Maundy Thursday

Maundy is an Old English word derived from the Latin mandatum meaning “commandment.” Jesus commanded his friends to love one another, no matter the circumstances, whether together or apart. Today (or tonight) we commemorate one gathering and two rituals. The first, foot-washing, we will mark by taking time during the service to wash our hands. If you are sheltering with one or more people, perhaps you can wash each other’s hands. Next, we remember the Last Supper, and we encourage you to break bread and lift an appropriate beverage—juice or wine—as you reenact this meal. While it is not communion, we celebrate our common life nonetheless. Take time to prepare these elements before you begin.

CALL TO WORSHIP:

Of all nights, why do we gather on this night?
We gather to find the living God,
here, amid the gathering darkness,
and the approaching gloom.

And where is our God to be found?
With his friends, giving them comfort—
while those who would harm him
plot his destruction.

Did he not predict this moment, just days ago?
Jesus said: “Destroy this temple,
and I will raise it again in three days.”
For tonight, though, the meaning is unclear.

What more can he do on this night of nights?
Jesus will wash the feet of those dear to him,
to show that the Master is truly a servant,
and the least and the last are the greatest of all.

And how will it end, this night of such darkness?
A table is set and soon we will gather,
where words of remembrance and glory will tell—
the fruit of the field and the vineyard we’ll share.

And what of the meaning, eternity’s purpose?
The day that shall follow will see it revealed,
when cross and crowd will conspire together:
the wondrous result, too precious to name.

OPENING PRAYER AND SUNG RESPONSE:

Holy God,
we come to worship in the gathering shadows
of Jesus’ suffering and death.
We gather with a cloud of witnesses,
to experience love in action:
service and sacrifice,
commemoration and grace.
Stand with us as we remember,
and encourage us, as mark this day.
Amen.

Christ, let us come with you
to the upper room where the feast is laid,
to the bread and wine where our peace is made:
Christ, let us come with you!

FIRST READING: John 13.1-5, 12-17

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

HANDWASHING

SUNG RESPONSE:

Teach us your serving love:
to become as friends, to become as one
that the world believe what your life has done:
teach us your serving love.

THE LAST SUPPER

As we begin, tell me about this God we worship.
God is comfort in a time of confusion,
A companion in the darkness of our fear.
Even in the face of death and betrayal, God is with us.

And what of Jesus, where can we find him?
Jesus is setting the table of heaven,
a table of the broken, the outcast, the sinner.
He sets a place for each of us, calling our name.

What happened on the night he was betrayed?
Jesus met his friends in a room just like this one,
around a table, just like this one,
with friends and disciples, like you and me.

And what did he say to his loving companions?
This bread that I break is my body now broken,
The wine that I pour is my blood shed for you:
To each time remember you do this for me.

What is the mystery revealed on this night?
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

And what is the hope we proclaim at this table?
We hope that the Spirit will once more descend,
on us and on others at tables like this one:
as the body of Christ is present tonight.

Bless then, this table, the One and the Three:
Through Christ and with Christ,
in Christ and the Spirit, all glory is yours.
Both now and forever—the God we adore. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from
evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

THE LOVE FEAST

Partake or share the simple elements.

SUNG RESPONSE:

Christ of the open hands,
you have brought us close to be loved and fed,
you have touched our life, now you walk ahead:
Christ, let us come with you!

SECOND READING: Psalm 116

I love you, God, because you heard my voice
when I made supplication,
because you turned your ear to me,
when I called upon your name.
The cords of death entangled me,
and the pangs of the Grave laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called upon the name of God:
‘O God, I pray, save my life.’
How can I repay you, God,
for all the good things you have done for me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
and call upon the name of God.
I will pay my vows
in the presence of all God’s people. Amen.

BLESSING

Even as we turn away, Lord,
you cannot turn away.
Even in the face of denial and betrayal,
you never turn away.
Even in death, death on the cross,
you will never turn away.
To you be the glory, Lord,
now and ever, Amen.