Storms come in many varieties. Here on the Canadian prairies we know all about winter blizzards, and the summer thunderstorms that come at you for days. In other parts of the world, they get hurricanes.

Every hurricane has an “eye,” a term which many people misunderstand. It is not the most violent part of the storm, but a region of calm air and very low barometric pressure in the centre, around which the winds circulate. I have been told by people who have lived through hurricanes that it is an eerie experience as the wind suddenly drops to nothing. Not long afterward, the storm wall hits again in full force—with the wind now blowing in the opposite direction

It seems to me that the storm of Holy Week has an eye, which we find in this day, known variously as Holy or “Maundy[i]” Thursday. The scene is a feast—perhaps a Passover meal, perhaps a fellowship meal on the day before. In either case, Jesus and his disciples are gathered safely together to share a celebratory meal.

The calm and the privacy belie the storm wall that is approaching, but they give a few hours of respite in which Jesus does some of his most important teaching.

Tonight’s readings tell us of three of them:

1.                  He gives his disciples the sacred meal which will sustain them until he comes again.

2.                  He teaches them that they must serve each other, as he has served them in the prophetic action of foot-washing.

3.                  He gives them the “new commandment” to love each other.

The storm wall is looming, but Jesus uses the present calm to teach and exhort—and to demonstrate his love for his disciples. They are to love each other. We are to love each other.

The storm wall will hit in time, and after that things will never be the same, but that Jesus has left his disciples prepared for the very worst—and the very best—that can happen.