Maundy Thursday

 mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos ut et vos diligatis invicem in hoc cognoscent omnes quia mei discipuli estis si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem (Vulgate)

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (KJV) 

John 13:34-35

On the night of the last supper, Jesus told his disciples that he gave to them a new commandment.  From the Latin "mandatum," to command, comes the name attached to the Thursday of Holy Week.  Maundy Thursday is the night upon which we commemorate the Last Supper and the betrayal of Jesus' by Judas Iscariot.

Maundy Thursday

ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ 14:22-26

Καὶ ἐσθιόντων αὐτῶν λαβὼν ἄρτον εὐλογήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς καὶ εἶπεν· λάβετε, τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα μου. καὶ λαβὼν ποτήριον εὐχαριστήσας ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς κὰι ἔπιον ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ αἷμα μου τῆς διαθήκης τὸ ἐκχυννόμενον ὑπὲρ πολλῶν. ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ πίω ἐκ τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ὅταν αὐτὸ πίνω καινὸν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. Καὶ ὑμνήσαντες ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἐλαιῶν.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mk 14:22-26

Holy week began on Sunday, Palm Sunday, as we remember the last week of Jesus ministry on earth. He entered into Jerusalem as it was prophesied that he would,

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Today, Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the Last Supper. Jesus sat with his disciples for the last time in life, and they shared a meal and prayer and teaching. Later that night, he was betrayed and arrested.

Maundy Thursday

As I've mentioned at this time the past two years, the choir benefits more from the music ministry than anyone else in the congregation. We've reached Holy Week again, and tonight starts the passion play that ends, one respect, on Sunday morning, but never ends at all in reality. The last couple of years, we've sung selections from a couple of different settings of the Seven Last Words. This year, we're doing individual pieces. The Mozart Ave Verum Corpus, a deceptively simple but marvelous work, and a setting of Schutz' Praise to thee Lord Jesus Christ. It's not the best english translation of this piece that we've sung, but it is an excellent work, and I enjoy it. Tomorrow, we'll be doing the wonderful Stainer God So Loved The World from The Crucifixion, and Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs from The Messiah.

So tonight, we participate in the Lord's supper. And then we strip the church, and exit in silence...