Maundy Thursday: Life Given, Love Poured Out

Jesus raises Lazarus to Life - John 11:1-44

By the time we arrive at this night, everything has begun to narrow. The road that started with celebration is now leading somewhere heavier, more costly. And yet, what Jesus does here is surprisingly simple. He kneels. He washes feet. He shares a meal.

The same one who stood outside a tomb and called life forth now stoops to serve. The same voice that cried, “Come out,” now speaks words of love over bread and cup.

This is what the life Jesus gives looks like.

It is not only dramatic moments of transformation, it is also quiet acts of love. It is presence, and service. It is the willingness to care for one another in ways that are ordinary and holy all at once.

When Jesus says, “Love one another,” he is not offering a vague ideal. He is giving a way of life - one that reflects the very heart of God.

If our lives have been handed back to us, then they are not meant to be held tightly. They are meant to be given. Shared. Poured out in love.

This is the invitation of Maundy Thursday: to receive love, and then to embody it.

Jesus, you kneel before us in love. Teach me to live the life you have given me with humility and grace. Help me to love others not in words alone, but in action and truth. Amen.

^{This piece is offered by Sterling United Methodist Church and was written in collaboration between Rev. Bert Cloud and Sharon Rosenfeld. It is inspired by the book Seven Miracles: Signs of Life in the Gospel of John by Gina Anderson-Cloud, Megan Dietrick, Bill Gray, Daniel Park, Isaiah Park & Lauren Todd}