Thursday

Cenacle, traditional site of the Upper Room, Jerusalem (the current building is not from the 1st century)

It is a day of preparation, particularly for the disciples. The Twelve would likely have spent most of the day gathering supplies and getting ready for the Passover meal this evening. Passover would not normally have been held on a Thursday. Friday was the Sabbath. Friday is the day of rest and celebration. Several theories have been posed as to why Jesus and the disciples celebrated on Thursday. Some say that "the country folks" (from Galilee or most anywhere outside of Jerusalem) celebrated Passover on Thursday, but I find this unlikely because, then as now, those outside the population centers tended (and tend) to be more conservative in their thinking and practice than others. Others suggest (and I find this more likely) that Jesus directed them to celebrate Passover on Thursday night because he knew he would not be with them the next night. He was to become, as John emphasizes in his Gospel, the Passover lamb for all of us. What Jesus said, they did, even if they wondered quietly why.

So they collected items for the Passover. They prepared the room. They set everything up. I cannot overemphasize the importance of having everything right. This is not just a "family holiday meal." This is not just the ritual observance. The Jews believed that when they celebrated the Passover, they became part of the Exodus, the time when God set them free from slavery. It wasn't just a remembrance; it was a participation, which ought to, perhaps, say something about our observance of communion and how casually we treat it. Jesus, as he re-invented Passover and flipped the script into what we know as communion, was entering into the freedom first felt by those Hebrews escaping from Egypt and at the same time he was providing freedom for all who would call on his name.

Through the centuries, this day has come to be known as "Maundy Thursday" (frequently mispronounced as "Monday Thursday"). "Maundy" is a corruption of a Latin word, "mandatum," which is part of the traditional Gospel reading for tonight: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). ("Command" is "mandatum" in Latin.)

Our focus on this night is often the bread and the cup, the spiritual sustenance and strength this sacrament gives us. Jesus' focus for this night is on the way we should care for one another. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35), he says. Not if you take the bread correctly. Not if you understand the cup properly. They'll know you are Jesus' disciples if you love each other.

A good word for our times, don't you think?

It's only Thursday. This night, after the meal in the Upper Room, Jesus will go to Gethsemane to pray, he'll be arrested and beaten and by morning he'll be on trial. Keep watch. Watch closely. What's about to happen now will change the world.