Holy Thursday

On the third Thursday of each month, I go to a small nursing home in the area and celebrate worship with the residents there. It has always been an enlivening experience for me. It is also interesting in that I am a woman ordained in the United Church of Christ, and many of my Thursday "parishioners" are Catholic.

We do not celebrate the Eucharist. That is done for them on Sundays. But I read scripture, offer a brief meditation on the piece, and then we sing.

The joy for me is that the residents seem to look forward to my visit. I usually hang out with them for a bit afterward.

But back to Holy Thursday. As this is a once a month service, I realized I could have brought an Easter message. That would be uplifting and life-affirming. But it seemed to me that we can only come to Easter by first traveling through the Last Supper with his disciples and standing at the foot of the cross.

I read John's account of Jesus's washing the disciples' feet.

And then, I asked permission to wash the hands of the people. Most of the hands were gnarled, and affected by arthritis. But all responded with tenderness to this small thing.

It was a sacred moment. Nearly everyone closed their eyes when I washed their hands in my bowl. And everyone whispered thank you.

One of the women who works there said, "But no one has washed your hands. May I?"

Each of us met Jesus that day. For a brief moment, the Christ in each of us spoke to the heart.

What would surprise Jesus in this? I think for him, there are no surprises. Jesus knew the power of touching. And he calls us to share that with each other.