Holy Week Devotional: Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday: Limbo
Scripture: John 13: 1-17; 31b-35
The hour has come.
Previously, Jesus has stated that his “hour had not yet come.” We hear him speak these words both to his mother, Mary, and to the Samaritan woman gathering water at the well.
But now the hour has drawn late.
The meal has been laid before Jesus and his disciples. The bread broken and the wine poured. The basins full of water for washing, and muddied feet made clean.
Jesus could be asking himself the very questions that survivors ask themselves in this phase, the late-night questions that interrupt sleep:“Do I want to go on? Am I willing to do this work? Do I have the strength to face this?”
And yet, Jesus marks the hours before his death with acts of mercy, generous invitation, and dirty towels.
In the latest hour, the hour before the dawn of the darkest day, Jesus teaches us how to eat, together; and how to love, to serve.
Brimming cup, and bent knee.
Questions for Reflection: How do you picture the table of the Last Supper? What is the mood in the room? What does it mean to wash one another’s feet?
Prayer:
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.
(From The Revised Common Lectionary)
Scripture: John 13: 1-17; 31b-35
The hour has come.
Previously, Jesus has stated that his “hour had not yet come.” We hear him speak these words both to his mother, Mary, and to the Samaritan woman gathering water at the well.
But now the hour has drawn late.
The meal has been laid before Jesus and his disciples. The bread broken and the wine poured. The basins full of water for washing, and muddied feet made clean.
Jesus could be asking himself the very questions that survivors ask themselves in this phase, the late-night questions that interrupt sleep:“Do I want to go on? Am I willing to do this work? Do I have the strength to face this?”
And yet, Jesus marks the hours before his death with acts of mercy, generous invitation, and dirty towels.
In the latest hour, the hour before the dawn of the darkest day, Jesus teaches us how to eat, together; and how to love, to serve.
Brimming cup, and bent knee.
Questions for Reflection: How do you picture the table of the Last Supper? What is the mood in the room? What does it mean to wash one another’s feet?
Prayer:
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.
(From The Revised Common Lectionary)
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