It's Almost Midnight. What hour does it seem to be in your life?

It's almost midnight! Today is Maundy Thursday (HOLY) Thursday. Today we embark on a sad, denying, betraying and mournful day, today we also embark on a day of fellowship, service and love. Today the history of the church forces us to pause this LENTEN season and focus on the Holy Supper along with Jesus washing the feet of his followers. I leave the scriptures before you asking you to pay particular attention to the themes of hope, love, service and suffering! Feel free to comment with your thoughts!


Luke 22:14-23 ^{14 -16}When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."

^{17 -18}Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, "Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I'll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives."

¹⁹Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory."

²⁰He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.

^{21 -22}"Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying me is at this moment on this table? It's true that the Son of Man is going down a path already marked out—no surprises there. But for the one who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday."

²³They immediately became suspicious of each other and began quizzing one another, wondering who might be about to do this.

John 13:1-17

^{1 -2} Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

^{3 -6}Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?"

⁷Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later."

⁸Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet—ever!"

Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing."

⁹"Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!"

^{10 -12}Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

^{12 -17}Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.