Presby-Musings

Today is Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday--the day we  encounter one of the most powerful images of Jesus’ love.   The word "maundy" comes from the Latin   mandatum,  which means "command."    This is the day during Holy Week when Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples, and to demonstrate the extent of his love for them, he washed their feet and gave them this command.   “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) In a world shaped by hierarchy and power, this act is startling. The teacher kneels. The Lord serves. This is not symbolic alone—it is instructive. Theologian Karl Barth described this moment as the clearest picture of God’s nature: a God who bends low in love. Peter resists at first, uncomfortable with such vulnerability. And perhaps we understand why.  Because receiving this kind of love requires humility, and  offering it requires surrender. ...

Today, we continue our journey through Holy Week and reflect on Holy Wednesday, and Judas' thoughts of betraying Jesus.  Midweek, the tone of Holy Week shifts. The Gospel tells us: “Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him?’” (Matthew 26:14–15) This is a quiet but devastating moment. The tension in the story begins to build as one of Jesus' own handpicked disciples decides to betray him.   No crowds. No confrontation. Just a decision. Judas’ betrayal did not happen all at once. It emerged from somewhere—disappointment, misunderstanding, perhaps even disillusionment.  Many scholars believe that Judas may have been trying to force Jesus' hand to start a revolution.  Others believe that he alllowed bitterness to drive him to do the unthinkable.  Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that “sin demands to have a man by himself.” Isolation often precedes betrayal...