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Maundy Thursday
April 1, 2021
A Meditation
The word Maundy has a rich meaning. It comes from the word mandate. On the Thursday night before he died, Jesus gave his followers a mandate, a new commandment: “Love one another just as I have loved you” (John 13:34). “Maundy Thursday” thus means “Commandment Thursday,” or even better, “Love Thursday,” because it is both Jesus’ demonstration of his love for us and also his commandment for us to show that same love to one another. On the night before he died, Jesus showed his disciples what that love looked like. He took on the role of a servant and washed their dirty feet before they all ate together: to love one another means to serve one another. Then he blessed the bread and broke it, telling his disciples that this was his body that would be broken for them, and he gave them the cup of wine to drink, the new covenant of his blood, that would be shed in love for them and for the whole world. After supper, Jesus and his disciples then went out to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
On Maundy Thursday, we have the opportunity to participate in the events of that night by washing one another’s feet in love for one another and by receiving the bread and the cup of Jesus’ own love for us, the sacrament of his Body and Blood, which he instituted at the Last Supper. At the end of the service, we leave in silence – praying, with Jesus, for God’s will to be done.
Unique Liturgy
The Washing of Feet
Stripping of the Altar
Prayer Watch
Chicagoland Services
A cross by a name indicates advance registration is required to attend in person. An asterisk by a time indicates the service can be joined online via livestream. Some services may offer only an in-person or online option. Click on the hosting church name for more details.
Resurrection✝ (Wheaton) | 4 & 7pm*
+ City of Light joining
Cornerstone Valparaiso | 4:30pm*
Aviva Church (Little Village) | 7pm*
Immanuel✝ (Uptown) | 7pm*
Cornerstone Portage Park | 7pm*
+ Cornerstone Oak Park joining
Cornerstone West Loop✝ | 7pm*
+ Cornerstone Bridgeport joining