by Rev Douglas Brauner

Giving love because we have first been loved.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

What do whales have to do with Maundy Thursday?

I’m glad you asked!

Benson Sculpture Gardens, Loveland, Colorado

Spotting Gray Whales is a highlight of any trip I make to the Oregon coast. These are majestic creatures, growing to nearly fifty feet, and weighing up to 90,000 pounds. Though these are large creatures, their young are vulnerable to attack.

The journey from Mexico to the Bering Sea begins with the young closely attached to its’ mother. The mother protects her baby as long as it is near her side. She will do everything to protect her young until it is grown to a size that it can take care of itself.

Again, what do whales have to do with Maundy Thursday?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 13:34 English Standard Version

Jesus has given us a mandate, in Latin mandatum, that we are to love each other as he has loved us. Jesus demonstrated his love for his disciples when he washed their feet, before they celebrated the Seder meal, the night before his crucifixion.

His love for his disciples, including us, was best displayed when he washed us…not with water from a basin, but with his blood that flowed from his cross.

Here’s the kicker…we are to love each other as He loves us.

Whales repeat the cycle of caring for their young, year after year. As the mother loves her calf, so that calf will love her offspring.

Like whales, we learn love by being loved.

Like whales, we give love because we have been loved.

Even if we have experienced little love from others, there is One who has loved us and will continue to love us. The mandate that we have to love each other comes from the One, who gave everything for us, whose love holds us close to his side.

That’s what whales have to do with Maundy Thursday.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado