Maundy Thursday, 2021

Welcome & Greeting

We have gathered together tonight to begin the most holy of weekends as we remember our Lord’s last gathering with His disciples, His betrayal at the hands of one of His trusted disciples, His trial, beating, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. We like to jump straight to the last of these without focusing on the others, but tonight we gather to remember that last gathering & betrayal.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of us as we remember and celebrate the feast of love prepared by our Lord.

Hymn

#223 O How He Loves You and Me INTO

#224 My Savior’s Love Verses 1, 2, & 4

Confession & Pardon

My sisters and brothers, Christ shows us his love by becoming a humble servant. Let us pray together the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.

Our Father which 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 forever, Amen.

Lord, as we continue in prayer, we acknowledge that our spirit has not been that of Christ. Where we have failed to love one another as He loves us, where we have pledged loyalty to Him with our lips and then betrayed, deserted, or denied Him, forgive us, we pray; and by Your Spirit make us faithful in every time of trial; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus, You alone are in a position to condemn. But You suffered and died for us, You were raised from the dead and ascended on high for us, and You continue to this day to intercede on our behalf. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we can say that we are forgiven! All glory and praise to God, Amen.

Scripture Lesson:

Exodus 12:1–14 NRSV

1 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. 14 This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Responsive Reading #379

Pastor: I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

Congregation: Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Pastor: The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

Congregation: Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!"

Pastor: The Lord is gracious and righteous;

Congregation: Our God is full of compassion.

Pastor: The Lord protects the simplehearted;

Congregation: When I was in great need, he saved me.

Pastor: Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

Everybody: For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death.

Scripture Lesson

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Worship Song: iworship—The Foot of the Cross

Gospel Lesson

John 13:1–17 NRSV

1 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.

John 13:31–35 NRSV

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Remembering Thursday of Holy Week

We have come together this evening to recall in our hearts and minds the events that occurred on Thursday of what the church calls Holy Week, the last week in the life of our Lord. One-third of all the events that we have about Jesus' life occurred during this week: Reminding us of the great significance of these last days. The disciples have gathered in a home, whose we are not sure, but we do know that it had a furnished second floor.

As they gather they participate in what is called a Seder meal, one of the highlights of the Passover week. The Passover festival, of course, had been done for centuries before Jesus came on the scene. It commemorated that time when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt. We read about it earlier from the book of Exodus. Moses warned Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh hardened his heart. So God sent a death over the land of Egypt, but miraculously this death passed over the homes of the Jews. So, the season of Passover began. This was a celebration! We often come to it in a somber tone, but they would have gathered in great anticipation of celebration! It was an exciting time, and people of all ages participated in the meal.

The meal itself was a symbolic one reminding the Jews of the sufferings of their forefathers and the power of God's deliverance. The foods that were eaten were symbols to remind the Jews of their captivity in Egypt. Apple sauce, with nuts and wine, was eaten to remind them of brick mortar and the fact that they were forced to make bricks with no straw. A bitter herb is eaten to remind them of the bitterness of their captivity. It was this symbolic Seder Meal that the disciples were partaking of that night in the upper room.

It was at the conclusion of that meal that Jesus himself added two more symbols. He took a loaf and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me. Then he took a cup with wine. He drank from it and gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin." So our sacrament of the Lord's Supper, was born out of the experience of an ancient Jewish custom.

The disciples gathered around the table that night in celebration of the Passover. Only Judas had any idea what was about to happen. Maybe we can see ourselves in the disciples that had gathered with Jesus that night.

Maybe we can see ourselves in Matthew. Here was a man who had a brilliant, analytical mind, but who initially used it for self rather than God. He became a tax collector. It was his responsibility to extract the tax money from his brothers in any way that he could, and it went to support the Romans – the very people that were enslaving the Jews. These are the ones they believed would be overthrown by the Messiah when He came. His god was gold. He reminds us of just how far many of us are willing to go to advance our own personal ambition.

But when Matthew came over to Jesus he came all the way. Now he was using that brilliant analytical mind to analyze the message of the master. Now he was using his education to keep an account of the Master's teachings. Matthew reminds us that our talents are God given, but we must choose to use our talents toward the right end. To make this world a better place by our having been alive. Matthew did just that. His Gospel which bears his name contains Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and a majority of Jesus' parables. The Gospel according to Matthew changed the world like few writings have ever done.

Maybe we see ourselves in James and John. They remind us of the pride and the ego that is within us all. It was their mother who went to Jesus to do their bidding for them. She begged Jesus: "When you come into your Kingdom place my sons, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand. Even on this occasion, as they sit around the table, the disciples are arguing amongst themselves which one is the greatest and who deserves the seat of honor at the table. James and John remind us that if we are to follow Jesus we must first surrender ego. We must decrease so that he might increase. We must remember the words of Jesus: He, who would be greatest among you, must be a servant.

Or maybe we see ourselves in Simon Peter – the one Jesus referred to as the rock. He was compulsive and quick to come to conclusions, and he had concluded that even if everybody else abandoned Jesus, he would yet remain faithful. Yet, before this night was over, he denied he even knew Jesus three times.

Certainly we can see a part of ourselves in Thomas. Thomas would have fit in well in Missouri, as it is known as “The Show Me State.” Like Thomas, we, too, long for proof, for something tangible that we can cling to when our experience of God begins to fail. We live in a cynical, prove-it-to-me age. But Thomas would remind us that resurrection faith is not something that can be neatly wrapped up in a package. We can never possess faith as one would possess a thing. To follow the Master we must be able to echo the words: Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.

There is Andrew. It was he who brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, but never does he get the notoriety. He always lives under the shadow of that great man. Never does he enter into the inner circle, consisting of Peter, James, and John, although he brought them all to Jesus, and he had been fishing with them since they were boys. Andrew reminds us that if we are to follow the Master, we cannot insist on being in the limelight. Those who are truly in service will rarely get recognition and notoriety. There will be times when we must defer to others in humility and for the sake of unity.

There was Judas. If we do not see Judas in ourselves it is because we are not looking closely enough. Judas was so impatient with Jesus. He believed that Jesus really did have the power to bring about the Kingdom of God, but he did not understand why he kept waiting. He would turn him over to the Jews and Romans. Judas would remind us that if we are to follow the Master we must remember that our schedule is not always God's schedule and that our means are not always God's means. We see with the vision of the immediate. God sees with the vision of eternity. God knows. We only think that we know.

As we come forward this evening to participate in this ancient sacrament of the church, may we confess before God that we are in many ways like all of the disciples, with all of their frailties and weaknesses. We are all just ordinary people. But we are also like them in our sincere desire to follow the Christ. My prayer is that through the sacrament this evening that the power of God may instill in you a sense of mission and remind you who you are--a disciple of Christ.

Prayer Time

Breaking the Bread

The pastor breaks the bread and then lifts the cup, in silence or with appropriate words.

Giving the bread and cup

Song: O Praise the Name (Anastasis)

The bread and wine are given to the people, with appropriate words being exchanged.

When all have received, the Lord's table is put in order.

The pastor or congregation may give thanks after communion.

Dismissal Prayer

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ex 12:1–14.

[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), 1 Co 11:23–26.

[3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Jn 13:1–17.

[4] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Jn 13:31–35.