Maundy Thursday

Hope smells like barbecue.

Let me cut to the chase, brothers and sisters. Is this what you think living in Christ looks like?

Here we find Jesus speaking in language both mystical and matter of fact.

The church that came before us taught us how to love worship and to care deeply for its vitality and life.

Foot washing expresses John’s vision of communion.

The enduring significance of Jesus’ act in John 13 turns on the little preposition to.

When I was a youth pastor, I was familiar with John 13—but the idea of footwashing freaked me out.

For two decades, every Holy Thursday I heard the same voice singing the same song.

John 13:1–17, 31b–35

Matt grew up in the Episcopal Church. One Sunday he appeared at the altar—with his arms crossed over his chest.

On a recent work trip, I took a break to see Beautiful, the Carole King musical. I had not realized her songs' impact on me. I sat mesmerized as I heard the story of King's life woven together by songs she had written or co-written. I could sing along with every single song. They were not just the story of her life--I wondered if they had something to do with my own life and its trajectory as well.

Jesus uses both words and deeds to prepare his followers for his absence. Are the disciples watching for what it means to really, really love? Are we?

I have a friend who visits his mother's burial site each year on the anniversary of her death. When the day comes, the mood is always solemn and deeply reflective--and tremendously difficult for other people in his life. What they don't know is that this annual ritual is generative, corrective. It helps anchor my friend for the rest of the year. 

I have another friend who almost never visits his parents' gravesite.

Slaughtering animals, washing feet—I can smell the rooms in both Exodus and John.

A triptych for Thomas G. Long

The feet and legs of the homeless men we serve at the Bowery Mission in New York are a testimony to the pain they endure daily. Many of their legs are swollen because, like Jesus, they have nowhere to lay their head to rest.