Maundy Thursday Poem: Tonight

by Melanie Lim

Maundy Thursday has always been a personal favorite. I wonder what it’d be like to be at the scene as one of Jesus’ disciples. As you take a moment to read this poem slowly, may you find yourself transported to that room, that night, savouring every detail, pondering every word said. As you read imaginatively what Jesus may be feeling, thinking, doing, and what it’d be like watching Jesus as one of His beloved disciples, may you encounter our dear Lord afresh.

TONIGHT

Always kind,

always surprising,

always passionate,

always mystifying -

He has always been.

But tonight,

He stood up,

He stooped down,

He took off his clothes,

He put on a towel.

Our eyes raised;

the room quietened.

Our minds raced;

the servers halted.

Did it smell?

Was it my feet?

Did it bother him that much?

Why didn’t I just wash earlier?

He took the water,

He took the basin,

He took our feet;

We took part in him.

He touched my feet,

His eyes met mine,

He nodded and smiled

with his deep and distraught eyes.

But tonight,

What was on his mind?

Love one another?

Betrayal?

Denial?

But tonight,

More passionate,

more shocking;

even more generous,

even more mystifying.

But tonight,

His body?

His blood?

Why is he giving these to us?

Why does it seem like he is not holding back anymore?

But tonight,

Perplexed yet determined,

vulnerable yet giving,

wordy yet silent,

withdrawn yet warm.

But tonight,

He wanted company,

He wanted solitude,

He wanted to go,

He wanted to stay.

Tonight,

is a night to remember

though I do not understand

nor know what he has planned.

With him, I want to stand.

For tonight,

all I can say is:

Having loved us,

He loved us to the end.