1 Samuel, Chapter
12, Verse 14
If you fear
and serve the LORD, if you listen to the voice
of the LORD and do not rebel against the
LORD’s command, if both you and
the king, who rules over you, follow the LORD
your God—well and good.
These were the word of
the Priest Samuel at the coronation of King Saul and just like Eli Saul and his
family did not listen to the voice of the Lord and rebelled. Our only king was
crowned not with gold but with thorns. It was His afflictions which prepared us
for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. Hear His voice.
“The gem cannot be polished
without friction, nor a man perfected without trials—Chinese proverb.”
Passion Week Timeline[1]
Thursday
April 13 |
·
Peter and John sent to make preparation for
Passover meal
·
After sunset, eats meal with the twelve; washes
disciples; Judas departs
·
Lord's Supper instituted
·
To Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus' agony
·
Betrayal by Judas; arrest by Sanhedrin
·
To house of High Priest as Sanhedrin is convened;
Peter betrays Jesus
|
||
Tonight we commemorate the Last Supper
of Christ.
It was the love of money that prompted Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. It was the love of self that prompted Peter’s
betrayal of Jesus. Christ’s sacrifice was made to make us a FAMILY. Forget
About Me; I Love You is an easy way to remember how our hearts should be
formed. Christ asks the apostles and us to trust Him. He asks us to handover
everything to Him and have faith in Him; handing over not only our wealth to
Him, but our very selves: So that we may also to rise with Him on the third day.
Holy Thursday[2]
Holy Thursday is also
known as Maundy Thursday and is a
celebration of the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. There were
originally three separate Masses for Maundy Thursday. The first, no longer in
use, is the Mass of Remission, whereby the public penitents who had
been doing special penance during Lent were received back into the Church. The
second is the Chrism Mass, when the bishop blesses the holy oils to be
used for the year. The third is the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, in
which the Church celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and the
priesthood. The special ceremonies for this exultant Mass (the Gloria returns
and white vestments are used) include the priest's washing the feet of twelve
men, the removal of the Eucharist to the Altar of Repose, and the stripping of
the altars.
The Maundy Thursday Vigil
After the Blessed
Sacrament is "laid to rest" in a special tabernacle on the Altar
of Repose, it is customary for the church to stay open all night and
for private devotion to take place. A variation of this custom is to visit
seven such shrines during the night in imitation of the Sette Chiese of
the Roman Stations (see Stations). This
custom was quite popular in American cities like Boston until the late 1960s.
"Clean" Thursday Customs
Because it was the day
that penitents and catechumens were cleansed of their sins (and allowed to
bathe again), Maundy Thursday is known in some parts of the world as
"Clean" Thursday. The idea of cleanliness also extended to the rest
of the faithful. In a time when bathing did not happen every day, Clean
Thursday became the occasion for thoroughly cleansing the body in preparation
for Easter.
There is also a charming
legend that after the bells are rung for the Gloria during the Mass of
the Last Supper, "they fly to Rome" where -- depending on who is
telling the story -- they either are blessed by the Pope and sleep on the roof
of St. Peter's Holy Saturday night, or are given Easter eggs to return with
them on Sunday morning.
The Mass[3]
The Mass was the center of
life for the disciples of Jesus, and so it has ever been. The first Christians
were Jews, living in a Jewish culture, steeped in Jewish forms of worship. The
liturgy of the new covenant had been foreshadowed in the rituals of the old.
The Mass is explicitly connected with the Passover meal. There are also
parallels between the thank-offering or
todah and the Mass.
A todah sacrifice would be
offered by someone whose life had been delivered from great peril, such as
disease or the sword. The redeemed person would show his gratitude to God by
gathering his closest friends and family for a todah sacrificial meal.
The lamb would be sacrificed in the Temple and the bread for the meal would be
consecrated the moment the lamb was sacrificed. The bread and meat, along with
wine, would constitute the elements of the sacred todah meal, which
would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as Psalm 116.[4]
The Talmud records the
ancient rabbis’ teaching that, when the Messiah has come, “All sacrifices will
cease except the todah.” In fact Greek scriptures rendered the word todah as eucharistia, the word from which we get “Eucharist.”
Tonight
If possible visit Him in the Bless Sacrament chapel between 9 P.M. and midnight
for it was on Holy Thursday between these hours that our Lord was in so much
agony over us that He sweat blood and he was most alone. Spend time with Him.
Holy Thursday Top Events and Things to Do[5]
·
Take a close look online of Michelangelo's The
Last Supper. Notice what each of the disciples is doing, and how
Jesus is portrayed.
·
Attend a Holy Thursday service. Some
denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, require you to be a member to be
given communion, but many Protestant Churches do not.
·
Participate in a foot-washing service.
This puts many people outside of their comfort zone. Washing
someone else's feet is an intimate act, but it was the lowliest act that a
slave in Israel performed. It demonstrates ability to love and serve
others.
·
Watch The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
with Max von Sydow as Jesus. Pay attention to the Last Supper scene.
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