Lenten Lights KK ~ Maundy Thursday
My congregation actually has a “Maundy Wednesday” service – for each of the last ten years. Maybe more. We gather for our usual midweek meal, which is not all that usual, since we take turns cooking and feeding one another: no caterers and only an occasional pizza, BBQ, or Thai food night. On the Wednesday of Holy Week we put away our dishes after the meal, and we gather in the sanctuary for another meal of bread and juice. And we sing, and hear the story of Maundy Thursday from John’s gospel, and then we wash one another’s feet. Although I’ve been practicing that ritual for a long time, I never get over the feelings of vulnerability in it. This year my seven-year-old washed my feet. She was awkward and funny about the whole thing, and it was incredibly sweet.
What caught my ear in the story last night was the opening: “Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to God. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully” (John 13:1 CEB). There rests my prayer for this day, this week, this season: to love and be loved fully.
