Preparation
Dear Friends,
As part of our Holy Week observances, I have created a Maundy Thursday service that you can use to celebrate at home. In order to participate fully, you will need to gather a few things to prepare for this service. First of all, this is a celebration of the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. The reason for this particular meal was Passover, an important event in the Jewish faith story, and one that is still celebrated by Jewish people today. As with the important events in our Christian calendar like Christmas and Easter, Passover is a time to celebrate together with a special meal. So, I encourage you to treat it that way… cook (or order in) something special; get out of your Covid-19 pyjamas and dress up; set the table with your best china and linens! Like us, Jesus and his disciples were experiencing a very stressful time – but they paused to celebrate God’s love, and so should we.
As Christians, we celebrate this night as the inspiration for our sacrament of Communion. It was the time when Jesus shared bread and wine with his friends and gave them his final instructions. It was his commissioning to his disciples – and to all of us who follow him.
Here are a few things that you will need during the service:
Dinner!
A basin, soap, a jug of warm water, and a towel
Wine, juice, or some other beverage that can be shared, and bread for passing around. Make it something delicious and beautiful if possible! This is an Agape Meal - a celebration of love.
I hope you will pause in this week to share in this special celebration.
Blessings,
Lorrie
A Family Maundy Thursday “at-home” Service
[If you prefer to print the service, please find it here in PDF format.]
Good evening everyone and welcome to our Maundy Thursday “at home” service. I’m disappointed that we can’t all be together tonight but I hope that you and your family will find this meaningful. Earlier this week we posted a list of a few things you’ll need at hand as the service progresses (listed above). If you haven’t had a chance to do this, I hope you will pause and gather them now so that you can participate fully.
On the evening before Good Friday, we celebrate with a meal to remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples.
At BCUC, we usually gather together at the church for worship and prayer. There is always food involved! Sometimes it’s a pot luck dinner, other times just snacks. But, when I think about the story of that last supper Jesus had with his friends, I realize that we have an opportunity this year to celebrate much like that “family” celebrated so long ago.
If you find yourself alone tonight, please reach out to a friend or loved one with whom you can share this special time. Perhaps you can set up a video chat (thank goodness for technology today!) or even just a voice call. If that doesn’t seem possible, I hope you will play the audio file of this service and read along with us as you eat your meal. Know that you are a special part of our BCUC family and loved beyond measure.
The reason for the celebration that Jesus and his disciples shared was Passover. It was – and still is – a significant part of the Jewish faith story. And because it is a story from the Old Testament, it is part of our Christian heritage too.
Exodus 12:1-13
12 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This is the story of the Israelites escaping from Egypt and beginning their journey to the Promised Land. Each year, thereafter, the Jewish people have observed this night when God struck down the Egyptian people but “passed over” the faithful, allowing them to escape from slavery.
This is the special festival that Jesus and his disciples were celebrating that night. It was a “family” dinner, with special food. They would have dressed in their best clothes and set the table with their nicest dishes. For Christians, this day also carries a very special significance as the event that inspired our sacrament of Communion. It deserves a special celebration for us today!
This year, in these strange days of Covid19, I hope you will take the opportunity to celebrate with your family, just as Jesus did so long ago. After these weeks of being isolated at home, this is a chance to get dressed up, to share a special dinner, to share the story of that special night, and to remember that Christians all over the world are doing the same.
So, cook (or order in) something special, set the table with your best china and linens, dress in your finest, and celebrate this important night with Christians all over the world. I hope the service below will help you.
Materials needed:
Basin, soap, a jug of warm water, towel Wine, juice, or some other beverage that can be shared, and bread for passing around (make it something delicious and beautiful if possible! This is a celebration of love.)
Opening: John 13:1-7 Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
13 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
In Jesus’ time, people wore sandals, if anything on their feet. There were no paved roads, so after being outside for the day, it was important to wash your feet when you came into the house. Who knows what you might be bringing in on those feet! As you can imagine, this was not a particularly pleasant job and so it was given to a servant to do. By washing the feet of his friends, Jesus showed them that he loved them so much, he would do whatever it takes to keep them clean and healthy. Even though they saw him as their leader, he was willing to be a servant to them.
In today’s context of the Covid19 pandemic, we might see a connection between the foot washing of Jesus’ time and the hand washing that is so important now. Before you begin your meal, please take the time to perform a ritual washing of each other’s hands. The father or head of the family washes the hands of the person next to him/her, and then that person washes the hands of the next and so on… the last person washes the hands of the first. The easiest way to do this is to pour a little water from the jug on the person’s hands (over the basin), they use the soap to lather and rub, then pour more water to rinse their hands and give them the towel. When they are finished, they will take the jug and do the same for the next person…
As you wash each other’s hands, sing the first 2 verses of VU595 “We Are Pilgrims”:
We are pilgrims on a journey, fellow travellers on the road
We are here to help each other walk the mile and share the load.
Sister (Brother), let me be your servant, let me be a Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
After people’s hands are washed, invite them to the table.
Grace: VU552
For food in a world where many walk in hunger; For faith in a world where many walk in fear; For friends in a world where many walk alone; We give you thanks, O Lord.
Amen
Enjoy the meal together!
Take time to discuss the struggles and fears of this time of social isolation.
Take time to name the blessings that have come from this unexpected pause in our usual busy lives.
At a time that seems appropriate in the meal (at the end or perhaps before serving dessert…), share the following reading:
Luke 22:7-20 The Last Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” 9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” 10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” 13 So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 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 until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Share the bread and the wine. This is not Communion, but an Agape Meal or “Love Feast”. We share the bread and wine as a remembrance of the last meal that Jesus and his closest friends shared together and of all the meals that Jesus shared with others. It is a symbol of the bond that we share as a family, and with our fellow Christians – a bond of love, and of caring for one another. Pass the plate or basket of bread around the table – take a big piece! Pass a jug or bottle of the beverage around as well – no little sips, this is a feast!
Closing Prayer:
Holy One,
We have shared this meal, this Agape Feast, in celebration of Christ’s commandment to Love one another as he loves us.
Grant us the wisdom and the strength to fulfil this mission in our homes, our community, and the world.
In this strange time of pandemic,
We pray for those we know and love…
We pray for the members of our faith family at BCUC…
We pray for those who are alone, who are grieving…
For those who are ill and those who care for them…
We pray for all those who are working to keep us fed and safe…
We pray for this world as it struggles to heal…
Let the love we share at this table be part of that healing.
All these things we ask in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Closing Hymn: MV 214
May God’s Sheltering wings, her gathering wings protect you.
May God’s nurturing arms, her cradling arms sustain you,
And hold you in her love, and hold you in her love.