MAUNDY THURSDAY
1 April 2010

The night before he died, Jesus left his disciples two things to do – one of which, by and large, we have been better at observing than the other. He told them they were to take, bless and share bread and wine as his memorial, and to wash one another's feet.

There is no question which they understood to be the primary liturgical command. Both scriptural witness and apostolic practice are clear. The Breaking of Bread was celebrated again in the house at Emmaus the first Easter Evening, and has been celebrate by the Church ever since as the enduring memorial of Christ's death and resurrection. There is no record of the apostles taking Jesus' second command literally, as something to be repeated in the same way … though at times in Christian history there have been those who have argued that it ought to be.

But the Church has generally repeated that second action of Jesus at least once a year on this day;and it remains one of my little regrets that we do not do it here. Perhaps after over ten years as your Parish Priest I ought to push a little harder. Because that simple yet shocking act of Jesus in the upper room is in its own way as much a sign of Jesus' presence as the sacramental act of taking, blessing and sharing bread and wine.

Jesus is really, truly and objectively present in the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion, as he promised he would be. But he also told us that it is him we serve whenever we do good to those in need. He is in the poor, the outcast and the sick in a way that is different but no less real, just as he is in each one of his people. And a Church that does not serve is not fully the Church of Christ no matter how faithfully it celebrates the Eucharist, just as a Church that does not celebrate the Eucharist is not fully the Church of Christ no matter how faithfully it seeks to care for those in need.

As an institution, of course, the Church does many such acts of service, through its various programmes of relief and support at home and overseas. In many of the most deprived parts of this country the Church is often the only institution that has not pulled out. And I'm proud of the commitment we make to maintaining our corporate giving as a congregation to mission and outreach, even when things are financially tight.

Our schools too, such as Holy Trinity, are an important way in which we serve whole communities … a quarter of this country's primary school children are in Church of England schools. Then there are specific things we do closer to whom. I particularly wanted Pete to be here tonight [and to read the Gospel] because of his work with those on the margins which we facilitate and sponsor.

But there must be a personal element in all this as well. Sacrament and service must be seen to go together in our lives. No matter how faithfully we come to the altar we are not fully all that Jesus calls his followers to be if we are not seeking to live lives of service to those around us. They have to go together. What do we do?

In a memorable sermon, often quoted, the great missionary bishop of Zanzibar at the beginning of the last century said this to the Anglo-Catholic Congress of 1923. And although in some respects the ecclesiastical context has changed beyond recognition, the thrust of his message is no less true:

If you are Christians then your Jesus is one and the same: Jesus on the Throne of his glory, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus received into your hearts in Communion, Jesus with you mystically as you pray, and Jesus enthroned in the hearts and bodies of his brothers and sisters up and down this country.

You have got your Mass, you have got your Altar, you have begun to get your Tabernacle. Now go out into the highways and hedges and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus. And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet.