Image: The Last Supper of Jesus Christ, by Roman Zacharij, licensed under CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, no changes made. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Last_Supper.JPG
New Take on an Old Commandment, John 13:31-35
On this Sunday, we are transported back to Maundy Thursday to hear the new commandment that Jesus gave to his disciples. This commandment is an old one but is now fully connected to what Jesus is about to do for the world. Through his forgiveness of our sins, we are enabled to begin living out a new kind of sacrificial love that aligns with all of his commands.
Image: The Messiah Gives the New Law, (Stained glass detail of a window by Douglas Strachan in SS Andrew & George in Edinburgh), photo by Lawrence OP. Licensed under: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (No Changes Made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/12559943145
Empowered by an Uttermost Love, John 13.1-15
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took time to wash his disciples’ feet and through that to teach them that they are to love one another. He also later took bread and broke it and a cup of wine and gave it to them. This act is the first Eucharist. On Maundy Thursday we remember these actions by Jesus and what they mean for us today.
Let Us Love One Another, John 13.1-15
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in order to demonstrate to them their need to serve one another. But it is also a demonstration of the service that he was about to perform. Out his very divine nature, Jesus serves and loves his disciples and calls us to participate in that very same love to draw others into the salvation that he is bringing to us through his sacrifice.
Image: Christ Washes the Disciples Feet, Albrecht Dürer / Public domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albrecht_Dürer_-_Christ_Washing_the_Feet_of_the_Disciples_(NGA_1943.3.3641).jpg
A Love that Compels, John 13.31-35
On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus told his disciples to love one another just as He had loved them. How is this even possible? Can a mere man give such a command to weak people? Listen to find out just how Jesus’ can tell his disciples to love one another and it actually be accomplished.
Image: Merciful Christ (Icon), photo taken by: Steven Zucker. License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. No changes made. Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/profzucker/7173082023