New Commandment

Posted on Mar 28, 2024 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: #loveoneanother, #maundythursday, #newcommandment

3/28/24
It’s Holy Thursday.

Perhaps you have heard this day referred to as Maundy Thursday. Maundy is an anglicized version of the Latin “mandatum,” meaning commandment. Jesus gave a mandate, a commandment to his disciples:

“Love one another as I have loved you.”

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet – John 13:1-17

Throughout the season of Lent we have considered Jesus’ life, and expressed our struggles and desires to UPhold the call to discipleship each day. Many of the reflections have invited us to consider the small daily practices of love we can express. These bring about peaceful reconciliation between friends, companions, and strangers.

Yet, we also sit UP and take notice of the injustice in the world and the violence done to these very same people. In these cases, overwhelmed by the task, we consider how to raise UP a voice, become an advocate, and work for justice in the world.
It is this latter work that takes us UP to the cross, to the calling that we pick up our own cross and bear it faithfully forward toward a life on earth as in heaven. With every step we are aware that this labor of love may lead to a worldly “death.”

Worship tonight

We will remember the Lord’s last supper with his disciples and the unfolding events of the night and following morning until Jesus’ death. We will join this ancient story by stepping into the invitation and commandment given to his disciples. We will be actively participating in the reading of Scripture and we will move place to place.

Our worship will begin and end outside. From a fireside chat and the offering of prayer, to the cross, we will seek the Lord in the passion, the suffering servant, narrative.

If you cannot attend onsite

The full liturgy is available here (click this link). All of the music is cited below as found in a variety of voices on YouTube. (We are unable to stream due to an A/V complication—apologies.)

Whether you attend onsite or worship with the devotional attention to the liturgy, may the final chapter of the disciples’ journey with Jesus of Nazareth bring to you a sense of total engagement of God with the suffering in our world, our lives, just as God was present in the suffering of the ancient peoples.

Easter services

Easter services will begin at 7:00 a.m. onsite (no streaming) and 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Both services will include communion.

Whatever happens at the cross, we have the joy, not of skipping happily past the cross, but of knowing and being called to tell the world,

Suffering will end.Resurrection is coming. God is always at work to bring new life to all.
This is the good news.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Peace,
RevBev

Image: JESUS MAFA. Jesus washes his disciples feet, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48299 [retrieved March 28, 2024]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).

service music found on YouTube:

You can listen to the music (abbreviated titles) on YouTube at these links if you want:

https://youtu.be/uAx8gjQrsOY?si=nAW68p17wAlkzZph in the Lord

https://youtu.be/yzARLyXJjec?si=vcmnCPHJRJTEfB2d my shepherd

https://youtu.be/wDQxUdHyumE?si=8Dt1RbApJUK2HsBA come to the table of grace

https://youtu.be/lsm919bwwag?si=lkQ4WKLAHg0Fb4wy bless the Lord

https://youtu.be/YvFuKdKMIDY?si=vW44D0oen_EZVYov holy lamb of God

https://youtu.be/HcTFsUeh4vE?si=uHmPYUOZJIf1FLWU amen

https://youtu.be/JubsDvFlqsE?si=68B_Z1w9mEAIh21H and the mother did weep

https://youtu.be/6yQyF8ipOKs?si=lAWf3Vaw5q7jcW-h we’ve come this far by faith

https://youtu.be/ahRyAZZ1qCQ?si=Q5aKiQq2OPITQPL2 when Jesus wept

https://youtu.be/Sbv-kYjak08?si=_lh5pQzzFPVAGGug Jesus walked this lonesome valley