Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday
April 1, 2021
Opening
Lord, as we accompany You in these last days, make us evermore present to you.
Reflection
As we walk through these Holiest of days, may we be drawn ever closer to the One who loves without limit.
Invitation
Read the scripture slowly. Through prayerful imagination, put yourself in the story as an observer or as one of the disciples. Stay close to watch Jesus, his actions, his words, his responses.
Scripture: John 13:1- 5, 12,-15, 34, 35
“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him… When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you… “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Prayer of Response
Compassionate One, It is hard to fathom these words, “Having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Are there such moving words anywhere other than these?
You know us in our very depths, our innermost secrets, our deepest thoughts, the ways we fail You, ourselves, and others, and yet, You love us to the end. Beyond our fears, beyond our doubts, You love us to the end. These words heal and transform. They inspire and encourage. They instill in us the desire to be more. They free us because we know Your love is without limits. It forgives and restores. Your love holds us always on both our darker days and our brighter ones like a child tenderly held by his/her parent. So let us come freely to You knowing nothing can separate us from your love for us. Glory be to God, Amen.
Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, Founder and Executive Director