Maundy Thursday – The Great Commandment
Sermon Preached by Reverend Tracey Gracey on Thursday, 2 April 2026
It is a great privilege to be asked to say something on Maundy Thursday as we start the Easter triduum on this Holy Night. Thank you. There are several topics in this reading from John’s gospel (it’s very busy), but I just want to talk about one, which is love. The great commandment is to love one another, as I have loved you. Love is not an event, but a way of life, and shows the character of being church. It is why Maundy Thursday is the most important day in the church calendar, because love is not an event. Love is something we do every day.
In order to love, we must first understand something of God’s love for us. God is not just an entity ‘out there’ that is a bit removed. God is a relationship. Isaiah 43.1, I call you by name. If we can hear God say our name, it brings us into relationship, it motivates us to pray, to pause and observe / connect with others. St Teresa of Avila said; “Christ has no feet on earth but ours, no hands but ours.” When we love we are doing the work of Christ. Love begins in a faith context.
How do we love? Love is not much to do with how I feel. Love is driven by a concern for the wellbeing of the other. The nature of love is unselfish. We see the generous nature of love reflected in the poem in tonight’s liturgy. Love focuses on the completeness of the other. If you are wondering how to love, a powerful thing that anyone can learn to do is to listen. Love takes an interest in the other. Love focuses outward, not inward.
Love is not selective. Loving people we like is one thing. But what if it is someone we don’t like? In my experience the application of a simple process is helpful. Write their name down, pray about them. Try to understand what’s happened to them. That isn’t love in itself, but it is a softening of resentment. It might be a step in the right direction toward ‘being more loving.’ Our job is not just to love those we like, but to love those who intersect with our lives, whether we like them or not.
Motivation … Love understood in this way is good for your own mental health. It is difficult to resent someone, and act generously toward them at the same time. So in the very least, trying to love others saves us from ourselves.
Tonight we celebrate God’s love for us. “Barak” is the Hebrew word meaning “to praise God with reverence.” How do we not? God has first loved us; He has called us by our name. We now move closer to the symbols of God’s love; the linen cloths, the eucharist, and they point to the sacrifice Jesus has made. Easter is not an expression of love. It is a statement that love cannot do anything but generously promote the welfare and wholeness of one another.