Maundy

. . .  love one another. Just as I have loved you.

 - From John 13

The mid-point of Holy Week could be redubbed "Drop Your Guard Days." Or, to use Star Trek parlance, "Lower Your Shields." It's time to drop the phony political alignments and get down to brass tacks, to the nitty gritty. To life and death.

Because, at this point, it really does come down to Life and Death.

From the dawn of creation, to the end of it all, the shadow of the Cross extends from one end of the cosmos to the other.

Like my last moments with my Dad, while he was still conscious, before he drifted off to sleep, never again to awaken, these are the heart-felt and absolutely essential moments in the life of Christ, and in the church yearly calendar.

But we'll go off to some cushy service tonight. Some churches will actually do mostly symbolic foot-washing. But did Christ want us actually to wash each other's feet, or did He wish for us simply to love one another? Isn't that the hardest thing yet? Feet-washing is fine . . . but people certainly are going to undergo the ritual, while harboring resentments against others, even others that are present. And that's missing the point.

It all comes down to the Death of Christ . . . why He died. Why he had to die.

Do you think that, as He shared these last peaceful moments with The Twelve, that He was hoping we'd score some points in political debate? Did He want His Church, His Body, dividing and realigning with temporal, earthly political factions? Did He want half of us to be hyper-focused on stewardship of the Earth and it's environment, while demonizing the other half, which is hyper-focused on stewardship of our own bodies and the higher calling of moral purity?

Or did He simply want us to love one another?

The word "Maundy" is attributed either to a Latin root which also means "mandate," or possibly to a middle English word indicating the giving of alms. Both definitions are good.

A new commandment: to love one another as the Father Loves Christ, and us. A new commandment: a mandate . . . "maundy." And so the word "mandate," like the word "rainbow" becomes another Christian word and concept that has been misused in our times. We think of mandate as something politicians force upon the population, because they have a "mandate" to do so. But as believers, our understanding of "mandate" should be linked to a commandment that we love.

It's the last thing Christ wanted us to get. It was what dominated His prayers later on that night . . . in Gethsemane.

Love one another.