MAUNDY THURSDAY - MARCH 28, 2013

MAUNDY THURSDAY

MARCH 28, 2013

On this night we remember and celebrate the final supper Jesus shared with his disciples in the context of Passover.   This event, which reveals the holiness of all subsequent meals eaten in his name, institutes the mystery of his abiding redemptive presence in the church’s celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist.   This evening also marks the beginning of the most solemn and joyful celebration of the entire Christian year.  We enter what St. Augustine referred to as “the triduum during which the Lord died, was buried, and rose again.”

WORDS OF WELCOME/ANNOUNCEMENTS

+CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader:   We come on this holy evening to share together remembrances of our Lord.
People: We come together to remember and pray, to break bread and drink of the cup.

Leader:   We come with thankful hearts for all the rich meanings of this sacred night.
People: And, too, in our Lord’s community of faithful disciples, we have come to know again the power of God’s redeeming love.

+HYMN                        “I Come with Joy”                                  #617

PRAYER

O God, even now, we feel the darkness gather as we tell the story of the Last Supper.  A sense of loneliness and foreboding hangs in the air. We want to believe we would not have abandoned you in your time of need had we been with you. But in our hearts, we know our behavior would not have differed from that of the disciples. We know this because we still turn away from you when it is expedient. We put other things before our commitment to you and fail to heed your command to serve others. Forgive us for not being more faithful. Forgive us when we are reluctant to share the Good News of the gospel, worried more about offending someone than offering them hope. In this time before Easter, help us to reflect and remember what your persecution and death mean to us. May we be prepared to greet Easter with a sense of awe and a renewed commitment to a new life in you. Amen.

HYMN              “Lord God, Your Love Has Called Us Here”          #579

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us this evening.  Amen. 

OLD TESTAMENT READING                Exodus 12:1-14

PSALTER         Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19 (response 2)                     #837

EPISTLE READING                  1 Corinthians 11:23-26

GOSPEL READING      John 13:1-17, 31b-35

+HYMN                                    “Jesu, Jesu”                              #432

HOMILY

SERVICE OF WORD AND TABLE II                             #12

INVITATION

CONFESSION AND PARDON

THE PEACE

OFFERING

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING (Word and Table II, p.15)

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.   Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.   And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us.   And lead us not into temptation,  But deliver us from evil.   For thine is the kingdom, And the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen. 

GIVING AND RECEIVING THE BREAD AND CUP

+HYMN                                    “What Wondrous Love Is This”               #292

+SENDING FORTH

POSTLUDE

+ indicates to stand if you are able.