Maundy Thursday Homily
Homily of Abbot Paul Maundy Thursday 2021
Mass was live-streamed and the recording is available.
It was Mark Twain who said that, “History never repeats itself, at best it sometimes rhymes.” That sense of rhyming is clearly recognisable in the History of Salvation. The early Christians came to understand this as they grappled with the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion. The most obvious rhyming pattern in the Old Testament is the echo of the story of Adam and Eve and of Israel itself. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, but broke the rules and were evicted. Israel had been given the Promised Land, but they too disobeyed God and were sent into exile. The rhyme is clear.
So what did it mean when the first Christians said that the story had reached its climax with Jesus? It meant that Man’s rebellion against God, and Israel’s in particular, had done their worst. Adam and Eve were seduced by an appeal to pride. The forbidden fruit was desirable to make them wise, but eating it was the ultimate folly. Now the combination of human arrogance and false wisdom has put Jesus on the cross. But according to St Paul, the truth of the Gospel is that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
The early Christians came to see the cross of Jesus as the new tree of life and on this day, Maundy Thursday, at the Last Supper, Jesus reversed the rhyme of the forbidden fruit, when he said, “This is my body which is given for you.” This is the food that makes you truly wise and is freely given. It will bring you from death to life.
Tonight’s celebration reminds us that Christ wants us to follow his example. He wants us to show how perfect our love is. He wants us to serve others with humility and charity. He wants us to sacrifice our lives for others and not count the cost. We, of course, understand all this, but do we have the faith to do what Jesus asks of us? Have you ever thought what the world would be like if Christians were simply to follow the example of Jesus? Mind you, if you take up your cross every day and follow him, don’t be surprised if, in the end, you are crucified. “I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.”
In the Ambrosian Rite there is a beautiful chant that is sung after the proclamation of the Gospel this evening. It says, “Today, Son of the Eternal God, you receive me as a friend at your wondrous banquet. I will not hand over your mystery to the unworthy nor will I kiss and betray you like Judas, but I implore you, like the thief on the cross, to receive me, O Lord, into your kingdom.” Let us make this our prayer tonight.
