John 13: 1-17                                                                                                                 Rev. Dr. Galen E. Russell III

Maundy Thursday                                                                                                                                April 2, 2026

“For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”

Prayer: On this holy night, O Lord, may we hear and feel the wisdom of your word, your life and light in us. In Christ Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Our Lenten season, the “Living Spiritually” worship series is concluding, friends. Our deep dive into this theme took us to explore what it means for you and me to deepen our relationship with God in the new covenant God made for us. And not for just us, but indeed, for the whole human family.

But, of course, as we conclude, you know, don’t you, that it not really the conclusion. That all the spiritual practices we explored this Lent are intended to propel us forward on our faith journeys. Like the way Covid propelled us into the technological age. We’re on Facebook Live and YouTube now.

Or like how my daughter who is a doctor told me that after I finish my cardio rehab workouts, I need to make that schedule a habit so I can keep on exercising my heart. My rehab schedule is supposed to propel me forward to stay heart healthy. Mm-hmm. I get it.

The same thing applies with Living Spiritually. Our Lenten series is supposed to propel us forward to live spiritually in the midst of a whole lot of unspiritual-ness, long after Lent is over. To enlighten us in profound ways when we face the crises and challenges of the day.

So the one remaining spiritual practice of Living Spiritually I want to explore with you is “Do Unto Others.” Because you know that when Jesus said, “So if I your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet,” it was a ‘do unto others’ moment.

When he said, “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you,” it was a precursor to the “pay it forward” idea, right? If something good was done to you by someone else, yeah, you can reciprocate it back to the person. But, it is really cool to “pay it forward” and do unto another person what was done to you, or something similar.

Like when after a stranger helped fix a woman's flat tire in the cold, she paid it forward by buying groceries for an elderly neighbor. Or like when a man named Stephen donated a kidney to his sister; she later “paid it forward” by becoming the primary caregiver for their grandfather until he passed away at age 99. The internet is chock full of stories like these. You probably know some, too, or experienced someone paying it forward to you.

So when Jesus washed his disciple’s feet, and other works, he said that they should do unto others. Pay it forward.

But Peter viewed Jesus as his leader. Even more… the Son of God Way superior to him. So, Peter said that there’s no way Jesus would ever stoop so low as to wash his feet! That was status quo thinking. It was worldly, societal, and cultural thinking.

But Jesus flipped the status quo upside down immediately. Unless Peter lets Jesus wash his feet, Peter can have no parts of Jesus. Peter could not be bathed in God’s holy love if he doesn’t let Jesus serve him. Then, Peter, was like, “Wash all of me!’ Jesus basically said, “You’re all good. One bathed in the Spirit is entirely clean.”

According to Luke, at the Last Supper, Jesus asked his disciples who was greater, who had a higher degree of status, the waiter serving tables, or the ones sitting at the table being waited on? Obviously, he said, society and culture say the ones sitting at the table being waited on. But, then he said, “But I am among you as one who serves.”

In other words, the greatest teacher, the Son of the Highest God, was among his disciples as one who was serving them! He inverted the status quo. He turned upside down who was the greatest in God’s realm—it’s the one who serves, not the one being served. This is his example—and we are to serve others as he did.

Remember the song? “If you want to be great in God’s kindom, learn to be a servant of all.”

Barb and I went to the Indian restaurant in town, the Momo Shack. Very good Indian food. The waiter was at our service. He waited on us. He got what we wanted. He got a carafe of water when he saw my water was low. He brought our food. As he was supposed to. Yes, he was being paid. Yes, he was doing his job. But he was all about serving us. So, in God’s economy, he was top dog.

So much of Jesus’ teaching and what he was about reflects this inverted thinking. He taught that if we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, we will be lifted up by God. If we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of the gospel, we will find our lives.

He showed by example, too, when he said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belongs the kindom of God!” The children! The street urchins! More accepted in the courts of God’s realm than the highfalutin , hoity-toity, “religious” people!

And Jesus taught us to love one another. As I have loved you, you also ought to love one another” he said. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13: 34-35).

Perhaps the most important part about Living Spiritually is to follow Jesus’ mandate to love one another. This is the example he set for us. Do unto others. Love one another.

Living Spiritually means to love one another as Christ has loved us. It means to serve one another as Christ has served us. It is to do unto others as Christ has done unto us.

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them, says Jesus. If we know these things, everyone will know that we are Jesus’ disciples.

Let’s do unto others as Christ has already done for us as we continue Living Spiritually.

Amen