MAUNDY THURSDAY 2020 - Sermon for All Saints, Blackheath

‘So, after receiving the piece of bread,

(Judas) went out.  And it was night’. (Jn.13:30)

X

INTRODUCTION

St. John records those words immediately before Jesus exclaimed, in our gospel reading, “Now the Son of man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him!”  On this night we’re accustomed to reflect on Jesus’ example of loving service as he washed the feet of his disciples and instituted the Eucharist; how, taking bread and wine, he says, ‘This is my body, given for you … my blood, shed for you.’  But those moving yet foreboding words are omitted by John.   Instead, he, and he alone, records that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, after which Judas departs to meet with the Chief Priests: ‘And it was night’. 

There’s a finality to those words that’s in marked contrast to what’s gone before.  It’s almost as if Jesus’ glory, the glory of God, is enabled through that simple act: “Now the Son of man has been glorified.”  It’s as if a curtain has come down and we wait for a new act to begin; we’re about to experience a primal, paradigm shift.  Yet John lets us in on a secret: whatever the night portends, there is, in the end, a glory to be revealed.  But darkness must come first.

This year the Triduum occurs when there’s darkness over the land caused by a pandemic, a time when many are anxious, many sick and many living in fear.  Lent has been a strange time when we entered an unexpected wilderness, wondering how long it will last – when ‘forty days’ stands for an awfully long time. Tonight, Jesus enters a deeper wilderness, a brief but intense period when all that he’d lived for these past thirty-odd years, all he’d preached about and declared over three, are put to the final test.  In his humanity, Jesus could not have known the outcome; we, with the benefit of hindsight, know that this Son of Man will be glorified, and God glorified in him.  And it all hangs on Judas.

JUDAS AND THE HANDING OVER OF JESUS

Judas, of course, gets a bad press.  His exit into the night after sharing communion was in order to betray Jesus.  That’s what all the gospels tell us, yet why would Judas do such a thing?  There are many arguments about his role and actions which stretch back to dawn of our Faith.  We shall never know exactly why he acted as he did: was he a thief?  Driven by envy?  Hungry for power – or simply given over to evil?  All this, and more, has been said of his motives.  What emerges is that, on this night, Jesus is to be handed over to those who sought his life. 

Or, might we need to view that in a different way?  Might it be more correct to say that Jesus handed himself over?  “This is my body, my blood, given over for you.”  Some have seen in this a profound shift.  Up to this point, Jesus has been in control, has eluded his enemies, been free to exercise his ministry and proclaim his gospel.  Now all that changes as he allows himself to be abandoned to those who seek his death.  

In his book, The Stature of Waiting, the Anglican priest, William Vanstone, argues that behind this act lies a constant theme in Jesus’ life: his self-abandonment to God.  An abandonment now fully realised in this final act of giving himself into the hands of others.  ‘The ‘day’, wrote Vanstone, ‘which gives freedom and opportunity to work is succeeded be the ‘night’ when there can be no more work and by the ‘binding’ (of Jesus) which takes away freedom and places (him) in the hitherto ineffective hands of others. Now he who previously exercised (power) passes into the (power) and judgement of others ... ‘

ABANDONMENT TO JUDGEMENT

And it is the power of judgement to which he becomes subject.  Jesus will be arrested, tried and found guilty.   He will be condemned, abused and tortured – physically and psychologically – and he will be killed.  All of that is a consequence of this moment when Jesus allows Judas to betray him, to hand him over to the religious and political authorities. 

Who can know the mind of Christ, the mind of God?  Yet this we know, as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, that Jesus:

though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
⁷but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
⁸   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death –
   even death on a cross. (2: 6-8)

Jesus – God – becomes the subject of confusion, hatred and violence.  Our hatred and violence. 

My hatred. 

Christians have long thought of Jesus as the ‘scapegoat’, the one who carries the sin of others, who must be sacrificed to remove that burden.  But what if this scapegoat has given himself over to allow us to express our worst excesses on him?  Allowed himself to become the willing victim of our hatred … of God? 

So often anger is present in times of suffering.  God is blamed for the world’s ills.  Yet, without God to take the blame, whom would we accuse?  Without suffering, how would we know the depths of our humanity?  We only understand what it means to be fully human in the context of suffering, and it’s as if there are times, maybe times like this, when our blind fury at suffering and loss needs a god at whom to rail.  What, then, if tonight, is God beginning to show that he takes ultimate responsibility for the suffering which is part of his Creation?  Handing himself over to the consequences of evil?  Letting himself become our victim and then, through the Resurrection, revealing meaning through it all? 

EUCHRISTIC SACRIFICE

Alone of the four gospels, John does not tell of the institution of the Eucharist.  Instead, he recounts the act of servanthood and humility which has come to symbolise this night, when one of his disciples will be the instrument of his final abandonment.  His self-sacrifice:  This is me given for you to use as you will.  To be broken that life might emerge from death.  Only God could make that shocking gift.

Twice Jesus predicts his own betrayal and, according to John, takes a morsel of bread (the word is one that will later be used to define a Eucharistic 'host'), dips it into the dish and gives it specially, and first, to Judas.  And then Jesus quietly instructs him: 'Do what you have to do, quickly'.  What the gospel of John is telling us is that it is Jesus who gives Judas permission, even orders him, to do the job that he has to do; the Passion cannot happen without him.  On him everything hinges; here life and death, love and betrayal intermingle and contend.  This is indeed Judas's night, for his action becomes the cause of our salvation. 

THE SERVANTHOOD OF CHRIST

Tomorrow we shall recall the life-giving death of Christ on the Cross.  Yet it is on this most holy night Jesus ‘showed (the) full extent of his love’ or, as one reading expresses it: ‘Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.’  (John 13:1)

This is the night of foot-washing and self-giving, of offering a body to be used as a slave.  This is our God.  The uniqueness of our God who, in human form, humbles himself even to undergoing death.   Gives himself over to be the victim of our passions and, in so doing, shows that beyond all the hatred and violence there is new life.  Jesus will take our anger and rage to the Cross and set us free from its burden. 

We are taught that he came among us as a servant – tonight we see him washing our feet, kneeling before us to cleanse and refresh us and saying those words: This is me, my body and blood, given in love for you.’  Can we – can I – let Jesus love me in this way?  Can I allow myself to be loved by him, open the depth of my being to being loved ‘to the end’?  Letting even the ‘Judas’ in me be loved?  For Judas, too had his feet washed. 

‘So, after receiving the piece of bread,

(Judas) went out.  And it was night’.

Could we love like that?  That is the Love behind our faith.

Whatever occurred between Jesus and Judas, whatever lay in the heart and mind of that man, whatever his intentions and actions, Jesus ‘loved him to the end’.  And we are loved to the end, not just of our lives, but through all our moods and actions, our confusion, hopes, anxieties and fears.  Even those who would betray us are held in that Love, for this Love desires to draw the sting of pain from us that we might know something of the glory of resurrection life. 

And, if all that is too much to take in, then we also remember that he took his friends aside and asked them to spend time with him as he prepared for the final act of abandonment into the hands of men.   Normally we process the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose, walk with Jesus to that Garden where he spent the night before his Crucifixion. This year, we cannot do that – but might you be able to spend time between now and midday tomorrow in meditating with the Lord?  If you have access to the internet, why not tune in to a church where the Watch is taking place.  If you can, ask him into your heart and, when you have done that, don’t be afraid to open yourself to him.  Never be afraid of that, for God in Christ would transform your body and blood into his own glorious body.  For in all this the Son of Man is glorified and in him God is glorified.  And we are glorified in Him. 

(This homily is available via YouTube:

REFLECTIONS ON ST CHARLES OF JESUS’ ‘PRAYER OF ABANDONMENT’

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

__________________

Father, I abandon myself into your hands. 

To be abandoned is a terrible thing, 
an act of carelessness 
that takes no account of what may happen to the one abandoned.  
Only an adult can abandon themselves, 

a child does not have the ability to make this reckless act.  

For it not to be reckless requires trust in another 

and a belief that the process of abandonment has a purpose. 

Jesus abandoned Himself into the hands of His Father;

He did so with faith in the One whom He had come to know and trust.

Every aspect of who I am I gift to You with no strings attached. 

I cut all ties; I entrust myself to You and let go of myself in Your absolute care. 

I place myself before You as a child before its Father, leaving myself at the doorway of your house. 

