Upside Down Picture

“Upside Down Picture”
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday offers us two important stories that warrant our attention…

First, we associate this night with The Last Supper…

Celebrated for centuries as the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, The Last Supper is probably the event most often commemorated on Holy Thursday.

Second, this night tells the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet…

This act of humble service comes with a new commandment as Jesus tells his followers to love one another in the same way he has loved them.

Both of these stories run contrary to what the disciples expect and present a picture of the Messiah that seems to be upside down.

I read an article the other day by an artist discussing his approach to his paintings. He says:

“When I've spent a zillion hours looking at one of my paintings, I turn it upside down, and suddenly I see things that weren't there before. If the perspective doesn't work, I suddenly see why; if someone's head is too big or a hand too awkward, I suddenly notice it. If it's a good composition, it looks good upside down or right side up. It's a great trick to shake up my vision, show me things I didn’t see before and even to reassure myself that it's good.”

It’s amazing how, when you look at something from a different perspective you often notice things that you hadn’t seen before.

Turning a picture upside down, looking at it from a different angle, or even putting in a different location in the room can suddenly reveal new ways of appreciating your artwork; it may even change your opinion of whether the painting suits your taste.

I wonder if that is what Jesus had in mind when he turned things upside down for his disciples…

Was he deliberately trying to force them to see things from a different perspective?

Was he revealing a new way of looking at God’s Messiah?

John begins the second half of his gospel here in Chapter 13…

For the next five chapters John prepares us for the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

Key to understanding John’s account is found in the first words of this section: 

“Now before the festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

You see, the meal that John describes is not the Passover meal…

John’s gospel is designed to have Jesus die on the Day of Preparation for the Passover…
in fact, in John’s account Jesus dies at the exact moment when the Passover lambs are sacrificed…For John this is vital symbolism.

In John’s account this night is not about a new Passover meal, it is about a new commandment and a new way of looking at Jesus’ relationship with his disciples that is shaped by the example he sets.

John’s gospel tells us two very important things…

First, Jesus is in control of the situation…

John doesn’t see the Passion as a tragedy; he sees it as the fulfillment and climax of the earthly mission of God’s Divine Messiah.

Second, Jesus’ actions and his mission are based in absolute, unconditional love.

We hear this love expressed in the words:
“having loved his own…he loved them to the end.”

John offers us an incredible story…

It is at once beautiful and terrifying; it is inviting and confusing;
it is not what we – not what anyone – expects to see…

This picture of Jesus is upside down and we don’t know what to do with it.

Salvation comes through God’s presence in a hostile world where Jesus’ death on the cross is not a tragedy – it is a moment of triumph and glory!

God’s grace is revealed in suffering…

God’s power is displayed in apparent weakness…

Glory is disguised as humiliation…

Jesus reveals a God who shows up where we least expect to find God in ways that we simply aren’t prepared to recognize.

God comes to redeem us in the midst of our misunderstanding.

No wonder Peter resists Jesus’ efforts to wash his feet – he doesn’t understand how The Messiah could come in the midst of humiliation and servitude.

Jesus tells him – and us – that we must revise our expectations, re-orient our perspective, and receive God hidden in humility.

If we are to be disciples of this Jesus we must embrace this upside down view of God,
of grace, of salvation, and of service…

We must let Jesus cleanse us so that we might cleanse others…

We must realize that our status as disciples doesn’t come from power; it comes from servitude as modeled by Jesus himself.

The question for us tonight is: Can we do it?

Can we see the grace of God embodied in the form of a man hanging on a cross?

Can we step into this upside down picture Jesus offers us of discipleship
and abundant life?

Can we live a life that is gained not by grabbing but by releasing; not by hoarding,
but by giving; not by ruling but by serving others as we have been served?

On Sunday I said that this Holy Week journey was not for the faint of heart…

It isn’t easy for us to walk beside Jesus on the road to Calvary and give absolutely everything in His Name…

It isn’t easy for us to see how a life of discipleship fits into a culture where giving is not the first inclination for most people…

It isn’t east to understand how different God’s perspective is from our own when it comes to living a life that follows the example of the only perfect human in history…

But, then, Jesus never told us it would be easy to be his disciple.

Tonight we hear a promise in the gospel…

A promise that we are, in fact, those whom Jesus has called and, if we follow his story to the end, we will be redeemed to new life in this world and the next.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen