the seminal, core event of the Passover this week, we also remember this pivotal, seminal moment, this core event of our faith.

Notes and further reading for Maundy Thursday

This was one of those sermons where I cut out way more than I included in the final version. This Lent has been a fruitful time of discussion in our various adult formation venues about good, evil, human nature, Jesus, and the Eucharist. More than one sermon’s worth! Maybe more to come during Easter as we live into our Eucharistic calling… but in the meantime, some articles that were hovering in the background for me in this sermon included:

 When the Good do Bad, David Brooks in the NYTimes

What Drives Some People to Do Horrific Things and Others to Be Good?, by Miki Kashtan

 And always when it comes to sacrifice and nonviolence, the theories of Rene Girard as so ably expressed by Paul Neuchterlein.

This Lenten conversation has inspired me to make my Easter season reading:

The Feast of the World’s Redemption: Eucharistic Origins and Christian Mission

Peace,

Kate