I hand over all power to You and entrust my future to You whatever happens.

do with me what you will. 

As I give myself to Him, God tells me to trust Him, 

trust that in saying ‘thy will be done’ I will be held safe 

and that God will never desert me whatever may happen. 

What matters is to live in the present moment. 

I need to turn to my Father as a child might turn to theirs and look into His loving eyes. 

There is something liberating in living in the Divine Will, whilst needing to resist evil – 

‘Jesus, I trust in You’.

To know God’s will means turning to Him in prayer, and simply saying

 ‘Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven’.

Whatever you may do, I thank you:. 

Let me live thankfully, eucharistically, whatever may happen to me. 

And when my heart becomes overwhelmed by sadness and anxiety, 

or desolation begins to cast a shadow over me, 

inspire me to give thanks that the darkness may be turned into light.

In all places and in all things let me see your hand and give thanks. 

In every blade of grass and every mountain peak may I see your glory and give thanks.

And when I cannot see you or sense your presence, teach me to thank and praise you.

I am ready for all, I accept all.

I know that both good and evil will come my way; teach me to accept them

with a necessary detachment and not be blinded by them. Teach me to love through them.

Give me a freedom of spirit to greet them and wisdom to know how to respond

as you responded to those who were the cause of your Incarnation, Passion and Death. 

Grant me gratitude and patience, courage, fortitude and detachment in the face of good and evil.

Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

My one will and desire must simply be this: ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.

For in that prayer is encompassed all that God desires and it expresses all that we can desire:.

that the divine good might be accomplished in me and all that exists.

It is what Jesus taught us to pray for and we can pray for no more or less than that:

‘Thy will be done’.

Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,

Take, Lord, and receive all that is your own

For I long to live in you,

to be enfolded in your love,

for my love to be your love

that I may flow with you.

Take my heart and mould it into the form of your most Sacred and Compassionate Heart.

for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,

‘From Love in Love the leaping flame of Love is spread,

for none can love except by Love possessed.

The love that is outpoured was first Love’s gift of love.

Give, give, and give again is Love’s own song.

For Love is giving love and there is no end to Love.’ * 

 Lord, you continually awaken love in my heart; you who are the source of love and life.

When I gaze upon your revelation in Jesus

my heart is moved and I so want to give myself to you,

to let love flow through me –

love for the one I love and love for the whole of your creation,

especially the most unloved.

Yet it is hard to love those who seem unlovely

and only by your grace can I do this.

Let me gaze on all things with your inner eye of Love

as you gaze upon me and all things

that I may give myself to all that I encounter.

* Fr. Gilbert Shaw: A Pilgrim’s Book of Prayers

THERE IS NO LONGER MALE OR FEMALE: FOR ALL OF YOU ARE ONE IN CHRIST JESUS *

The matter of male-headship has just re-emerged with the announcement that the Rev. Rod Thomas,  chairman (sic) of the fundamentalist group, Reform, has been chosen to be ordained as a bishop Reform is a network of 'individuals and churches within the Church of England (who are) committed to reforming the Church of England from within according to the Holy Scriptures.'  In particular they believe that ‘the Bible clearly teaches that …. men (should) take self-sacrificial responsibility for the spiritual oversight of the domestic and church family.’

This is such a fundamental tenant of belief for some evangelicals that it must emanate from a deep part of the psyche fed by such arguments proposed by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy.  Yes, they say that women and men are equal, but cannot exercise the same functions.  Many of their arguments, from a conservative point of view, seem reasonable.  But there is a sense of an iron fist in a velvet glove: a ‘passive-aggressive’ tone to their argument.  What might happen to them if they allowed themselves to live under the authority of a woman?  What would happen to their sense of power if they had to assume the feminine?  This is the same line of reasoning that leads to women having to be veiled in some Islamic countries.  I realise that some speak of the way it affirms their religious convictions, yet it seems an extreme way of doing so when compared to men and requires the complete hiding of identity.  I also note the way in which those cultures which assert such norms (i.e. male supremacy) also persecute homosexuals and  much of the argument for doing so is based on the way the feminine is ‘confused’ with the masculine.

