Maundy Thursday I 4/9/20
Maundy Thursday Worship Guide
April 9, 2020 I Sandy Springs UMC
Set out a bowl of water and a clean towel. Sit with them before you and begin with these texts. First, remember God’s forgiveness:
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace we have been saved. Our sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus Christ. Almighty God, strengthen us with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in our hearts through faith. Amen.
Then pray the prayer for this night:
Holy God, source of all love, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as he loves us. Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us the will to serve others as he was servant of all, your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Then read this reading:
FIRST READING: Exodus 12:1-14
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
Then pray this Psalm:
PSALM 116
1I love the LORD, who has heard my voice, and listened to my supplication, 2for the LORD has given ear to me whenever I called. 12How shall I repay the LORD for all the good things God has done for me? 13I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 14I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God's people. 15Precious in your sight, O LORD, is the death of your servants. 16O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds. 17I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the LORD. 18I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God's people, 19in the courts of the LORD's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Then read this reading:
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
Then read the Gospel:
GOSPEL: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The holy gospel according to John. Glory to you, O Lord.
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." 11For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."
12After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 31b"Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Having read these readings, think of this:
This word about the love of Jesus is always the beginning of any time. By remembering the Passover and the Last Supper and the foot washing, we are not trying to get back to an old time. In the face of the suffering and death with which the world is filled, our trying would not come to much. But God’s word comes to us now. To our time. Even when we cannot meet for the holy supper together, this word comes to us: Jesus Christ is our forgiveness. He is the Lamb whose blood marks the doors of our houses and bodies. In the power of the Spirit, he has washed our feet and our lives. And he turns us toward our neighbors. In this word—and in the cross proclaimed tomorrow and the resurrection proclaimed on Sunday morning—Easter comes out to hold us already.
Here you may share your thoughts with others. If you have the United Methodist Hymnal, you might now read or sing
Hymn # 432 “Jesu, Jesu”
Here you may wash your own hands, using the water in the bowl, recalling Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Or, if there are several of you worshipping together, you may wash each other’s hands, thinking of the love of Jesus poured out on each of us in this difficult time. Or you may choose to wash each other’s feet. Then you would need a pitcher, basin and towel: you hold the heel, pour the water, and dry the foot. Please note, that this action may be entirely omitted, especially if someone in your house has tested positive for the virus.
Then you may pray these intercessions for our church and world:
United with Christians around the globe on this Maundy Thursday, let us pray for the church, the earth, our troubled world, and all in need, responding to each petition with the words, Your mercy is great. A brief silence.
Blessed are you, holy God, for the church. Gather all the baptized around your presence in the Word. Strengthen the body of your people even when we cannot assemble for worship. Grant our pastor and church leaders faithfulness and creativity for their ministry in this time, and accompany those preparing for baptism. A brief silence. Hear us, holy God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, bountiful God, for this good earth and for the flowering of springtime. Save dry lands from destructive droughts. Protect the waters from pollution. Allow in this time the planting of fields for food. Make us into caregivers of your plants and animals. A brief silence. Hear us, bountiful God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, sovereign God, for our nation. Inspire all people to live in peace and concord. Grant wisdom and courage to heads of state and to legislators as they face the coronavirus. Lead our elected officials to champion the cause of the needy. A brief silence. Hear us, sovereign God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, faithful God, for you accompany suffering humanity with love. Abide wherever the coronavirus has struck. Visit all who mourn their dead; all who have contracted the virus; those who are quarantined or stranded away from home; those who have lost their employment; those who fear the present and the future. Support physicians, nurses, and home health aides; medical researchers; and the World Health Organization. A brief silence. Hear us, faithful God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, gracious God, for you care for the needy. We beg you to feed the hungry, protect the refugee, embrace the distressed, house the homeless, nurse the sick, and comfort the dying. Especially we pray for those we name before you now. A brief silence. Hear us, gracious God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, loving God, that your Son knelt before us, your unworthy servants. Preserve our lives, comfort our anxiety, and receive now the petitions of our hearts. A longer period of silence. Hear us, loving God. Your mercy is great.
Blessed are you, eternal God, for all who have died in the faith, whom we remember today, and those whom we name before you here. A brief silence.
At the end, bring us with them into your everlasting glory. Hear us, eternal God. Your mercy is great.
Receive, merciful God, our prayers, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the host of our meal of life, who died and rose that we might live with you, now and forever. Amen.
Again, if you have the United Methodist Hymnal, you might read or sing
HYMN # 549 “Where Charity and Love Prevail”
Finally, remembering Jesus going to his arrest and his death, the events from which all the mercy that fills this night flows, pray this Psalm.
PSALM 88
1O Lord, my | God, my Savior, by day and night I cry to you. 2Let my prayer enter into your presence;
incline your ear to my lamentation. 3For I am full of trouble; my life is at the brink of the grave. 4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I have become like one who has no strength; 5lost among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6You have laid me in the depths of the pit, in dark places, and in the abyss. 7Your anger weighs upon me heavily, and all your great waves overwhelm me. 8You have put my friends far from me; you have made me to be abhorred by them; I am in prison and cannot get free. 9My sight has failed me because of trouble; Lord, I have called upon you daily; I have stretched out my hands to you. 10Do you work wonders for the dead? Will those who have died stand up and give you thanks? 11Will your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, your faithfulness in the land of destruction? 12Will your wonders be known in the dark or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten? 13But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14Lord, why have you rejected me? Why have you hidden your face from me? 15Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; I have borne your terrors and am helpless. 16Your blazing anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me; 17they surround me all day long like a flood; they encompass me on every side. \18My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, and darkness is my only companion.
Sit in silence. Join us tomorrow for a Good Friday worship guide, complete with videos and music.
************
These resources for worship at home on the Three Days were developed by Gordon Lathrop and Gail Ramshaw for Resurrection Lutheran Church, Arlington, Virginia, and are offered for ecumenical use. They have been slightly adapted for United Methodist use.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2019 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26914.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.