Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter. Today we contemplate the Last Supper. Maundy is a strange term. If you’re curious as to its derivation, click here.

This, my “first Maundy Thursday post-Israel adventure” reminds me of our time in the upper room. This holy site is not the actual upper room. I believe the building dates to the Crusader period. However, the geographical location is close, and the site has a long history of Christian visitors. The cool thing is to gather together, and read the story in an upper room in Israel. It is quite helpful to actually see the distance from and relative positions of the Room to the Garden, to the Temple Mount, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, etc.

A ton has been written, and could be written about the Last Supper. It’s loaded with significance. To me, the continuity of the Last Supper with Passover and with The Lord’s Supper is kind of new, and altogether fascinating. A few months after returning from Israel, our group gathered for a Seder at our professor’s house. We had a wonderful night learning about Passover, and the theological significance of the various cups, especially as they are fulfilled in the Redemption Story.

Perhaps you will celebrate the Lord’s Supper with your community of faith sometime this weekend. Consider the tender words of the Savior, His humble service. As we eat the bread and drink the cup we remember that day. We also consider the present, just as we depend on food and drink, so also we daily depend upon His work on our behalf. Finally, we long with joyful hope for the day we will feast with Him at His banquet table. We come as beggars, are clothed in His righteousness, and are made coheirs with Him! That’s Good News!