Maundy Thursday April 8, 2020The Triduum

Before the 5th Century A.D., there seem to have been no services held on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of Holy Week. The emphasis has always been on the Passion as a whole and continues to fall on the Sunday of the

Passion, commonly called Palm Sunday, and the Triduum, the 3 sacred days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. From the earliest of New Testament times, these 3 days were seen as one celebration in which are commemorated the central events of Christianity. Each day of this Triduum needs the other two to complete the account, the doctrine, and the proclamation. They are stages in the cumulative celebration of one event – the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This evening’s worship is a form of the ancient Triduum, centering on its first day – Thursday.

In earlier times the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday began with an extended confession of sins. The Absolution was deferred until Maundy Thursday. The Triduum the service for Thursday in Holy Week therefore began in an unusual manner, with the sermon. It concluded with an invitation to confession, the absolution, and the sharing of the peace of forgiveness. This was done before Holy Communion was celebrated, not as a novelty, but to conclude the season of penitence with the long-awaited word of absolution. It recalled the ancient practice of reconciling penitents on this day. With that done, the last 3 days of Lent began.

For Thursday the focus was not as much the anniversary of Holy Communion’s institution as it was Jesus’ new commandment of love. Mandate is the Latin word for “command.” It is based on His words: “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is love sharpened in contrast by the betrayal that followed. Jesus demonstrated His love in servant-hood and in His gift of Himself in Holy Communion.

The basin of water, the pitcher, and the towel are placed to commemorate Jesus washing of the disciples’ feet. They remind us of His words, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

Following the stripping of the altar, all leave. There is no Benediction. This indicates that our worship of the Lord in His Passion is not done but is extended. The Good Friday portion of the service serves as an austere time of reflection and intercession, as well as adoration of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God, who died and was buried. But, the note of austerity should not exclude the note of triumph, as the final hymn indicates. Although we gather on Good Friday to meditate on our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, the final theme is not one of lament but of triumph.

The LessonsJeremiah 31:31-34 The New Covenant that God will write on

His people’s hearts.

1 Corinthians 11:17-32 Reconciliation and the Lord’s Supper.

John 13:1-17,34 Jesus washes His disciples feet and gives the new commandment by word and example.

(In certain areas of the Christian Church the washing of feet followed in the service as an example of the servant-hood that Jesus enjoins upon all who follow Him. Foot-washing is a ceremonial rite; it is not a sacrament instituted by Christ, bestowing the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation on the recipient.)

At this point, under normal circumstances, we would celebrate Holy Communion, but not this evening. However, as we contemplate the gifts the Savior gives in His Holy Supper, we utilize the prayer of thanksgiving which would conclude the distribution:

Pastor: Lord God, in a wonderful Sacrament You have left us a memorial of Your suffering and death and the pledge of Your forgiveness. May this Sacrament of Your Body and Blood in which we receive Your forgiveness, always work in us the assurance of the same that the way we live will proclaim the redemption You have brought us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The HymnJesus, I will ponder now On Thy holy Passion;With Thy Spirit me endow, For such meditation.Grant that I in love and faith May the image cherishOf Thy suffering pain and death That I may not perish.

Make me see Thy great distress, Anguish and affliction.Bonds and stripes and wretchedness And Thy crucifixion;Make me see how scourge and rod, Spear and nails, did wound Thee,How for man Thou diedst, O God, Who with thorns had crowned Thee.

The Order of Worship

The HymnThe death of Jesus Christ, our Lord, We celebrate with one accord; It is our comfort in distress,Our heart’s sweet joy and happiness.

He blotted out with His own blood The judgment that against us stood; He full atonement for us made, And all our debt He fully paid.

That this is now and ever true He gives an earnest ever new;In this His holy Supper here We taste His love so sweet, so near.

Help us sincerely to believe That we may worthily receiveThy Supper and in Thee find rest, Amen, he who believes is blest. Amen.

The Sermon: “The Awesome Glory of the Lord’s Supper” 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-29

The Instruction

The ConfessionPastor: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

Spirit.Congr.: Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Congr.: Amen.

Pastor: Let us make confession to God:

All: Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a troubled and penitent sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and for which I justly deserve Your punishment. But I am truly sorry for them, and repent of them, and pray for Your boundless mercy. For the sake of the suffering and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being. Forgive my sins, give me Your Holy Spirit for the amendment of my sinful life, and bring me to life everlasting. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for

us and, for His sake, forgives us all our sins. Through His Holy Spirit He cleanses us and gives us power to proclaim the mighty deeds of God who called us out of darkness into the splendor of His light. As a called and ordained minister of Christ’s Church and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Congr.: Amen.

The exchange of Peace:Pastor: Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you

now and forever. The Lord has made you free. The peace of the Lord be with you always.

Congr.: And also with you. Thanks be to God.

(The Lenten discipline beginning on Ash Wednesday and leading up to Christ’s Passion is concluded. The Church now turns its attention to the most intense commemoration of the cross, the grave, and the resurrection of Christ.)

The Prayer of the Day for Maundy Thursday:Pastor: Holy God, source of all love, on the night of His betrayal

Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment: To love one another as He had loved them. By Your Holy Spirit write this commandment on our hearts; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Stripping of the Altar(The altar represents Christ and His atoning sacrifice. Symbolically, Christ, stripped of His power and glory, is now in the hands of His captors.)

Psalm 22: In prophecy, hear the voice of Christ in His Passion.

Silent Meditation and Personal Prayer

No further words are said. There is no Benediction, no postlude. The church is left in semidarkness. The worshipers leave the church in silence as the transition is made from the celebration of the Lord’s Supper to Jesus’ crucifixion and death

Final note: No Benediction closes the service this evening for this is to be understood as an ongoing liturgy until it reaches its climax at the empty tomb of Easter, three days later. These services do not merely mark historical events, although that is most true in itself. The Christian faith is built on established facts which are joined to a celebration of one unitive event – the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ whereby we are saved.