Maundy Thursday 24th March
As a church we fully support the Diocesan Vision 2026 introduced by Bishop Julian last Autumn. The diocesan prayer for Vision 2026 calls for us to obey Jesus’ command to ‘grow leaders’ – I’m never sure which bit of the Gospel’s is being referred to in this prayer, as it seems to me that Jesus never, in fact, instructed to do any such thing. At a recent service at St Wilfrid’s school – the one where Alex was presented with his certificate of achievement for service to the church and to his school – the visiting preacher carried the title ‘Executive Pastor’. In fact, growing leaders and having executive pastors seems to me to just about the opposite of what Jesus really told us to do which was to learn to be servants. And here, in the gospel for tonight, we have the evidence. As always Jesus taught very graphically, either in slightly exaggerated stories or images, or, as in the gospel for this evening, by his example. At his last supper with his friends Jesus got up from the table, washed the feet of his disciples and dried them with a towel. Then, as now, this act of service confused people. Then the disciples seemed rather confused that Jesus should perform the act of a servant or even a slave. Peter objected loudly as he was inclined to do – first of all being quite clear that there was no way Jesus was going to wash his feet (and somehow you can imagine that Peter’s feet were not particularly pretty) and then demanding to be washed all over. Now the leadership of the church has fallen in love with the ways of the world, particularly with what we might call management speak, and is trying to convince us that we need leaders, even executive leaders – and that this is what Jesus called us to do. Please take your readings home with you and read and re read the Gospel and understand that there is no way Jesus called us to be leaders. Rather he called us to be servants. Each Wednesday evening, we open the church for an hour to take bookings for christenings and weddings. Alison, Cheryl and Beryl are there with me and Ella comes once a month to help with Baptism Preparation. These are vital jobs, but they are acts of service – quietly, week by week we help people. In the last week we’ve had 2 funerals here in church. Beryl and Renah have been at both, getting the church ready, handing out books, lighting the candles, clearing up afterwards. Without their help funerals wouldn’t happen. Again, what they offer is service – they do what they do to make life better for people, to help me, and to serve the church. These quiet tasks are done in a spirit of humility and are a response to what Jesus really called us to – not to leadership, and especially not to executive leadership, but to service. We have to beware that we are not lured by the ways the world, especially when these ways are dressed up in language which would have us believe that this is what Jesus said when he really said exactly the opposite. I’ve always thought it rather odd that we celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday – sometimes twice and we break the bread and share it, and then share the cup of wine. But we only remember this footwashing – part of that same Last Supper, once a year. I wonder why that is? I think it would do us good to do this more often as a reminder that we are to be servants, especially when the Church of England is becoming hooked on leadership and power. I’m just greateful, really that the Executive Pastor was from an independent church, not from the C of E. I think the idea is probably that we ‘do’ washing of feet in our lives each time we serve and help someone. But how easy it is to forget. And how easy it is to pretend – there is no more dangerous sheep in wolf’s clothing that someone pretending to serve but, beneath the surface, hooked on power and control. They are rather like people who are immensely proud of being ‘ever so humble’. So tonight we have a powerful reminder of what Jesus called us to do. To serve. To put ourselves in the place of a servant. To be down on the floor among the smelly and dirty feet with a bowl of water, some soap and a towel. To do the jobs people take for granted. To do things to make things better for others. Part of this service is indeed humility – to believe no one to be our inferior. Not that we have to think little of ourselves, but rather to regard all as worthy of love and attention. That is because, as Christians, we believe that all humans are made in God’s image, that we all carry the stamp of our maker somewhere in our being. None of us are more worthy, none of us are better, and none deserve more than others – God looks on us all with equal love and that love is HUGE – big enough for plenty of love for everyone and then some to spare. When it comes to God’s love we don’t need to fight as if this was a scarce resource. In his earthly life Jesus noticed people ignored, despised or frowned upon by others – a blind man sitting by the side of the road, a tax collector, a very small man hiding in a tree, women of dubious morals, foreigners. From the place of service which Jesus inhabited, none of these people were worthless, frowned upon or despised. They were all his friends. This radical way of life is, in itself, proof that Christians can’t be executive pastors and shows quite clearly that Jesus did NOT call us to grow leaders. TO follow Jesus means we have to take on the form of a servant, as he did, and to stoop low, below the table to wash the feet of friend and stranger.
