Scripture reading:John 13:1-15: 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: 23   For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

If you knew you were dying tomorrow, what would you do tonight?

This week marked the 33rd anniversary of a momentous event in my life. On April 3, 1974, 3 tornados slammed into my home town of Jasper, Alabama. Fortunately, no one was killed as Jasper was basically empty that Wednesday night. However, the tornado that roared into Jasper from Fayette County destroyed a church only a few miles from the church where my father pastored. When we left church that night in Corona and drove back toward Jasper, the storm that killed the pastor and his wife at Alta Hill Baptist Church followed my family, turning to destroy Jasper only a few miles from our home.

I’ve never forgotten that night. Our church had joined with Alta Baptist only a few weeks before in a singing service; my father knew Alta’s pastor. Did Brother Brand and his wife know when they went to church that night that they’d never return home?

Over 315 people died in America on that day in a series of storms that ripped entire towns from the earth. None of the victims had any indication their lives would end that day. How did they spend their last night in this life?

Jesus had an advantage over most of us: He knew the Thursday night St. John described was the last night of His life before His crucifixion. He could have spent that night doing many things. He could have gathered His followers and prepared them for battle; many Jews would have fought for Him against the hated Romans. He could have written His memoirs; yet, we have no evidence Jesus ever wrote a book, much less anything the night before His death.

Instead, Jesus gathered His most intimate friends — including His betrayer — and gave us a final example of living life as God intended. Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, and in this act gave us an example of how to approach life’s most difficult moments and how to gratefully live in the grace of God day by day.

First, Jesus celebrated His history. Passover reminded the Jews of God’s mighty acts of deliverance in history. The meal itself harkened to an event nearly 1,500 years before: The Exodus. In this act, God delivered the Jews from Egypt with a mighty hand. A mob of slaves walked free from one of the world’s superpowers and did so richer than kings. God had remembered His people, observed their sufferings, and worked in miraculous ways to deliver them from bondage.

However, the Passover meal in Jerusalem also served as a bittersweet reminder that the Jews had not remained faithful to the God of their deliverance. As the worshipers filed into the Temple to perform the Passover sacrifices, they would have found it impossible to ignore the Antonia Fortress built directly on the Temple Mount. Herod had built this fortress in 35 B.C. and named it after Marc Antony. This 115 foot-high fortress served to protect the Temple and also to provide a secure defensive position for the Roman garrison that maintained order in Jerusalem. The Romans kept the High Priestly garments in this fortress and gave them to the High Priest only for the special occasions that warranted them. Every worshiper who entered the Temple would have seen the Antonia Fortress towering over the Temple colonnades.

Therefore, Passover reminded the Jews of more than God’s work on their behalf; it also reminded them of their failures to walk faithfully before Him. Every Roman soldier in Jerusalem reminded the Jews of their inability to keep God’s law and to serve Him as a kingdom of priests.

Secondly, Jesus marked His present. We have this annoying tendency to ignore the present; we want to return to the glory days of the past, or reach for the uncertain triumphs we always see in our future. I’m reminded of Yoda’s complaint about Luke in Star Wars: “All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was.”

Jesus overcame this very human failing on His last night alive before His crucifixion. The moment required attention; He served as the Answerer to the Passover’s 4 Questions. He served as the officiant at the meal. Then, He noticed that feet needed washing — and the King of Kings stooped to wash His disciples’ feet. No wonder Peter was overcome with embarrassment when Jesus approached him with a towel and washbasin; Peter rightfully understood he should be washing his Master’s feet.

Lastly, Jesus looked confidently toward the future. This may seem like a stretch to many, but I believe St. John proves it in the quote of Jesus later in chapter 13, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” In the days to come, the disciples’ love would demonstrate to the world that Jesus continued to live and work in their lives. This night would not be the end of the road for these men. The first Passover Question asks, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” This night was different from all other nights. This night, Jesus laid the foundation of love on which His Church would overcome the world. The Church triumphs today not by force of arms or by persuasion or even by legislation. We triumph because Jesus, on this night, commanded us to love one another and called us to love the world in His Name.

Now we know how Jesus spent His last night. What about us? If this were the last night of our lives, how would we spend it?

I can think of no better place, of no more appropriate way, than at this Table, with this meal. We all come tonight, see the bread and the cup, and remember that our failures caused this moment. If humans had not sinned — including us — we would not need to remember Jesus’ death. Every one of us came into this sanctuary bearing our pasts. Every triumph and failure of your life came with you tonight, woven into the very fabric of your existence. Maybe your worst failure occurred years ago and you’re still carrying the burden. Maybe the failure happened today. Regardless, I encourage you tonight with these words: God has forgiven you of every sin and failure you’ve ever committed the moment you asked for that forgiveness. When Jesus died on the cross, His death paid the price for every failure of your past.

We also dwell in the sacredness of this present moment. Jesus said He would be present when 2 or 3 were gathered in His Name. We gather tonight and know He is with us: in a spiritual way through the presence of the Holy Spirit, and in a mystical way in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We gather as the redeemed, just as the Jews gathered as the redeemed from slavery in Egypt. If you have confessed Jesus as Lord of your life, believing that God raised Him from the dead — as we will celebrate this Sunday — you stand redeemed in this moment from the slavery of sin. As you approach the Table, come knowing that your redemption is secure and your place in God’s family is certain. For this present moment, forget the past, and leave the future to itself. Come believing, and receive the life-giving signs of Jesus: His Body and His Blood.

And, as we leave this place in a few moments, we cannot help but dwell on the future. Tomorrow night, we’ll gather at New Hope to commemorate Jesus’ future on His last night: His crucifixion. However, we also look forward to a glorious Easter. Jesus conquered death and sin for us. St. Paul tells us through Ephesians that “ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). We are promised a glorious inheritance that will endure for all eternity.

Even better, Jesus promised that “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again...” (John 14:3). We have no Church holiday to mark the ultimate fulfillment of our future glorification, but when Jesus comes again, He will truly restore Creation itself to its rightful place before its Creator and King. We will hear all Creation resound with the cry, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” What a future to anticipate!

However, for the Christian, that inheritance began in our past with our confession of Jesus as Lord. It continues with our joyous life in Christ as we allow Him to direct us in our present. We know that, if this were the last night of our lives, we would inherit an eternity that defies our imaginations. If we live to see Jesus’ return, we will witness the future of the universe as Jesus’ triumph over sin and death culminates with the rejoicing of the redeemed at the return of Our King.

Past, present, and future; they all merge in this moment, in this Meal, at this Table. They do so because Jesus, “on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Christian, come tonight. Remember. And rejoice.