Once again, reading John's Gospel feels like inhabiting a time warp. Today Jesus washes the Disciples' feet, which we commemorated almost two months ago on Maundy Thursday. This year we had a very different experience at our parish. Mom wrote about it on her blog. The key piece for me today is the end of her entry for that day:
At the Church Center we have Eucharist every day. Recently, lay people began participating on the preaching rota. Today my friend Luke preached. He began by listing many of the non-canonical Gospels, including some recently rediscovered ones, and talking about the hoopla that surrounds such discoveries. Then he told us he'd discovered a new Gospel, one that you can trace by reading carefully in all four of the canonical Gospels. He called it "The Gospel of Missing The Point."Foot washing is done. We move on to share communion. These children probably do not fully grasp what we have just experienced together. And that's okay. Next year when we gather for this same ritual, they will remember. They will be one year older. They will be in a different place spiritually. They will understand a little more. They may participate, they may not. But they will remember.
I will remember.
Aha, I thought to myself, we've been seeing a lot of this in John's Gospel as I've been following along with the Bishops and others around the Anglican Communion. We see it again in today's reading. The Disciples--again--miss the point of what Jesus is doing and saying.
But they remember. The church remembers. We re-enact this scene every Maundy Thursday, year in and year out. And that is what Mom is talking about. Sometimes we must remember before we "get the point." And sometimes we remember long after we've forgotten the point. The ritual keeps the point in our memories--both our own memories and the corporate memory of the church.
They will remember.
I will remember.
Peace,
Jeffri
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