Maundy Thursday

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

 

17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

 

19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

 

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

 

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

 

33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

 

34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

 

35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

 

“Nothing,” they answered.

 

36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

 

38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”

 

“That’s enough!” he replied. (Luke 22:7-38, NIV)

 

 

REFLECTIONS:

Today we go back to the night when Jesus was betrayed, to the moment when he shared his last meal with his disciples… Many of us will be joining with other Christians today in a solemn commemoration of this moment. (Tonight, between 6:30-7:30, PRF will be hosting a "healing service" to remember this sacred moment.) 

 

"Maundy Thursday"—the name comes from the Latin mandatum, the "commandment," which, in John's gospel, Jesus gave his followers that night: the commandment that they should love one another as he had loved them.

 

That commandment isn't mentioned in Luke's account here, but as we ponder and pray through this story we can't help being struck by the care and love Jesus had for his friends as they blunder and bluster around, making grand promises they can't keep while failing to understand the great promises Jesus is making. Just like us, really.

 

Which is just as well, because otherwise we might put them on a pedestal and think, "We could never be like those guys." But, sadly, we can be exactly like them: muddled, well-meaning but misguided, ready to follow Jesus one minute and deny him the next, eager to help but going about it in exactly the wrong way. So how can we pray our way into the story and make it not only our own but a means of life and hope as we keep this day holy?

 

First, notice the balance between the different parts of the story. It isn't just a meal, central and vital though that is. It's also a time for teaching, and modeling, Jesus' view of God's kingdom. And it's also a time for getting ready for the trials and challenges that are about to come.

 

Second, remind yourself, now and whenever you come to receive Communion, that this is the sign of God's covenant and the means of his kingdom. Those are big, important words and we need to roll them around in our minds. God has committed himself to his people and his world through Jesus, like a bridegroom committing himself forever to his bride. That's what "covenant" means, and the Communion service is like a wedding reception, celebrating the fact. God has established, through Jesus, his saving rule over all the world. That's what "kingdom" means—and if you think "it doesn't look as though God's rule is actually working," read verses 25-27 again and think about the way God rules. He doesn't do it by sending in tanks. He does it by calling servants.

 

Third, read slowly through this passage once more and note every time when, as you sit at the table with Jesus and his friends, you can sense a look of love in his eyes—now for this person, now for that, now for all of them, now for you too. Love is shining out of him all the time, in his every action, even in his frustration and exasperation with them. He was Love turned into flesh. That's why we are called to love him in return, and to love one another, for his sake.

 

 

POINT OF PONDER:

You may be going to Communion sometime in the next few days. If so, before you go, try to ponder the question, "How will my going to Communion make me a better servant to those around me and to God's world?" And then ask yourself, "How will my Communion equip me to face the temptations and hostility I will run into the minute I leave church?"

 

 

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and my wife Kate grew up in a Charismatic Episcopal church. (Sounds oxymoronic, doesn't it? Yes, they kneel with vigor.) Anyways, once when I was discussing the different understandings of Communion with one of the pastors in her family's church, he described Communion as a "warrior's banquet." He said that it's the food we need to strengthen us to go and do the work of God's kingdom. That thought has stuck with me to this day. Let us not enjoy the Communion feast simply for ourselves, for our own personal relationship with Jesus. Let us take the bread and the cup—let us feast upon the broken body and shed blood of Jesus—and be empowered to live in the way of the Servant of the Lord, to deny ourselves and take up our cross, to follow him in the path of sacrifice and service.

 

Here's a photo of our wedding ceremony at Kate's church back home in Maine. The two priests pictured with us our Marc Boutan (left) and Jim King. Father Jim (on the right) is the gentleman I mentioned above.