Today is designated as Maundy Thursday in the church. The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum which means mandate or command. This refers to the commandment Jesus gives to the disciples the night before he is crucified in the Gospel of John: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” [John 15:12]
Yet when we reflect on the stories of the last days of Jesus’ life, his friends and followers do not exactly fulfill this commandment. There is the story of Peter betraying Jesus three times. There is the story of the disciples falling asleep when Jesus asks them to pray. There is the story of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver. The tradition tells us that all but the women fled and deserted Jesus at the end. So much for love one another as I have loved you.
In Psalm 118, we are told again and again of God’s faithfulness. The writer cries out in distress. Guess what? God delivers. Surrounded by enemies, God comes through. “God is on my side to help me,” we are told. “I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but God helped me.” “The right hand of God does valiantly; the right hand of God is exalted.” In every situation imaginable, God comes through. God delivers. That message resounds again and again in the Psalms and throughout scripture.
We may be fickle. Our faith may be weak. We may betray. We may loose heart. We may give up. God? Never. God is always faithful. God cannot be anything but steadfast or God would not be God. On this day as we remember the stories of the desertion and betrayal of Jesus, may we remember that God is always faithful. God cannot betray or desert.
Prayer
Sometimes in life we may feel God’s distance or absence, but God is there. God cannot betray or desert us. God is always faithful. Steadfast. We may waiver. We may bend on what matters most. We may betray ourselves, God, and others. But God remains faithful which means God is always forgiving. God is always waiting to welcome us back, even when we have been unfaithful. May we trust God’s mercy to redeem us. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 