Monday, April 14, 2014

An Order of Service for Maundy Thursday (17 April 2014)

Maundy Thursday
17 April 2014

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.  Amen. [i]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A reading from Exodus (12.1-14).

            The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:  This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.  Tell 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.  If 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.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.  They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.  They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.  You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.  This 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.  For 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 judgements:  I am the Lord.  The 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.

            This 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.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

Psalm 116.1-2, 12-19 with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):  Holy One, to you we offer our heart-felt thanks and praise.

1 I love the Lord *
            who has heard the voice of my supplication,
2 who has listened to me *
            whenever I called.

Refrain:  Holy One, to you we offer our heart-felt thanks and praise.

12 How shall I repay you, O Lord, *
            for all the good things you have done for me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
            and call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
            in the presence of all the people.
15 Precious in your sight, O Lord *
            is the death of your servants.

Refrain:  Holy One, to you we offer our heart-felt thanks and praise.

16 O Lord, I am your servant; *
            I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
            you have freed me from my bonds.
17 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
            and call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
            in the presence of all the people of God.
19 In the courts of the house of the Lord, *
            in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. 
            Hallelujah!

Refrain:  Holy One, to you we offer our heart-felt thanks and praise.

The Second Reading

A reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (11.23-26).

            For 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, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  In 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.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

The Gradual Hymn

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

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (13.1-17, 31b-35).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

            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.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.  And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then 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.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”  Jesus 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.”  For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

            After 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?  You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.  Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

            Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.  If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.  Little 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.’  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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 forward, 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. [ii]

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. [iii]

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. [iv]

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. [v]

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. [vi]

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. [vii]

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. [viii]

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.



[i] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 99 alt.

[ii] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers  (2002), 99, alt.

[iii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 221.

[iv] Common Praise (1998), #722.

[v] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 67-68.

[vi] Common Praise (1998), #744.

[vii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 307.

[viii] Songs for the Holy One (2004).

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