An Ordo for Maundy Thursday 2012

Maundy Thursday

5 April 2012

The Gathering of the Community

The Processional Hymn

‘I Am the Bread, the Bread of Life’  Common Praise #56

The Introductory Responses

This is the night

that Christ the Lamb of God

gave himself into the hands

of those who would slay him.

This is the night

that Christ gathered with his disciples

in the upper room.

This is the night

that Christ took a towel

and washed the disciples’ feet,

giving us an example

that we should to others

as he has done to us.

This is the night

that Christ gave us this holy feast,

that we who eat this bread

and drink this cup

may here proclaim his holy sacrifice

and be partakers of his resurrection,

and at the last day may reign with him in heaven.

The Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Eternal God,

in the sharing of a meal

your Son established a new covenant

for all people,

and in the washing of feet

he showed us the dignity of service.

Grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit

these signs of our life in faith

may speak again to our hearts,

feed our spirits and refresh our bodies,

through the same Jesus Christ

who, with you and the Holy Spirit,

lives and reigns, one God,

now and for ever.  Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

Exodus 12.1-14

The Psalm

Psalm 116.1-2, 12-19 in Songs for the Holy One

The Second Reading

1 Corinthians 11.23-26

The Gradual Hymn

‘For the Bread Which You Have Broken’  Common Praise #74

The Gospel

John 13.1-17, 31b-35

The Sermon

The Prayers of the Community

The Washing of Feet

Fellow servants of our Lord Jesus Christ,

on the night before his death,

Jesus set an example for his disciples

by washing their feet, an act of humble service.

He taught that strength and growth

in the life of God’s reign of justice and peace

come not by power, authority or even miracle,

but by such lowly service.

Therefore, I invite you

who share in the royal priesthood of Christ

to come forward and join me,

that we may recall whose servants we are

by following the example of our Teacher and Friend.

But come remembering his admonition

that what we do tonight for one another

we are also bid to do for others,

for servants are not greater than their master,

nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sends them.

If we know these things, blessed are we if we do them.

During the Washing of Feet you are welcome to come, have your feet washed and then wash the feet of the one who follows you.

Hymn during the Mandatum

‘Nada Te Turbe’  Common Praise #568

The Intercessions, Petitions and Thanksgivings of the Community

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of Christ be with you all.

And also with you.

The Holy Communion

The Offertory Hymn

‘Deck Yourself, My Soul, with Gladness’  Common Praise #78

The Prayer over the Gifts

O God of the covenants,

you have cleansed us from sin

and made us one in Christ.

Receive all we offer you this night

that, by the power of your Spirit,

we may love our brothers and sisters

even as Christ has loved us.

We ask this in his name.  Amen.

The Thanksgiving at the Table

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, gracious God,

creator of heaven and earth;

we give you thanks and praise

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who for our salvation became obedient unto death.

The tree of defeat became the tree of victory:

where life was lost, life has been restored.

Therefore with angels and archangels

and all the heavenly chorus,

we cry out to proclaim the glory of your name.

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

you have brought us this far along the way. 

In times of bitterness you did not abandon us,

but guided us into the path of love and light. 

In every age you sent prophets to make known your loving will for all humanity. 

The cry of the poor has become your own cry;

our hunger and thirst for justice is your own desire. 

In the fullness of time, you sent your chosen servant

to preach good news to the afflicted,

to break bread with the outcast and despised

and to ransom those in bondage to prejudice and sin.

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: 

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. 

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup,

gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: 

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. 

Do this for the remembrance of me.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup,

we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

Remembering, therefore, his death and resurrection,

we await the day when Jesus shall return

to free all the earth from the bonds of slavery and death. 

Come, Lord Jesus!  And let the church say, Amen.

Amen.

Send your Holy Spirit, our advocate,

to fill the hearts of all who share this bread and cup

with courage and wisdom to pursue love and justice in all the world. 

Come, Spirit of freedom!  And let the church say, Amen.

