maundy thursday service
Weekly Services
Nativity Lutheran Church
April 14, 2022
Maundy Thursday
Gathering
Welcome
Confession and Forgiveness
Friends in Christ, in this Lenten season we have heard our Lord’s call to struggle against sin, death, and evil all that keeps us from loving God and each other. This is the struggle to which we were called at baptism. Within the community of the church, God never wearies of forgiving sin and giving the peace of reconciliation. On this night let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor, and enter the celebration of the great Three Days reconciled with God and with one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
Eternal God, in the sharing of a meal your Son established a new covenant for all people, and in the washing of feet he showed us the dignity of service. Grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these signs of our life in faith may speak again to our hearts, feed our spirits, and refresh our bodies, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Word
First Reading Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
I love the Lord, who has heard my voice, and listened to my supplication,
for the Lord has given ear to me whenever I called.
How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things God has done for me?
I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all God’s people.
Precious in your sight, O Lord, is the death of your servants.
O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds.
I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all God’s people,
in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, 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.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
The Gospel according to John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet. ” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. ” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Message
Hymn of the Day 708
Foot Washing
The demonstration of Jesus model of servanthood and humility
is re-enacted in a symbolic foot washing.
During the foot washing, the congregation is invited into a time of meditative prayer, reflection
and singing.
Prayers of Intercession
As Jesus calls us to love one another, let us pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.
A brief silence.
We pray for the church: Gather us together through your love.
Heal the divisions holding us apart, especially at your table.
Unite us in our common mission to be your servants in the world.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
For the earth: Sustain all living creatures with seasonable weather and suitable environments. Protect fragile habitats from harm. Bless farmers, ranchers, and gardeners whose labors bring food to our tables.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
For the nations: Lead all in authority to work for peace and justice.
Bring an end to oppression. Heal nations and communities torn apart by violence and fear. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
For those in need: Fill the tables of the hungry. Comfort those who know the pain of betrayal, and all who suffer from grief or illness. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
For this assembly: Bless those who guide us in worship and those who lead us into the world to serve in your name. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
And for what else do the people of God pray?
Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sharing of the Peace
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.
Meal
Words of Institution
The Lord’s Supper
Distribution Hymn Lamb of God
Post Communion Blessing
Stripping of the Altar – Psalm 22
Please observe silence as the altar is stripped and the service ends.