It’s been well over 10-15 years since I have begun my journey into the liturgical/sacramental life. The embracing of Lent personally, then trying to lead a Pentecostal church into that sacred space (slowly), has been quite a journey.
There are now two days in the season of Lent that move me the deepest currently: Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday.
We implemented Ash Wednesday when I was pastoring the small Pentecostal church and it was a meaningful time for us. Maundy Thursday remained the “mystery” to me until I entered the Anglican Church.
Maundy Thursday is explained well HERE.
Maundy Thursday leads us into the three great holy days before Easter Sunday. They are somber. Mournful.
The stark picture is laid out in the stripping of the altar in the Maundy Thursday service.
Maundy Thursday ends with the starkness of the empty, bare altar. Our souls are bare as well, as we begin to walk through the rest of the weekend.
This is the time when “the new commandment” is emphasized because Jesus spoke it so clearly that night:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
It is the night that institutes the Eucharist, what we call commonly the Lord’s Supper.
And in this meal and this new commandment is this beautiful scene: Jesus, knowing that Judas would betray him, served him. He washed the feet of Judas. He had the meal with Judas. He loved him to the end.
We need Maundy Thursday in our lives. Deep in our lives. The love of Christ needs to be soul deep, where we can love and serve others, even the ones who have ill-will toward us.
In a culture that deeply divides, let us be people of the new commandment. We love. We serve. We give grace to the last possible measure.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 