Amen.

Join our prayers and praise with your prophets and martyrs of every age,

that, rejoicing in the hope of the resurrection,

we might live in the freedom and hope of your Son. 

Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, now and forever.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial,

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever.  Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

We break this bread,

communion in Christ’s body once broken.

Let your church be the wheat

which bears its fruit in dying.

If we have died with him,

we shall live with him;

if we hold firm,

we shall reign with him.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

The Communion

The Hymn after Communion

‘What Does the Lord Require’  Common Praise #171

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Prayer after Communion

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 loved them.

Write this commandment in our hearts;

give us the will to serve others

as he was the servant of all,

who gave his life and died for us,

yet is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

After this Prayer the Sanctuary will be stripped of all its ornaments.  During the Stripping we shall say together Psalm 22.

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me,

ignoring my screams of pain?

O my God, I cry out by day!

I scream at night, utterly without rest.

You do not answer!

Yet you are enthroned in the holy sanctuary

the Praise of Israel.

In you our people trusted;

they trusted; you saved them.

To you they cried; they were delivered.

In you they trusted, never disappointed.

But I am a worm, utterly worthless,

scorned by humanity, despised by everyone.

All who see me mock me.

They open their lips in derision,

shaking their heads, saying,

“You gave yourself to the Holy One.

Let the Holy One save you!

Let God save you if God likes you so much!”

It was you who snatched me from the womb;

you kept me safe at my mother’s breast.

I was entrusted to you from the womb;

from my mother’s womb I belonged to you.

Do not be far away from me!

Deep trouble is upon me,

with no one, no one to help!

Many bulls surround me,

wild bulls of Bashan are all around me.

They open wide their mouths against me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water;

all my bones are racked with pain.

My heart is like wax melted inside me.

My mouth is dried up like broken pottery;

my tongue clings to my jaws.

You lay me in the dust of death.

A pack of dogs surrounds me;

a crowd of evildoers beset me;

my hands and feet have shriveled.

I can count all my bones.

My enemies stare, gloating over me.

They divide my clothes among themselves,

throwing dice for my garments.

But you, Holy One, do not be far away.

O my Helper, hasten!  Rescue me!

Save my life from the sword;

save you beloved from the power of the dog.

Deliver me from the lion’s mouth,

from the horns of the wild ox.

You have answered me!

I will proclaim you name among my brothers and sisters.

I will praise you among the congregation.

You who revere the Holy One, praise the Holy One!

You descendants of Jacob, honour your God!

All Israel, stand in awe of the Holy One!

For the Holy One does not scorn the downtrodden,

nor shrink in loathing from their plight.

God does not hide from them,

but answers when they call for help.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will fulfill before those who revere the Holy One.

The poor will eat and be satisfied.

Those who seek our God will offer their praises

May their hearts live forever!

all the ends of the earth shall remember,

and return to the Holy One.

All families of the nations

shall bow down before God.

Surely sovereignty belongs to the Holy One,

who rules among the nations.

All at death’s door shall bow down to God alone.

All going down to the dust

shall kneel to the Divine Majesty.

I shall live for the Holy One.

Posterity will worship the Holy One;

generations to come shall be told of the Holy One.

They will come and proclaim divine justice.

To people yet unborn they will proclaim

what God has done.

Once the Sanctuary is stripped, you are welcome to remain for silent prayer and contemplation.  Please depart in silence when you are ready to do so.

Liturgical Notes

v The Collect of the Day and the Prayer over the Gifts are adapted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), p. 99.

v Thanksgiving at the Table VIII is taken from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), pp. 67-68 with the second Preface for Holy Week from The Book of Alternative Services (1985), p. 221.

v Psalm 22 is taken from Songs for the Holy One (2004).

v All other texts are taken from The Book of Alternative Services (1985).  This order of service has been prepared by the Rev’d Dr Richard Geoffrey Leggett with some adaptation of the provisions for Maundy Thursday in The Book of Alternative Services.