Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday  2020 

“Maundy Thursday” gets its name from the Latin word, mandatum, which means command. It was on this night that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and said to them, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

Jesus gave another command this night. Maundy Thursday commemorates the night on which Jesus was handed over to the authorities to be tried and then crucified.

In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks; broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: Take and eat, this is my body, given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink; saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

This is the night Jesus gave himself to us and for us AND told us to do likewise with and for each other. Foot washing embodies this sacrificial self-giving. It is not an easy thing. It makes us uncomfortable. It is hard to do. It is harder to submit to it. Peter did not submit easily either. But it is also beautiful. Notice the very strange pattern of light on the wall that brings the focus beautifully to the cross. It was not planned.