Love to the Very End
Maundy Thursday
Reflection By Robbin Brent
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
- John 13:1
The Upper Room is the setting for this holy night as we witness Jesus’ final hours with his disciples. Amidst the impending betrayal and suffering, he assumes the posture of a servant, washing his disciples’ feet and sharing a meal that will become the enduring sign of his presence and love.
The Gospel of John says it simply: “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” This love remains steadfast, undiminished by what lies ahead—not weakened by the disciples’ coming desertion, but somehow deepened in anticipation of it.
As Jesus breaks the bread and shares the cup, we witness the mystery of his self-giving love, the love that will lead him to the cross. In this moment, Jesus entrusts himself completely to his disciples, and to us, offering his very body and blood as nourishment for the journey ahead.
Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century mystic and composer, knew that “Love abounds in all things, excels from the depths to beyond the stars, is lovingly disposed to all things.” This is what we see at the Last Supper—Jesus drawing near to us in our need. Just as he shared his brokenness with his disciples, he draws us to bring our wounds and fragility to the table of his love. He meets us in the depths of our betrayals and failures, offering the bread of forgiveness and the cup of healing. Mary Magdalene understood this kind of love—undignified, extravagant, uncontainable. When she anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume and wiped them with her hair, her gesture was intimate, tender, and scandalous. It was love that refused to be measured or contained by propriety.
How often we hold back parts of ourselves, fearing what others might think. We may find it easier to give than to receive, to serve than to be served. But Jesus graciously accepted Mary’s gift, just as he allowed himself to be washed, fed, and cared for throughout his ministry. As we approach the cross, let us open ourselves to the healing intimacy of Jesus’ love—a love that cherishes us in our ordinary, embodied humanity.
This Maundy Thursday, we can let our remembrance of the Last Supper draw us near to Jesus in the circle of his love. We can be nourished by the gift of his presence and be changed by his self-offering. And we can pray for the grace to love as he loved, to the very end, even as we face our own weakness and the brokenness of the world.
Making It Personal: As you reflect on the intimacy of the Last Supper, what touches your heart most deeply? How might you open yourself to receive Jesus’ self-giving love in a new way this Holy Week? What would it look like to offer love extravagantly and undignifiedly, as Mary Magdalene did? How might it change you?