Join us in our practice of this Maundy Thursday service.
As we remember the last events of our Lord's life, let us observe a discipline of holy silence.
Preparatory Notes
MAUNDY is the English form of the Latin word meaning commandment. Jesus’ new commandment to “love one another even as I have loved you” is the focus of Maundy Thursday. This love is demonstrated in Jesus’ example of servanthood and the gift of Jesus’ self in Holy Communion. The theme of servanthood is included in the observance of Maundy Thursday through a service of footwashing. The Order for Tenebrae follows the conclusion of a Maundy Thursday service remembering Jesus’ last supper.
TENEBRAE is the Latin term for shadows. It is a service of lessons followed by the gradual extinguishing of lights. The moment of total darkness recalls the days Christ was in the tomb. The relighting of the Christ candle is prophetic of Easter, which is soon to dawn. The service of Tenebrae is not a reenactment of the Last Supper; the readers do not represent Christ and his disciples. The readings of the Tenebrae service recall the events of Christ’s last days: the Last Supper, the betrayal, the arrest, Christ's suffering, the trial, Christ's death, Christ’s burial, and the destitution of the disciples. Originally celebrated over the course of three evenings, here these events are combined into one ceremony.