Maundy Thursday, 28 March 2013
Exodus
12:1-14
Psalm
116:1, 10-17
I
Corinthians 11:23-26
Saint
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Background: The Richness of Maundy
Thursday
Named for the command, mandatum that Jesus gives to his disciples
regarding loving one another this day is full of actions that point to the
multi-faceted nature of the day. I
some dioceses, this day is given to the celebration of the Chrism Mass, when
the bishop blesses the oils for the sick, the catechumens, and the chrism used
at Baptism. In the Diocese of
California this is usually celebrated on the Tuesday of Holy Week.
With this day the Triduum
(The Three Days) begins, a single service, actually that lasts through Good
Friday and ends with the celebration of the resurrection at the Great Vigil of
Easter. The color for this day may
be Scarlet, or it may be White as it celebrates the institution of the Holy
Eucharist. Unlike during Lent and
the other observances of Holy Week, the Gloria is sung, and bells are rung –
and then are kept silent until the Great Vigil of Easter. Following the Gospel, the Washing of
Feet may be observed, following the example set in today’s Gospel. Following the Mass, the Reserved
Sacrament is taken in procession to an Altar of Repose and a vigil may be kept
before the reserved elements.
Another practice is that of stripping the altar while Psalm 22 is sung. Decorative elements in the chancel and
on the altar are removed and the entire sanctuary is stripped bare. In the Scandinavian names for this day
the notion of washing is preserved in the name – Skärtorsdag.
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall
mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year
for you. 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. 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. [Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may
take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the
fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel
shall slaughter it at twilight. 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. They shall
eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water,
but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let
none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning
you shall burn.] 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. 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. 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 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.
In this reading the author introduces the idea of
Passover or Pesach. The name may be connected to a Hebrew
verb which means “to jump”, the angel of death jumping over the houses of Israel. The feast indeed may predate the actual Passover, surviving
from an ancient nomadic feast of springtime. It is not a priestly feast, but rather one that is focused
on the blood, insuring that there would be ample flocks.
Another aspect to the day is the Feast of Unleavened
Bread, which originally marked the beginning of the barley harvest and was
borrowed from the agricultural culture of the Canaanites. These two elements are bound together
in the history of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Thus in this reading, we see the
rationale of the connection and specific instructions for its celebration. Written at a much later date, the
details of this celebration represent the feast in its latest development,
perhaps a product of the Priestly Tradition.
Breaking
open Exodus:
1.
When you hear
the word “liberation” of what do you think?
2.
Have you ever
celebrated a Seder with Jewish friends?
3.
What seemed
noteworthy to you?
Psalm 116:1, 10-17 Page 759, BCP
Dilexi, quoniam
I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.
How shall I repay the LORD *
for all the good things he has done for me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD *
is the death of his servants.
O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.
I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the LORD'S house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
This is a thanksgiving psalm, and the selection in
the Lectionary quickly moves us to a rite of thanksgiving. Unlike the previous reading (see
above), which describes a rural/nomadic rite that celebrated and prayed for
abundance, this is a Temple rite of thanksgiving. The initial verses form a reason for which the psalmist is
drawn to offer a sacrifice in the Temple – God has responded to the psalmist’s
plea and now it is time to offer something back. The psalmist poses a question, “How shall I repay the
Lord?” The answer is that remains
silent, but implied is that nothing can be offered. The lifting of cup of libation, the making of vows, and
calling on the name of the Lord are the actions that are recommended in the
psalm. This is not a private
offering but rather one that is offered in the midst of the Temple in the
presence of other worshipers. The
themes of offering, the lifting of the cup, and the presence at the altar all
resonate to the celebration of this day that has as one of its focal points the
Holy Eucharist.
Breaking
open Psalm 116
1.
How do you
give thanks to others?
2.
How do you
give thanks to God – are there actions that you do?
3.
Do you do it
privately or in the presence of others?
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
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, 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." 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." For as often as you eat this
bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
 |
| Emile Nolde - The Last Supper |
There is an arch here from the celebration of the
Liberation of Israel to the Eucharistic remembrance of the Lord’s death. Paul repeats what he had learned from
the ancient Christian community, and in a pointed teaching to the people at
Corinth, recalls to them what the Communion was really all about. His words are the most ancient
recollection of the Last Supper, predating Mark by some eight years, and
similar to Luke’s recounting of the words. Paul may have heard them in the celebrations of the
Eucharist in Antioch. Mark and Matthew’s recollections may come from the
traditions of Jerusalem.
Paul sees the Eucharist as an act suspended between
the death of the Lord and the parousia, the
second coming of Christ. It is the
reality in which the Church lives in this liminal time, remembering and yet
waiting.
Breaking
open I Corinthians:
1.
How is the
Eucharist a feast of liberation?
2.
When you
think of the Eucharist, what do you remember?
3.
What does
Communion mean to you?
St. John 13:1-17, 31b-35
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. The devil had already put it into
the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he
had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his
outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you
going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I
am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will
never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no
share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but
also my hands and my head!" 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." For he knew who was to betray him; for this
reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."
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? You call
me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's
feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to
you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor
are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things,
you are blessed if you do them.
Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has
been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify
him in himself and will glorify him at once. 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.' I give you a new commandment,
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."
If the Gospel of John is the “Book of Signs” then
this sign, although not a miracle is one of the preeminent signs. This action takes place “during
supper”; although in the Johannine chronology it is not the Passover. In this beginning to John’s “Book of
Exaltation”, Jesus takes time, several chapters, to instruct his
disciples. This first act, almost
a show-and-tell, becomes a poignant example of what Jesus wants them to take
in. In noting, “Jesus knew that his hour had come”, John
accentuates the difficult lesson that the disciples must learn. True to character, Peter seeks to deter
Jesus from this action that underscores Jesus’ humiliation. Segmented in the conversation with
Peter we see references to washing, and thus to Baptism. Jesus points out to them that they are
clean (although one is not), and is quite explicit about the diminishing time
that he will share with them. The
implicit question is “what shall we do when Jesus is gone?” and the answer is
the action that Jesus performs. It
is an example that is to be shared with the community that follows. Jesus, however, does not rely on the
physical nature of his example and quite plainly tells them to “love one
another.” That will be the sign to
others.
Breaking
open the Gospel:
- Have you ever performed an act of humility?
- What was it and what emotions did you have while performing it?
- What is going on in Peter’s mind?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Maundy Thursday.
Almighty Father, whose dear
Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and
Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of
Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal
life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013
Michael T. Hiller
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