"The Look of Love is in Your Eyes" - Sermon for Maundy Thursday 4-2-26

It was hard for him to tell his wife that he loved her. He was a man of his culture and of his generation. She longed to hear him talk about his feelings for her before his advanced stage prostate cancer took him from her. I was their hospice chaplain, and she asked me to help.

He admitted to me that such words didn’t come easy, but of course he loved her. Then he told me that, from his hospice bed, he arranged to pay off their mortgage, have some appliances replaced, and take care of other household repairs and financial matters so that, after he died, she would be in the clear. His death would be hard enough on her. Because he loved her so deeply, he didn’t want her to bear any other burdens but grief.

Not long before he died, I visited him, and she joined us at his bedside. She told him that she loved him. He didn’t say it back, but he gave her a gentle smile and such a tender look. She didn’t hear the words, but she knew, and so did I.

Jesus was passionate for his disciples. He loved them deeply. When Jesus’s hour had come, his suffering and death near, he said the words. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

And passionate Jesus matched his words with his actions. At this, the last supper with his disciples, he washed their feet. And, so they would remember him, he gave them bread, his very Body; and then he gave them wine, his very Blood.

He did all this because he loved them. And, because soon enough, he would be taken from them, ascending to his Father’s side, sending them the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide them … but we’re getting ahead of the story.

For now, Jesus knew his death and the burden of grief would be enough for them to bear, so he took passionate care of his beloved friends. And, even knowing that their fears would cause them to stumble, I expect Jesus gave them a gentle smile and such a tender look – the same way he looks at us.

Father Daniel S.J. Scheid, SCP

Maundy Thursday – April 2, 2026

All Saints’ Episcopal Church, San Francisco

“The Look of Love is in Your Eyes”