An Introduction To The Maundy Thursday Service

Below is a description of the meaning and content of the ancient Maundy Thursday service. Adapt this material to current usage and style. In the ancient church the service of Maundy Thursday began the great triduum, the three great days of the paschal celebration. These were days of fasting and prayer, days when the final acts of Christ's saving work were remembered by the church. The day gets its name from the Latin mandatum novarum ("a new commandment"-John 13:34), which was translated into the French mande. A primary meaning of this service is to celebrate the giving of the new commandment to love one another, a commandment given in the context of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. When we celebrate this service, the covenant between God and ourselves is renewed, and we are made ready for his death and resurrection. The agape meal that is celebrated with this service symbolizes, as meals in the Old Testament did, the relationship we have with God. After the agape meal, the people …