Beyond this, what also concerns me is that the wider church seems unable – or unwilling – to confront this argument that men must have the power over women.  There is no doubt that, whilst the number of churches that teach this principle is small, it is also flourishing and many of those going into training for ordination come from such backgrounds.  It is not only conservative Islam that seeks to deny women an equal place with men and support a masculine power and authority that is unable to be open to the feminine. 

In light of this I have written the following letter to Archbishop Justin:

‘I am aware that Mr. Thomas is chairman of Reform, an organisation which states that its members ‘are working to identify practical ways of reforming the Church of England’.  Two of the more objectionable aims of this ‘reform’ concern its approach to gay people and women.  I assume you are aware that it publically states: ‘Gay male love flourishes with ‘variety’, and lasts longest with non-monogamy. Monogamy tends to lengthen heterosexual relationships but shorten homosexual ones’ and am surprised, to say the least, you are prepared to ordain someone who supports this outrageous statement.  Just how does this accord with being a person of ‘sound learning’ which the Ordinal requires? And will Mr. Thomas be expected to take part in the ‘shared conversations’ on sexuality that are currently taking place or will he be excused from this process?  

Reform’s promotion of ‘male headship’ and the consequential subjection of women is another deeply divisive and aggressive belief.  In my ministry I have sat listening to the stories of many women who have been deeply hurt and damaged by those who promote this view, just as I have sat with gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to emotional, spiritual and psychological violence by their treatment from ‘biblical’ Christians.  How does the requirement for a bishop to agree to promote peace and reconciliation in the Church and in the world; and … strive for the visible unity of Christ’s Church (Ordinal) accord with someone whose views are a cause of division and are unacceptable to the majority of people?

In 2011 I resigned my Living having reached the age of 65 but retain a passion to see the Church of England able to attract people of this generation to the gospel.  If Mr. Thomas is ordained bishop this can only show that someone who promotes bigotry in the name of Christianity can be a leader of the Church.  Whilst this may appeal to extremists, what message does it send out to most people who no longer are prejudiced against gays and lesbians and are seeking to be inclusive of women? 

Whilst the Church of England may be a broad church, I would like to know if you really want these - extremist - views to “flourish” when they are contrary to the declared beliefs of the Church of England?’

* Gal. 3: 28

3rd SUNDAY of LENT (2009)

“We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness for Gentiles”

INTRODUCTION
There was something endearingly English about the long-running TV series, Only Fools and Horses. Del Boy and Rodney became iconic characters who revealed something of the love-affair we British have with the well-meaning rogue who always seems to make a mess of things. The loser who makes us laugh.

Nowadays, the word ‘fool’ might be given to a deranged person, but the place of the fool is needed by society, for they are the ones who can communicate truths about our humanity. For those old enough to remember, Norman Wisdom was just such a ‘fool,’ and Robin Williams character in the film ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ seems to show how “Passion makes a madman of the cleverest man and renders the greatest fools, clever.” (Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)

THE FOOL IN SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
Centuries ago medieval Europe celebrated the great ‘Feast of Fools’ on January 1st; every monarch had his Court Jester. Shakespeare frequently uses a fool in his plays to satirize those whom power had corrupted.

Within Christianity ‘Holy Fools’ have abounded, most specifically in Russia. Indeed, the great cathedral on Red Square is dedicated to one – St. Basil. And, in the west, the best known must be St. Francis of Assisi and St. Philip Neri.

Francis, of course, founded the great Religious Order of Friars Minor. Like him, Philip Neri was the son of a wealthy family and went on to found a Religious Order, the Congregation of the Oratory. For both their ecstatic experience of Divine love resulted in their world’s being turned upside down and their way of life being changed forever. As someone has written:

The fool's naked, dirty, ugly, strange and indecent appearance was a metaphor for humankind's soiled, "naked", sinful souls that have lost their "wedding garments", their innocence.

Having become a fool, humanity lost their divine likeness. The Holy Fools look the way human beings really look in a spiritual sense.

They become symbols - strange and almost disgusting in appearance, but tragic and attractive from a religious point of view. The Holy Fools' disgraceful behaviour carried the message of judgment: those who understood the message started to cry; those who did not, laughed at the fools and threw stones at them.’ (Saward J., Perfect Fools: Folly for Christ’s Sake in Catholic and Orthodox Spirituality, Oxford; N.Y., 1980, p.31)

In a very real sense, they abandoned themselves to God and allowed him to rule their lives and actions, no matter how ‘foolish’ that might have seemed.

THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD
It was with a sense of foolishness that many regarded the early Christians. There’s a drawing from ancient Rome which shows a human body with a donkeys’ head being crucified on a T shaped cross. And no doubt there are many who consider us to be fools for being here today. But what did St. Paul mean by talking of “Gods foolishness”? Clearly, for St. Paul, the ‘foolishness of God’ was to allow himself to be crucified. That was, and remains, a stumbling block for many and an insult for some. For example, the notion that God should allow himself to be treated as a common criminal and die an accursed death is abhorrent. Yet, for Christians it is the consequence of the Incarnation. God in Christ chose to become at-one with us; to share the whole of human experience right up to giving himself up into the hands of the wicked and evildoers.

As Paul goes on to say in the Letter we heard read: ‘Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world…; …what is low and despised …’ He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God.’ (I Cor. 1:25)

GOD’S SELF-ABANDONMENT
All this can be summed up by the phrase, ‘God’s self-abandonment’. Now most of us like to be in control of our lives and the consequences of being ‘out of control’ is something that causes anxiety for most reasonable people.

Yet there is also a danger, of course, of being too much ‘in control’. We all know of people whom we might describe as ‘controlling’ – even ‘control freaks’. And whilst they make life uncomfortable – even at times unbearable – for others, they can also do great damage to themselves. A too-powerful, overbearing, ego can harm us and turn us into petty-dictators, unable to function properly as human beings.

The ‘fool’ challenges this controlling instinct. Whilst it is necessary and right to exercise reasonable, mature control over our emotions and actions, we need to be careful lest this turns into an obsession. So the fool brings us back to our humanity. His place is to question our values and norms, to act as a critic of the powerful by speaking or acting in ways that communicate uncomfortable truths.

THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
If we turn our attention to our gospel reading for a moment, it might seem that Jesus’ actions were very foolish and any ‘reasonable’ person be forgiven for thinking that he brought the consequences (arrest, trial and crucifixion) on himself.

After all, if you do smash up the economic centre of society, don’t you deserve to be punished? But this was no idle act. It was a calculated act which was meant to have a consequence. As we heard earlier: ‘The Holy Fools' disgraceful behaviour carried the message of judgment: those who understood the message started to cry; those who did not, laughed at the fools and threw stones at them.’

So here we have Jesus acting as the ‘holy fool’, quite in control of actions intended to challenge those who had taken control of the Temple and perverted its place and purpose in society. It’s not so much that you could buy a postcard or a rosary, rather that this place of divine encounter, over which God was in control, had become dominated by the power of a ruling elite. Jesus’ foolish actions were intended to challenge society.

CONCLUSION
All this would lead, inevitably, to his death, just as so many other ‘fools’ have been swept aside.

Yet their message, once heard, cannot be forgotten. So, with this ‘Cleansing of the Temple’, Jesus begins that process of abandonment to God, that entrusting of himself to that Divine Love which possessed him. For Christians being ‘out of control’ must become, in time, our default position for it begs the question, ”Who is in control?” to which the answer must be, God.

It will probably require of any of us a primal shift from believing that we can be in control of our lives to allowing ourselves to be under the control of God.

But perhaps ‘control’ is a misleading word and we should begin to shift towards direction, movement and guidance as we seek to regain faith in God’s creative, passionate desire acting in our lives.

In 1970 John Austin Baker, a bishop of great humility and humanity, published his masterly book, The Foolishness of God, in which he set out his personal faith in Divine Love and wrote of the way that ‘The crucified Jesus is the only accurate picture of God the world has ever seen.’ (p.406) Let me conclude with a quote from the end of that book:

‘When (I am willing to be a fool of love, an apostle of the cross), what God has done and the manner of his doing it increase my wonder and gratitude. For this means that God leaves me my freedom. He does not wish to overwhelm me, to batter me into submission. Somewhere within me, however choked and starved, there is this natural endowment of sacrificial love that comes from my blessed solidarity with all living things, and with the myriad ages of creatures who have gone before me and brought me to birth. If this perilously feeble flame can breathe and blaze up, it will enlighten me from within to see clearly, and to know where God is to be found – in Jesus (p.405)

Amen