[RCL] Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1, 10-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Welcome to Maundy Thursday. Welcome to the feast of God’s boundless hospitality. If you have ever been the person who was not invited to the party, this feast is for you, for all are invited here. If you have ever been…

The disciples are gathered in the upper room for supper. Passover was beginning soon, and there was much work to be done. The air was tense – the disciples had heard rumors about the authorities coming to arrest Jesus. They knew that any disruption during the Passover feast would not be tolerated. And so they…

The ancient designation of this day, this night, is “Maundy,” a form of the word “mandate.” And what is a mandate? It is a command, a demand, an order, an administrative determination, a legal authority, something required. It is mandatory, rather than optional. No choice. So, what is our mandate on this day? To love…

Take off your shoes! Take—off—your—shoes. No, not literally—figuratively. But think about what that would look like in this place—in this holy space we worship in. All those feet—our feet. Many of us would feel odd—all dressed up, but without shoes. Others might feel freed. Little children, for example, love to take off their shoes and…

Imagine a scene in an old black-and-white movie. At first, all you see on the screen are feet — old feet, middle-aged feet, children’s feet — caked with mud and marked by oozing sores from a long forced march, from slipping and staggering in the ankle-deep muck because these feet seem to be carrying more…

When we enter into the Gospels, how often we find ourselves at table sharing a meal. When we come to this place, St Mark’s, how often we find ourselves sharing food and drink — whether in the Eucharist, at coffee hour, or at any of the myriad “food events” of our common life. Table fellowship…

Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, “Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one to say unto him, “Lord, is it I?” Matthew 26. The event we come to…