I went to church this evening for Maundy Thursday and learned that "Maundy" translates from Latin meaning “Commandment” – this day of celebration during the Easter Holy Week is representative of the Last Supper and the greatest commandment of all: “Love One Another as I Have Loved You”.What a HUGE task! To have a love that pure, that unselfish, that all-encompassing is impossible for most of us. But the aspiration is what really matters – aspiring to that love, keeping a mantra in your head, a daily reminder to try and live that commandment. It is such a simple statement: just eight words,
but the weighty responsibility of them makes it a tough commandment to follow.
“Thou shalt not kill” – easy. Just don’t murder anyone. “Thou shalt honor thy father and mother” – not always easy, but it doesn’t say “Thou shalt agree with thy father and mother”, it just says honor them – which you can do while respectfully disagreeing with them. But “Love One Another as I Have Loved You”: LOVE. That’s the word that trips us up. Not “like" one another, or “respect" one another or even “tolerate" one another – but love. LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
There is love that comes from your soul for a partner or a friend, there is love that comes from your heart for a family member or a life-time pet… but this love, this LOVE must come from something, someone, some place bigger than yourself. It’s too big for your heart and too overwhelming for your soul. It’s Love without condition. Love no matter what. Love when you don’t want to love, when what you feel is the farthest emotion possible from love. Love beyond all measure. Love that we cannot even comprehend.
And the funny thing about this Love is that when you think it, and trust it, and send it out into the world… it turns out that it’s really there. It just might be easier than we all think. It’s an intention of Love. It doesn’t mean that you have to go around hugging all your co-workers and baking cookies for your neighbors (although that probably couldn’t hurt ,for you’d like them to follow the same commandment, too!) but it means sending them Love. Putting Love out there, even if you don’t feel it. Even if you don’t want to. Even when you’re not getting that same Love in return.
That’s conditional love – loving for the sake of gaining love in return. But loving for the sake of loving – that’s love without condition – that’s Love Divine.
The other part of Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the Last Supper. The final meal that Jesus ate with his friends. Just think of your group of close friends – having them over to your house, the cleaning up you’ll do before hand, the appetizers you’ll make, the dinner that could be simple but because of the company will turn out to be one of the most satisfying meals you can remember. And then think of it being the last time. Would it make each moment sweeter? Or bittersweet? Would you want to prolong the night and make it last into the early morning? Or would you want time to savor the moment and reflect afterwards?
The simple breaking of bread. The sharing of wine. The blessing given to each before he partakes. Amazing the feeling of fulfillment that such a small, simple meal can give.
Funny how I watched that final moment of AMERICAN FIESTA in rehearsal and it seemed to be saying the same things to me as the Maundy Thursday church service. The bowls may not match, the family may come in all different shapes and sizes, but the gathering together is what makes the event of sharing a meal holy and sacred and full of love. Simple: Love and Food. Food and Love.
“Thou shalt not kill” – easy. Just don’t murder anyone. “Thou shalt honor thy father and mother” – not always easy, but it doesn’t say “Thou shalt agree with thy father and mother”, it just says honor them – which you can do while respectfully disagreeing with them. But “Love One Another as I Have Loved You”: LOVE. That’s the word that trips us up. Not “like" one another, or “respect" one another or even “tolerate" one another – but love. LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
There is love that comes from your soul for a partner or a friend, there is love that comes from your heart for a family member or a life-time pet… but this love, this LOVE must come from something, someone, some place bigger than yourself. It’s too big for your heart and too overwhelming for your soul. It’s Love without condition. Love no matter what. Love when you don’t want to love, when what you feel is the farthest emotion possible from love. Love beyond all measure. Love that we cannot even comprehend.
And the funny thing about this Love is that when you think it, and trust it, and send it out into the world… it turns out that it’s really there. It just might be easier than we all think. It’s an intention of Love. It doesn’t mean that you have to go around hugging all your co-workers and baking cookies for your neighbors (although that probably couldn’t hurt ,for you’d like them to follow the same commandment, too!) but it means sending them Love. Putting Love out there, even if you don’t feel it. Even if you don’t want to. Even when you’re not getting that same Love in return.
That’s conditional love – loving for the sake of gaining love in return. But loving for the sake of loving – that’s love without condition – that’s Love Divine.
The other part of Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the Last Supper. The final meal that Jesus ate with his friends. Just think of your group of close friends – having them over to your house, the cleaning up you’ll do before hand, the appetizers you’ll make, the dinner that could be simple but because of the company will turn out to be one of the most satisfying meals you can remember. And then think of it being the last time. Would it make each moment sweeter? Or bittersweet? Would you want to prolong the night and make it last into the early morning? Or would you want time to savor the moment and reflect afterwards?
The simple breaking of bread. The sharing of wine. The blessing given to each before he partakes. Amazing the feeling of fulfillment that such a small, simple meal can give.
Funny how I watched that final moment of AMERICAN FIESTA in rehearsal and it seemed to be saying the same things to me as the Maundy Thursday church service. The bowls may not match, the family may come in all different shapes and sizes, but the gathering together is what makes the event of sharing a meal holy and sacred and full of love. Simple: Love and Food. Food and Love.
2 comments:
Hey Rachel! Beautiful entry about loving without condition. I know how you feel, that the task can be utterly daunting. Especially when I read the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13 - it's patient, kind, long-suffering, doesn't boast, it isn't rude or self-seeking, it's not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs - the list goes on. I can't do those things! It's impossible! But Christ can - and He does. He does it through me, when as you said, we desire to love, when we set out to do it, even though we fail, we can hope and trust that Christ's love came through. Without Christ working His love through me, I am hopeless!
By the way, that comment from "Skylight dance theatre" was from Ginny. Sorry for the confusion!
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