lenten blog | april 17, 2025

Maundy Thursday

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for Maundy Thursday, April 17th:  Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; and John 13:1-17, 31b-35.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

Today we enter into the holiest days of the holiest week.  On Maundy Thursday we first of all recall Jesus’ Last Supper.  From the earliest days of the church, as evidenced by today’s 1 Corinthians passage, Christians have gathered for the Lord’s Supper.  Through the millennia we have remembered Jesus’ words of institution:  “‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me,’” and “‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”  Believers continue to gather in remembrance of Jesus, but in that act something mystical happens, as well.  We don’t only remember what Jesus once did at the Last Supper.  Rather, we share in the mystery of Holy Communion, that Jesus is present in a special and powerful way within and among us still today as Jesus gathers with us as church. 

Holy Communion is not history.  It is sacrament, and sacrament is derived ultimately from the Greek word for mystery.  This is reflected in our Prayer of Thanksgiving upon receiving Holy Communion:  “Almighty God, we give you thanks for the gift of our Saviour’s presence in the simplicity and splendour of this holy meal.”  Before our eyes there is only an ordinary table, and common bread and drink, but in these simple offerings is all the divine splendour of Holy Communion – with Jesus Himself and with each other.  Accordingly, this evening, the church comes together on the night of Jesus’ Last Supper and we repeat those holy words of institution and just like the disciples in the Upper Room we will share in the mystery of Communion.

The three Synoptic Gospel link Communion to the Last Supper, John, as reflected in today’s Gospel selection, chooses a different narrative.  John moves the language of Communion from the Last Supper into the heart of Jesus’ public ministry.  It is not reserved for the few at the end of Jesus’ lifetime.  It is shared with the multitudes in the middle of Jesus’ ministry.  John has the longest account by far of the Last Supper, but no mention is there of Communion. 

Instead, there is Jesus’ “new commandment.”  The word maundy originates from the Latin mandatum, meaning command.  This new commandment (mandatum) gives this day its liturgical title of Maundy Thursday.  In the Johannine tradition, the culminating message of Jesus’ life is loving, humble service, which Jesus exemplifies by taking on the role of a servant and washing the feet of His disciples.  In reference to this act, Jesus says, “‘I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’”  In many churches, this is followed quite literally on Maundy Thursday.  The clergy will wash the feet of representatives of the people.  However, this “example” is not limited to the liturgical act of washing feet.  It is the day in and day out example of humble service unto others.  Jesus explains:  “‘I give you a new commandment (mandatum), that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’” 

I have to wonder if John’s treatment of the Last Supper is in response to the tradition shared in the Synoptics.  If the mystery that Jesus even shared with His betrayer Judas is limited to an in-group and becomes a sign of a limited inclusion, might not John’s transport of Holy Communion language out to the masses in the miracle of the loaves be a corrective?  And might not Jesus’ final lesson of humble service moderate the possibly exclusive tendency of Communion so that believers are not recognized only by who sits at table but by who serves and therefore loves one another in Jesus’ name? 

This night prior to Good Friday is also the night of Jesus’ capture in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the subsequent desertion and denial of Him by His closest followers.  This is also a part of tonight’s worship Service.  The brightly lit church gradually grows darker and ends in darkness.  The Bible, the living, still-speaking Word of God is slammed shut at the end of our worship to symbolize the unbelievably tragic fact that Jesus has been hauled off by armed guards, to then be tortured and interrogated through the night, only to face the cruelty of everything that will follow on Good Friday.

I invite you to join us for our Maundy Thursday Service at 7:00pm this evening at the Hatfield Church as we remember the significant events of Jesus’ last days and share in Jesus’ continuing presence among us. 

If you would like to join us for our online Bible study, please send an email to [email protected] for the Zoom logins.
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.