Maundy Thursday wasn’t a tradition I grew up with. So when I first hear about it in graduate school, I misheard the name as ‘Monday’ Thursday. Latin scholar, I am not. The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means ‘command,’ It’s the first word of John 13:34, in which Jesus gives his followers a new commandment:
A new command I give to you, 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.
Tomorrow night at our Good Friday service, we’ll receive Communion in remembrance of the last meal Jesus shared with the disciples. We’ll remember how Jesus broke bread and lifted up a cup—the bread of life and the cup of forgiveness. We’ll remember how Christ commands us to love one another.
But for today, on this Maundy Thursday, I offer you the above musical meditation that reminds us that ALL are welcome to the table Christ sets before us. No matter what grief or fears you’re carrying. No matter how broken or bruised you may feel. This table reminds us that there is nothing that can keep us from love that knows no limits. God welcomes each of us to this table just as we are.
In this sanctuary, the bread of life and cup of forgiveness are available to all who wish to receive them.
Tomorrow, Good Friday will bring us back to the cross where we began this Lenten journey. Marked for death on Ash Wednesday, we’ve journeyed through this season finding peace, hope, and comfort in the expanding Rainbow of God’s Promises. We lived into the holy beauty of this season and discovered depths of meaning in and through the works of Vincent Van Gogh.
As this part of our journey comes to an end, I pray these promises continue to take root in your hearts, focus your prayer, and guide your spirits to know the full spectrum of God’s grace and great love.
In Love,
Pastor Annette