2026.04.02

Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday in the Catholic tradition. Maundy in an English translation for Latin “mandatum,” which means mandate or commandment. In the Latin translation of John 13:34, “Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos. In English, “A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

For two decades, I have officiated at the Lord’s Table on the Thursday of Holy Week at four different churches. We have found many ways to switch it up.

In a little rural church in central Illinois, we used real wine one year. There were whispers in the week leading up to that night, as word had slipped out that the elders had given me permission to do so. That night, we offered communion by intinction. On one side, grape juice was offered for those needing a non-alcoholic alternative, and on the other, wine. In the end, only two people went to the juice!

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, communion was served as part of a church-wide agape meal held every year. Boy, I miss that homemade Syrian bread and that savory stew served on those Maundy Thursday evenings.

In suburban northern New Jersey, we mixed it up almost every year. There was the Living Last Supper, drama, Tenebrae, and more.

This evening, we’re reading scriptures and singing hymns, along with a celebration of the Lord‘s table and a beautiful song from the choir. It’s my first Maundy Thursday in New Hampshire.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. ” In the same way also he took the cup, 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. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26