Maundy Thursday & Agape Blessing
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Officiant: The Rev. Joan L. Peacock
Homilist: Seminarian, Steve Bragaw.
Based on the Scottish Episcopal Church Alternative Service
Notes
Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Triduum, the three-day observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the first part of a continuous rite which encompasses the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and the Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. This alternative rite is based on the liturgy according to the Scottish Prayer Book 1982.
The Maundy
The Act of Humility, Repentance, and Renewal reminds the worshipers of their Baptism, and of the identification with Jesus Christ in his death, of which the Passion is the solemn commemoration. It brings to its conclusion the penitential discipline of Lent and prepares for the celebration of new life at Easter.
The people’s responses are in bold.
Gathering
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our resurrection, our salvation and our life. Amen.
Collect for Purity
Silence may be kept.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria in Excelsis
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
with God the Son, Jesus Christ,
and God the Holy Spirit,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Collect of the Day
God our Father, as you invite us to share in the supper that your Son gave to his Church to proclaim his death until he comes: inspire us by his service, and unite us in his love; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
Exodus 12. 1–4 (5–10) 11–14
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 judgments: 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.
Psalm 116: 1, 10-17
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my consternation,
“Everyone is a liar.”
What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
1 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[a] 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.
The Gospel
John 13. 1–17, 31b–35
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,[a] 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[c] 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.
At the end of the reading
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious gospel.
Praise to Christ our Lord.
The Maundy
An Act of Humility, Repentance, and Renewal
Dear friends in Christ, the Lord Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example that we might follow in his steps. In his incarnation he took our human flesh and lived among us for a time. He came not to be served but to serve, and to give up his life for us. Christ died for us, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, in whose image we have been created.
In Baptism we have died in the flesh and been made alive in the Spirit. We have been buried with Christ, that we might share in his resurrection.
As we celebrate the mystery of our Lord’s death and resurrection, let us come before God in penitence, praying that God’s image in us may be restored, and that we may be renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do you place your faith in God, who created the world, and in whose image, you are made?
I do.
Do you place your hope in Jesus Christ, who died for you and was raised from the dead?
I do.
Do you place your trust in God’s Holy Spirit, who empowers and directs your life in accordance with God’s will?
I do.
Do you repent of the sin which has separated you from God, and marred God’s image in you?
I repent.
Do you accept again the cleansing from the power of sin, which you first received in your Baptism?
I do.
Will you model your life on the example of your Lord, Jesus Christ?
With the help of God, I will.
Will you take up your cross, and follow Christ?
With the help of God, I will.
Will you seek to serve God and God’s people, and not only to be served?
I will, after the example of Christ.
Will you recognize in others the image of God in which you and they are made?
I will, after the example of Christ.
Will you be faithful in worship, in reading holy Scripture, and in prayer?
I will, by the grace of God’s Holy Spirit.
Will you use your gifts in the service of Christ’s Body, the Church?
I will, by the grace of God’s Holy Spirit.
You have been baptized into the death of Christ and called to a life of humble and loving service to God and to others. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s will for us. You have turned to God in penitence and faith and promised to follow in the way of the cross.
Water is the outward and visible sign of forgiveness of your sin, restoration of God’s image in you, renew and restore us with the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Amen.
Intercessions
Let us pray to the Father, as Christ prayed for his disciples.
Holy Father, as you are one, may we who are Christ’s Body also be one. Let the Church in this place reflect your glory to the world.
Silence
May we and all Christian people be united in your love. Let us recognize in each other, and in all people, your image in which we are made.
Silence
May your name be manifested in us. May we be sanctified in your truth. May your love be in us.
Silence
May we be united with those who suffer for their faith in your Son. Let us be ready to meet the cost of following him.
Silence
Bring us all, through the death and burial of your only begotten Son, to the joy of his resurrection.
Silence
Send us out into the world in Christ’s name. Let us follow his example, serving others as we would serve you.
Silence
Father, accept the prayer of your Church on this day when Christ, our high priest, gave himself to us; who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Peace
In lieu of shaking hands, you can nod and smile, share the peace in words, wave, or flash the peace sign.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
We meet in Christ’s name: Let us share his peace.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior has taught us, so we pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God, source of all love,
whose only-begotten son, on the night of his betrayal,
gave his disciples a new commandment,
to love one another as he loved them:
write this commandment in our hearts;
and 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
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
Silence may be kept.
The Offertory
Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2
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Agape Blessing
Blessing Over Wine
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe. You create the fruit of the vine; and on this night you have refreshed us with the cup of salvation in the Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Glory to you for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing Over Bread
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe. You bring forth bread from the earth; and on this night you have given us the bread of life in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ. As grain scattered upon the earth is gathered into one loaf, so gather your Church in every place into the kingdom of your Son. To you be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Dismissal
Go in peace. Remember the poor.
Thanks be to God.
We Are Here for You
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