Avondale Pattillo UMC
From Lent to Easter
Maundy Thursday
Maundy
(pronounced MAWN-dee) Thursday is the English name given to the Thursday
during Holy Week (also called
Passion Week). Christians observe Maundy Thursday in commemoration of
Christ's Last Supper. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum",
which means "commandment". This day commemorates the
anniversary of the institution of Holy Communion, also called The Eucharist, by Jesus at the Last Supper.
(Mandatum novum is Latin for "new commandment").
"Do this in remembrance of me." -- Luke 22:19
In Roman Catholic and many Protestant churches, this anniversary is celebrated in an evening service that includes Holy Communion. "Mandatum" is the first word of an anthem sung in some churches during the liturgical ceremony on this day.
In most European countries, the day is known as Holy Thursday.
Roman Catholic Maundy Thursday services include a foot washing ceremony. Each participant washes the feet of 12 people, thereby commemorating Christ's washing of his disciples' feet in the Upper Room before his last supper.
The Passover Seder ceremony included a meal and
prayers welcoming the sacred time, or otherwise setting the stage for the
ritual. 
The meal uses symbolically significant foods, especially matzah
(unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), four cups of wine,
and (before 70 AD, and in Jerusalem) the pesach (lamb) itself. Most
Seder plates have places for six dishes:
- Maror (bitter herbs)
- Karpas (vegetable)
- Chazeret (bitter vegetable)
- Charoset (apple, nut, spice and wine mixture)
- Zeroa (shankbone of lamb)
- Beitzah (egg)
- A wood carving of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"
- A Christian Passover Seder, including recipes
Songs
- Until I come (Larry Holder)
- Do this and remember me (Pepper Choplin)
After the Passover meal in the Upper Room, and prior to Judas' betrayal of him, Jesus walked to Garden of Gethsemane, prayed, and felt anguish. The name "Gethsemane", comes from the Hebrew Gat Shmanim, meaning "oil press". The garden is thought to have been located somewhere on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives, where there were olive trees and olive presses.
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Songs
- UMH 290 - Go to Dark Gethsemane
- I Lay it Down (Larry Holder)
- Not my will but Thine (Ruth Schram)
Tenebrae serviceSome churches observe another medieval custom, which has had a popular revival in the late 20th century -- that of the service of Tenebrae. This service may be held held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, in the evening. It features a series of songs and readings dealing with Holy Week. It was originally sung before dawn and marked by the gradual extinguishing of candles before the breaking of the light of day. Many churches continue the practice of gradually extinguishing candles, though at an evening service, followed by silent departure from the sanctuary.
Maundy pennies
In England, at Westminster Abbey, the monarch gives alms to the poor. This harkens back to an earlier practice of the sovereign washing the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday.
Eating greens
The German word "to mourn" (grun) is very similar to the word for green (grün, with the umlaut over the u). So in Austria, Hungary, and much of Germany, Maundy Thursday is Gründonnerstag -- a day to eat spinach and green salad. Another reason for eating greens on Maundy Thursday is that the Passover Seder meal includes karpas (a green vegetable, usually parsley) and bitter herbs.
Shaving beards
In old England, men used to shave their beards on Maundy Thursday, as this was a time to cleanse the body as well as the soul to prepare for Easter.
Avondale Pattillo UMC
3260 Covington Hwy., Decatur, GA 30032
404-294-4063
This page was last edited February 27, 2007 10:40 PM
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