| 3550 Southwest Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76133 Phone: 817-926-8277 -- Fax: 817-926-8278 Preschool: 817-923-2040 email: st.christophers@att.net |
St. Christopher Episcopal Church
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To Know Christ and Make Him Known
| A Look at Our Church Seasons and Holy Days - Maundy Thursday |
Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Gospel that is read on this day. The Gospel of
John, instead of recording the Last Supper as the other gospels do, tells of Jesus washing his
disciples feet and giving them a new “mandatum” or commandment – To love one another
“as I have loved you.” Jesus also uses the action of washing the disciples’ feet as a teaching
moment – “I came not to be served, but to serve.” Interestingly, Peter, in a kind of perverted
pride says, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus replies, “Then you have no part in me.” The
priest washes the feet of those who come forward after the sermon to remind the
congregation that he is among them as one who serves. The priest is not the CEO, and
despite the title, he’s not really the rector, literally “ruler” of the parish. He is the chief
servant. Are you willing to be washed? What makes you uncomfortable with it?
What is important to see in this service is Jesus serving those he knows will betray or desert
him. The service concludes with an anthem and Psalm 22 sung as the altar is stripped and
cleaned, and the sanctuary (the area behind the communion rail) furnishings removed. Like
the extinguishing of the candles during Tenebrae, this is another enactment of Christ going out
of the world. The bareness of the altar reminds us of the barrenness of existence without
Christ.
After the service, there is the opportunity to keep watch with Christ (and to, therefore
respond positively to his entreaty to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Could you
not watch with me one hour?”) by sitting for a time in the chapel in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament to be used for Good Friday. For this occasion, the chapel is furnished in
potted plants, palm fronds from Palm Sunday, and flowers to give the sense of really being in
the garden. Those who watch during the vigil often recite some of the psalms together, share
a devotional reading, or simply sit quietly.
John, instead of recording the Last Supper as the other gospels do, tells of Jesus washing his
disciples feet and giving them a new “mandatum” or commandment – To love one another
“as I have loved you.” Jesus also uses the action of washing the disciples’ feet as a teaching
moment – “I came not to be served, but to serve.” Interestingly, Peter, in a kind of perverted
pride says, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus replies, “Then you have no part in me.” The
priest washes the feet of those who come forward after the sermon to remind the
congregation that he is among them as one who serves. The priest is not the CEO, and
despite the title, he’s not really the rector, literally “ruler” of the parish. He is the chief
servant. Are you willing to be washed? What makes you uncomfortable with it?
What is important to see in this service is Jesus serving those he knows will betray or desert
him. The service concludes with an anthem and Psalm 22 sung as the altar is stripped and
cleaned, and the sanctuary (the area behind the communion rail) furnishings removed. Like
the extinguishing of the candles during Tenebrae, this is another enactment of Christ going out
of the world. The bareness of the altar reminds us of the barrenness of existence without
Christ.
After the service, there is the opportunity to keep watch with Christ (and to, therefore
respond positively to his entreaty to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Could you
not watch with me one hour?”) by sitting for a time in the chapel in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament to be used for Good Friday. For this occasion, the chapel is furnished in
potted plants, palm fronds from Palm Sunday, and flowers to give the sense of really being in
the garden. Those who watch during the vigil often recite some of the psalms together, share
a devotional reading, or simply sit quietly.