Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday is also known as Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum" which means "command" or "commandment." It refers to the commandment that Jesus gave his disciples during his Last Supper with them. That commandment was to "love one another." Love for each other would prove to the world that they were disciples of Jesus (John 13:34-35). It's easy to love certain people, isn't it? But if we're honest with ourselves, it's also hard to love certain other people. But Jesus didn't tell his disciples -- then or now -- to only love certain other people. He says to love one another (he means other disciples/believers) without discrimination. That's a tall order! How can we possible keep that command?

"Love one another" wasn't the only command that Jesus gave his disciples on that night. He also commanded, "Take, eat! This is my body....Take, drink! This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Grammatically this is a command (it has explanation points after all), but it's not the kind of command that demands anything of us. It's a command that tells us to receive something. It's more along the lines of someone throwing a life-preserver to a drowning man and yelling, "Grab the life-preserver!" It's more of a strongly worded invitation.

That second command ("...eat...drink...!) is what enlivens us to do the first command ("love one another!"). It's easy to love the people we see in church on Sunday who are like us, who dress like us, drive cars like ours, have a similar sense of humor, etc. It's harder to love those people that we see at the same Sunday service who aren't like us, who dress differently, have a coarser sense of humor, etc. Yet Jesus commands us to love both types of people.

In Holy Communion he washes away the guilt of our sin and fills us with the power of his resurrection to overcome our sinful propensities, like those that interfere with loving some types of believers.

So Maundy/Holy Thursday has two dimensions to it, and they work together in sequence: Jesus fills us with himself in Communion which renews our faith and then that faith lives itself out by loving other believers -- all of them. Oh, and when we don't love all of them, then we go to Communion to receive forgiveness, renewal, and more Jesus and then we love others,....and the cycle continues. The point being: you can't keep the command to love each other without first receiving the love that Jesus shows to you. You receive it by taking and eating, taking and drinking.