Maundy Thursday · The Triduum
Broken Time
Tonight, time itself is broken — not because Easter is early, but because the love of God is pouring out.
Enter the meditationMay I speak to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It always feels like we're running behind — like we need more time. More time to prepare. More time with our loved ones. Like the kids when it's time to leave grandma's: regardless of how long they've been there, they always need five more minutes, please.
I can imagine that Jesus wanted five more minutes with his friends this night. Everything was about to change, and he just wanted to spend more time with the ones he loved. It felt like Easter was too early, and he needed more time.
For the next forty-eight hours or so, all of space and time are broken open as God's love is poured out for us.
We're normally stuck in a frame of reference where time moves one second per second. We can remember the past, but we cannot see into the future.
An outside observer, though, would perceive things differently. They would see our fourth dimension of time the way we can see an entire piece of music on one sheet of paper. It takes time to play it — but in some sense, the whole thing is experienced at a glance.
The Triduum is like that. As we make our way through the next forty-eight hours, one second per second, we can also perceive the whole thing at once — going all the way back to when Jesus first washed his friends' feet, and all the way forward to when we'll join Christ in eternal life.
A daughter brings her elderly mother to a new doctor. The doctor sees one moment — an elderly woman needing support. But the daughter sees something more. She remembers the young mother who kissed her scraped knees to heal them, the capable woman who raised a family.
Her memories aren't clouding her judgment. It's an expansion of her perception through time. Our memories of the past shape our expectations of the future.
But things aren't breaking apart toward destruction.
When Jesus says, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you," he is bringing all of time and space together for a moment.
He is recalling every commandment God has given before. He is remembering the miracles and signs of years. He is speaking of that very moment, washing his friends' feet. And he is thinking of tomorrow, when he will pour out his blood as well as his love.
It breaks every expectation — that the teacher is the one who washes feet like the lowliest servant, that the Lord is the one who is crucified, that we won't be known for our accomplishments. We will be known for our love for one another.
We remember his death. We proclaim his resurrection. We await his coming in glory.
All three of those sentences are in the present tense. That is our work for right now — this eternal moment where remembering, proclaiming, and awaiting are happening all together.
All the sermons you've heard before are being preached right now.
All the people you've loved are sitting in the pews with you right now.
Time and space are broken because our limited perception and expectations cannot contain the love of God that is pouring out for you.
"By this everyone will know you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another."
Broken is not destroyed. It is expanded by the eternal mystery of God's love. That is how they will know us — by our love.
Amen.
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The Rev. Jessica Harmon
Experienced in time and space, and in the eternal liturgy that holds us all. Saint Mark's livestreams worship each week.
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An Invitation
Come to the Table
At Saint Mark's, love comes first. Everyone — regardless of who they love, where they're from, or what their history may be — is welcome here.
We invite you to share God's Table with us. This is an open table: all who seek God and a deeper life in Christ are welcome to receive Holy Communion. Come forward to the altar to receive the bread and the cup — or, if you wish, simply cross your arms for a blessing. Wherever you are on your journey of faith, there is a place for you in the circle.
"We remember his death. We proclaim his resurrection. We await his coming in glory."
- 8:00 amHoly Eucharist, Rite I
- 10:30 amChoral Eucharist, Rite II
- 5:00 pmContemplative Eucharist