{"id":2965,"date":"2019-04-18T21:21:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T21:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=2965"},"modified":"2019-04-18T21:21:03","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T21:21:03","slug":"sermon-18th-april-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-18th-april-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 18th April 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maundy Thursday – evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Thursday 18th April 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Maundy Thursday
\nExodus 12.1-14
\nJohn 13.1-17,31b-35<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nMaundy Thursday hold so much\nsignificance for us. Jesus shows us so much of himself and calls us\nto follow him. As someone said to me earlier in the week, if we did\nnot have Maundy Thursday, there would be no tradition of Communion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn washing the feet of dusty\nand wavering disciples, Jesus calls us to his way of humble service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn breaking bread and sharing\nwine, Jesus calls us to discern his presence in this, and every meal\nthat we share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn asking us to watch with him\n\u2013 even for a short while, through the darkness of the night, he\nshows us his humanity and calls us to stand with those who suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn the past I know I have\nspoken on this night about the first two of these actions; about the\ncall to service and the call to share in the meal of thanksgiving and\nsacrifice. But tonight I want to reflect for a while on the final\npart of our ceremony this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHere we follow the custom of\nstripping the sanctuary and altar of all its hangings and\ndecorations. We do this to symbolise how alone Jesus is on this\nnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHe has celebrated with his\ndisciples; they have enjoyed a good meal together. True, he threw\nthem a bit at the beginning by doing that thing with the water and a\ntowel… That did not seem right. He was their Teacher and Master as\nwell as their dearest Friend. But here he was telling them he was no\nmore than a slave!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut then they got on with the\nmeal and enjoyed it too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd afterwards \u2013 after he\nhad said that strange thing about not eating or drinking again until\nthe coming of God\u2019s kingdom, – he led them all out as usual for\ntheir evening stroll in the cool of the Mount of Olives. They had\nsung psalms as they walked along. Now, here they all were in the\nGarden of Gethsemane. Jesus had wandered off to pray on his own and\nthe rest of them have flopped down under the trees to rest. I expect\nthere was some discussion of what he could have possibly meant with\nall that \u201cthis is my body\u201d business…? But the effect of the\nmeal and the wine and the strain of the days they were living through\nsince Jesus had led them back into the city were beginning to catch\nup with all of them. Surely it couldn\u2019t hurt just to rest their\nweary eyes for a few moments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut Jesus is alone and lonely\nand distraught. \u201cCould you not watch with me one brief hour?\u201d …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn Gethsemane Jesus dares to\nown his deepest feelings, to voice his deepest longing, his heartfelt\ndesire not to go through the coming trauma and pain and death. No one\n(or at least very few apart from the clinically depressed) wants<\/em>\nto die. And Jesus was no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe words he uses are repeated\nin some form whenever a person is diagnosed with an incurable\ndisease; a terminal illness. \u201cTake this cup away from me.\u201d At\nthis terrible moment, we long for reality to be different; for the\nmiracle, for the respite, the powerful cure. It can be hard to own up\nto our real feelings, particularly for people of faith; we are\nexpected to have the spiritual resources to cope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo can we be as honest and\nreal about our feelings as Jesus was? Letting go of any pretence of\nbeing more able or competent than we are, letting go of any pretence\nof being braver, or holier, or better than we really are? Can we dare\nto voice our own fears and feelings and doubts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLet\u2019s take into this time of\nreflection tonight our own Gethsemane moments, our own fears and\ndisappointments, and allow the honest and compassionate hands of\nJesus to hold them for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Jesus, we wait with you in the darkness.
We will watch with you now and in a little while.
In this moment when you need us.
Help us to learn from your honesty, as we own our own real feelings about the un-chosen challenges we face in our own lives.
We don\u2019t want this cup. Why would we?
Why us? … Why me?
Give us grace to walk through the valley, death\u2019s shadow,
And come to the dawn of a new day
With you.
Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maundy Thursday – evening Thursday 18th April 2019 Maundy Thursday Exodus 12.1-14 John 13.1-17,31b-35 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Maundy Thursday hold so much significance for us. Jesus shows us so much of himself and calls us to follow him. As someone said to me earlier in the week, if we did not have Maundy Thursday, … <\/p>\n

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