{"id":652660,"date":"2024-02-23T18:50:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T23:50:03","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-08-10T10:54:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:54:43","slug":"adaptation-maundy-thursday-march-28-2024","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/adaptation-maundy-thursday-march-28-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Adaptation, Maundy Thursday \u2013 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-red-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-red-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=DFMS9028249281&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-red-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-red-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[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<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/MT-2024-Cover-FB-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-302682\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a theory you may have heard about \u2013 hedonic adaptation. Basically, it means we get used to the circumstances of our lives \u2013 and return to our baseline happiness. Here\u2019s an example \u2013 You fantasize about buying a new car and save your money to be able to afford it. The day comes and you buy the car. Fabulous! You get a small happiness boost. But likely, by the next day, that dopamine hit has decreased. By the end of the week, even more so. And by the end of the month, you\u2019re used to it. This is just your car now. Your mind adjusts \u2013 hedonic adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, for something negative \u2013 some people express it by saying time heals. For example, when someone first dies, the grief seems almost unbearable. You can\u2019t imagine living without that person. But as time passes, you get into a new rhythm \u2013 your baseline returns. Again, hedonic adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The theory says that each person has a happiness set point, which is basically your genetically determined predisposition towards happiness. No matter, then, what happens in your life \u2013 no matter what your circumstances might be \u2013 you will return, more or less, to that set point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, what does this happiness theory have to do with Maundy Thursday and Holy Week and preparing ourselves for Easter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These holy days \u2013 this Holy Week \u2013 sort of shake us out of our baseline \u2013 to remind us of the miracle of resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the church year, we live in ordinary time. Green is on the altar and we hear the stories and teachings of Jesus \u2013 and work to put them into practice in our lives. Of course, Jesus\u2019 resurrection is a premise of our faith &#8211; and we affirm it weekly in the Nicene Creed \u2013 but by and large, for the most part, this crucifixion and resurrection business is skimmed over. We forget about the incredible miracle that Easter presents to us. We fall into our baseline. We practice hedonic adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday pull us out of our baselines &#8211; out of our hedonic adaptation \u2013 and point us first to the devastation of Jesus\u2019 death, and then to the joy of the miracle which is coming. The story of these holy days, of this Holy Week, gives us time to be shaken up. Time to be pulled out of our baselines, and out of our adaptation \u2013 time to hear these stories and hear the wonder in them, as if they were new to our ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus says to his followers that he is leaving them with a new commandment \u2013 that they love one another. Now, this feels a bit like a baseline for Jesus, who is always teaching us about love and expansion and how much God has for us. But what may be different here is how close he is to the end. He knows that death is coming, and he suspects that it won\u2019t be a peaceful passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet, even in the face of this difficulty \u2013 even in the face of a cruel, brutal, undeserved death \u2013 he tells his disciples to leave the sword behind and to love one another. It\u2019s revolutionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No matter how many times we have heard this scripture, no matter how many Maundy Thursdays we have lived through, worshipped through, this teaching should catch us by surprise. It should make our breath catch in our throats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We might be used to the stories we hear during Holy Week. We might have adapted to them. But if we are willing to hear them again and really listen, then we can\u2019t help but be shaken from our own hedonistic adaptation and be taken on an emotional journey toward the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have been coming to this point, traveling toward the cross, for all of the Lenten season \u2013 but in these three holy days, we really get the opportunity to experience the story of the cross. Even our worship looks different; many churches take today to practice the washing of feet or share an agape meal. Our liturgy clues us into the fact that all is not business as usual \u2013 that these days are set apart, meant to shake us awake and make us pay attention once more. The journey we take over these days will not end in death and darkness but in resurrection and new life. We will walk away with a deeper faith, a deeper love of God and of neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While hedonic adaptation is a theory proven over time, there is an antidote. Meditation or prayer, researchers noted, can elicit positive emotions. Specifically, becoming aware of what we have through mindfulness practices can refocus our energy and give us a bigger, longer-lasting boost to our baseline happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe these holy days function a bit like that. They ask us to practice mindfulness around Jesus\u2019 life and death so that we can hear his resurrection as the fresh miracle that it is. They shake us from our baseline, giving us time to really hear the amazing miracle that is coming as we approach Easter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, may this Maundy Thursday be a clarion call \u2013 a sign to wake from your slumber, and pay attention. An opportunity to hear Jesus\u2019 preaching about love as the revolutionary act that it is. And may we all be shaken from our own hedonistic adaptations. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rev. Jazzy Bostock<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-b815ea06-3b79-4a93-b56e-ad94ebb42274\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Sermon-Maundy-Thursday-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Maundy Thursday Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Sermon-Maundy-Thursday-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-b815ea06-3b79-4a93-b56e-ad94ebb42274\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-967e63d7-2b71-4ca2-bff3-a57489a23b30\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Sermon-Maundy-Thursday-English.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Maundy Thursday Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Sermon-Maundy-Thursday-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-967e63d7-2b71-4ca2-bff3-a57489a23b30\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[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 There\u2019s a theory you may have heard about \u2013 hedonic adaptation. Basically, it means we get used to the circumstances of our lives \u2013 and return to our baseline happiness. Here\u2019s an example \u2013 You fantasize about buying a new car&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[36,43,52,3],"tags":[136],"class_list":["post-652660","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-week","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-maundy-thursday"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":36,"label":"Holy Week"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":136,"label":"Maundy Thursday"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/652660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/652660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477362,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/652660\/revisions\/3477362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}