Maundy Thursday: A day that sparked traditions.
By Philip Northwood
Introduction:
This is the day; that Christ gathered with his disciples in an upper room.
This is the day; that Christ shared a meal as a sign of his great love.
This is the day; that Christ took a towel and washed the disciples’ feet and showed us how to serve others.
This is the day; that Christ shared a meal as a sign of his great love.
This is the day; that Christ took a towel and washed the disciples’ feet and showed us how to serve others.
Prayer:
Holy God, on this night Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, to love one another as he loved them. Write this commandment on our hearts and strengthen us in service, in unity and in love. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Song: Salvation Army Songbook number 610-My Life Must Be Christ's Broken Bread
|
My Life Must Be Christ's Broken Bread
Albert Osborn My life must be Christ's broken bread, My love His outpoured wine, A cup o'erfilled, a table spread Beneath His name and sign. That other souls, refreshed and fed, May share His life through mine. My all is in the Master's hands For Him to bless and break; Beyond the brook His winepress stands And thence my way I take, Resolved the whole of love's demands To give, for His dear sake. Lord, let me share that grace of Thine Wherewith Thou didst sustain The burden of the fruitful vine, The gift of buried grain. Who dies with Thee, O Word divine, Shall rise and live again. |
Click on the centre of the image above to run the video and sing along with the song.
|
Thought/Reflection:
The past few years at Bedford we have met together on the Thursday of Holy Week and celebrated with a ‘bring and share’ meal and then a time of reflection. It has become a bit of a 'tradition'. This year we are all turned “upside down” with the restrictions forced upon us. The ‘tradition’ has been broken. This has caused me to think about the traditions surrounding Maundy Thursday.
Why do they call it Maundy Thursday?
The Thursday before Easter is known as either Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday. Maundy is derived from the Latin word for "command," and refers to Jesus' commandment to the disciples to "Love one another as I have loved you." It commemorates Jesus’ last supper, the washing of the disciples feet and the initiation of Holy Communion (the Eucharist), observed in many Christian churches.
When did Maundy money start?
The first Maundy money ceremony took place in the reign of Charles II, when the king gave people undated hammered coins in 1662. The coins were a four penny, three penny, two penny and one penny piece. By 1670 the king started giving out a dated set of all four coins. However; the first English monarch to be recorded as distributing alms at a Maundy service was John, who on 15 April 1210 donated garments, forks, food, and other gifts to the poor of Knaresborough, Yorkshire. John is also the first English monarch to be recorded as giving gifts of small silver coins to the poor when in 1213 he gave 13 pence to each of 13 poor men at a ceremony in Rochester—the number being symbolic of the Twelve Apostles together with Jesus. In the early days some monarchs washed the feet of the poor who were the recipients of the money, but this tradition has died out. Maundy money today is still minted in the same denominations of 4p, 3p, 2p and 1p and is technically legal tender at the face value of the coins.
Is Maundy Money valuable?
Maundy coin sets are very rare; usually fewer than 2,000 sets are given, and this makes them incredibly valuable – to collectors, even if their actual purchasing value is very low. Its real value far outweighs its apparent value.
Who receives Maundy Money?
Nowadays, one man and one woman are chosen for each year the Monarch has lived (including the year the Monarch is currently living), and they receive Maundy money equivalent in pence to that number of years. They are pensioners, chosen on and interdenominational basis from various churches for their service to their churches and communities.
The ‘Last Supper’ as this meal with Jesus and his disciples has become known was in fact the Jewish Passover meal, itself a tradition. The meal was celebrated with family and commemorated the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Jesus, in a way, broke with tradition in that the meal was ‘traditionally’ a family affair, it was celebrated by families in their homes. Can you imagine what the families of the disciples would have thought when told “I’m not celebrating Passover with you this year, I’m celebrating with Jesus and some of my mates.” I can well imagine what my family would say if I announced I would not be having Christmas lunch at home!
John 13:1-17
Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, something that was not uncommon for a host (or more typically the servant of the household) to have done for all guests entering the home. The washing of the disciples’ feet was an act of love and a demonstration of Jesus’ servant-hood. He was showing us that we should have a servant-heart, a lesson for all his followers to follow. This act has itself become a tradition, and is still practiced in some form of ceremony today. It is not as natural a thing as in Jesus’ day, but has been modified, altered and in many instances forgotten all together. The tradition has changed or indeed been discarded.
Luke 22:7-20
The meal was a normal ‘traditional’ Passover meal but it took on more significance after the events of the coming week-end (Good Friday, Easter Sunday and the Ascension). It was, of course, more significant to Jesus as he knew what was coming and so he took this opportunity to provide some specific teaching to the disciples. Re-enacting the meal became a source of comfort and familiarity for the early disciples, and from this meal the Eucharist or Communion tradition developed. This tradition too has undergone change and is celebrated in different forms in different denominations, it has also become a point of difference amongst various traditions of the church rather than a point of unity. It has been said that our ‘tradition’ of saying grace before a meal began as a remembrance of Jesus’ gift of salvation through his death and resurrection. “Whenever you do this (have a meal) do it in remembrance of me.”
In his book, ‘I Was There (Reflections on Easter)’, Major David Young sums up his chapters on The Last Supper by saying:
“The washing of the disciples’ feet together with the institution of the Last Supper was to remind the disciples, and indeed any follower of Jesus, that others always come first. You cannot prove love, you can only show it. Is that a statement for me to consider in my attitude to others?
The intention of Jesus surely is this: that if I share in this common meal of remembrance, whatever form this may take, in church or around a family meal, I am reminding myself of my indebtedness to God for the salvation he provides in Christ and that I should not partake of it unworthily or without a sense of thankfulness, but sincerely and consciously remembering that it is by his death that God’s saving grace is made available to me.”
I have been reminded in the past months and more specifically when looking at this Maundy Thursday that I am in danger of allowing the traditions I hold onto so strongly to get in the way of seeing Jesus for who he really is. Traditions change, they evolve, and are specific to my own point of reference or point of view, and they are also generational. Let our ‘traditions’ not cloud our true worship. Let the words of song 635 be our commitment this Maundy Thursday.
The Thursday before Easter is known as either Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday. Maundy is derived from the Latin word for "command," and refers to Jesus' commandment to the disciples to "Love one another as I have loved you." It commemorates Jesus’ last supper, the washing of the disciples feet and the initiation of Holy Communion (the Eucharist), observed in many Christian churches.
When did Maundy money start?
The first Maundy money ceremony took place in the reign of Charles II, when the king gave people undated hammered coins in 1662. The coins were a four penny, three penny, two penny and one penny piece. By 1670 the king started giving out a dated set of all four coins. However; the first English monarch to be recorded as distributing alms at a Maundy service was John, who on 15 April 1210 donated garments, forks, food, and other gifts to the poor of Knaresborough, Yorkshire. John is also the first English monarch to be recorded as giving gifts of small silver coins to the poor when in 1213 he gave 13 pence to each of 13 poor men at a ceremony in Rochester—the number being symbolic of the Twelve Apostles together with Jesus. In the early days some monarchs washed the feet of the poor who were the recipients of the money, but this tradition has died out. Maundy money today is still minted in the same denominations of 4p, 3p, 2p and 1p and is technically legal tender at the face value of the coins.
Is Maundy Money valuable?
Maundy coin sets are very rare; usually fewer than 2,000 sets are given, and this makes them incredibly valuable – to collectors, even if their actual purchasing value is very low. Its real value far outweighs its apparent value.
Who receives Maundy Money?
Nowadays, one man and one woman are chosen for each year the Monarch has lived (including the year the Monarch is currently living), and they receive Maundy money equivalent in pence to that number of years. They are pensioners, chosen on and interdenominational basis from various churches for their service to their churches and communities.
The ‘Last Supper’ as this meal with Jesus and his disciples has become known was in fact the Jewish Passover meal, itself a tradition. The meal was celebrated with family and commemorated the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Jesus, in a way, broke with tradition in that the meal was ‘traditionally’ a family affair, it was celebrated by families in their homes. Can you imagine what the families of the disciples would have thought when told “I’m not celebrating Passover with you this year, I’m celebrating with Jesus and some of my mates.” I can well imagine what my family would say if I announced I would not be having Christmas lunch at home!
John 13:1-17
Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, something that was not uncommon for a host (or more typically the servant of the household) to have done for all guests entering the home. The washing of the disciples’ feet was an act of love and a demonstration of Jesus’ servant-hood. He was showing us that we should have a servant-heart, a lesson for all his followers to follow. This act has itself become a tradition, and is still practiced in some form of ceremony today. It is not as natural a thing as in Jesus’ day, but has been modified, altered and in many instances forgotten all together. The tradition has changed or indeed been discarded.
Luke 22:7-20
The meal was a normal ‘traditional’ Passover meal but it took on more significance after the events of the coming week-end (Good Friday, Easter Sunday and the Ascension). It was, of course, more significant to Jesus as he knew what was coming and so he took this opportunity to provide some specific teaching to the disciples. Re-enacting the meal became a source of comfort and familiarity for the early disciples, and from this meal the Eucharist or Communion tradition developed. This tradition too has undergone change and is celebrated in different forms in different denominations, it has also become a point of difference amongst various traditions of the church rather than a point of unity. It has been said that our ‘tradition’ of saying grace before a meal began as a remembrance of Jesus’ gift of salvation through his death and resurrection. “Whenever you do this (have a meal) do it in remembrance of me.”
In his book, ‘I Was There (Reflections on Easter)’, Major David Young sums up his chapters on The Last Supper by saying:
“The washing of the disciples’ feet together with the institution of the Last Supper was to remind the disciples, and indeed any follower of Jesus, that others always come first. You cannot prove love, you can only show it. Is that a statement for me to consider in my attitude to others?
The intention of Jesus surely is this: that if I share in this common meal of remembrance, whatever form this may take, in church or around a family meal, I am reminding myself of my indebtedness to God for the salvation he provides in Christ and that I should not partake of it unworthily or without a sense of thankfulness, but sincerely and consciously remembering that it is by his death that God’s saving grace is made available to me.”
I have been reminded in the past months and more specifically when looking at this Maundy Thursday that I am in danger of allowing the traditions I hold onto so strongly to get in the way of seeing Jesus for who he really is. Traditions change, they evolve, and are specific to my own point of reference or point of view, and they are also generational. Let our ‘traditions’ not cloud our true worship. Let the words of song 635 be our commitment this Maundy Thursday.
Song: Salvation Army Songbook number 635 - When The Music Fades
|
Click on the image on the right and sing along.
|
|
A Benediction:
There are no better words to end this time together than the words of Jesus spoken after washing the disciples’ feet from John 13: 34-35, “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.”
Go now to follow the way of Jesus:
See others as he did;
Dare to give freely as he did;
And to love unconditionally as he did.
Go, embraced by the Source of life, love and hope;
In the company of the Word of life;
Encouraged by the Breath of life.
Amen
Go now to follow the way of Jesus:
See others as he did;
Dare to give freely as he did;
And to love unconditionally as he did.
Go, embraced by the Source of life, love and hope;
In the company of the Word of life;
Encouraged by the Breath of life.
Amen