Making Room for the Cross at Home- Maundy Thursday

Written by the Hobbit and Elf on 4/7/2020
This post on Holy Week at Home- Maundy Thursday- contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.

Observing Holy Week at Home: Why & What Is It?

This 4 part series is about the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and how we can make room for that during this pandemic and isolation.

No one anticipated that Easter services would be at home this year. But then again, the disciples weren’t expecting the resurrection to look like it did either. So we’re in good company to have a truly moving Easter experience. Our hope is that even though this Holy Week is virtual, that it will be a deep and meaningful week that your family will always remember.

Observing Holy Week at home is not just for Catholics or other more classical church believers. What is Holy Week? It is, on the church calendar, the week before Easter. It begins the Sunday before Easter on Palm Sunday. It is important to note here that the church calendar itself does nothing for us in and of itself. What it does is provide reminders and helpful seasons (or rhythms) to help keep ourselves open to God. It has deepened our spiritual lives and we hope that it will deepen yours.

You can find part one on Palm Sunday here.

Maundy Thursday:

Maundy Thursday is something that most evangelicals don’t celebrate by itself because they usually focus on Friday and have set times for regular communion – but it is the remembrance of the Last Supper. This is where we get communion from. If you can grab some matzo crackers and also some grape juice from the store, great! If not, there are plenty of creative alternatives. We’ll be using animal crackers and apple juice ourselves.

Why is it called Maundy Thursday? Mandatum is Latin for “command”, which is compared most to the word command in John 13:34- “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (NIV) It’s commemorating our command to go forth to love and lead. The modern definition has come to simply mean the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor. Jesus showed this by washing the feet of his disciples, a sign of great servanthood.

The Story:

Here is one version of the story of Maundy Thursday from Luke:
In Luke 22:14-20 The Message Translation:

14-16 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, “You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.”

17-18 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, “Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I’ll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives.”

19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.”

20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.”

Reflection:

Jesus had just ridden into a city with people praising Him as the coming king. They thought that He was there to bring peace to the tumultuous religious and political environment. To end the physical and financial struggle of so many people. They were hopeful in their great deliverer, not realizing what He was delivering them from. Now, He’s eating with the disciples with the knowledge that the religious leaders of the time were working on getting rid of Him. Knowing that His torture and death will be celebrated by some of these same people soon.

He had not come to fix every current pain, to right every wrong on earth. To end suffering here. There’s amazing hope in His resurrection, yes. Because He did come to bridge the gap between us and God. So that we can experience a relationship with God and eternal life without pain. But let’s not skip over the part of this story where Jesus sits with His community in their pain and in His suffering. He teaches us here how to serve, how to be present, but also how to lament.

I love this article by a fellow adoptive Momma for Church4EveryChild about not skipping forward past the grief. Showing up on Saturday in the pain and not just the celebration on Sunday. “In this place, the grief is so palpable we can almost touch it, and joy is something that must be chosen because it certainly isn’t coming naturally. It’s going to be okay, we hope, but it isn’t yet.” How true of this Easter. Yes, we celebrate our great hope. But we also mourn. Coming alongside of our communities in grief, just like Jesus did. This year has been a harsh reminder that we can’t skip over the grief of Thursday, Friday or Saturday to get to Sunday’s celebration.

Home Activity Ideas for Maundy Thursday:

1) Act it Out:

With a Passover meal or doing communion together. This will take some preparation beforehand. You can typically find communion bread in the kosher section, but you can also just use bread and juice. You can act out the last supper or try to copy the painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.

2) Wash Each Other’s Feet:

“Take time to wash each other’s feet, explaining to your children that it’s a way to serve each other. Read John 13:1-17, 31-35 together then wash your children’s feet. Encourage them to wash each other’s feet. Discuss what it means to serve others. Share ideas about how to better live this out in your daily lives.” From a Holy Week Activities blog from Prayer and Possibilities. https://www.prayerandpossibilities.com/ideas-holy-week-activities/

3) Craft it!:

Going back to that famous painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. Try to recreate your own version of that through painting, coloring, building it with legos, or even virtually through a game. Here is a free coloring sheet too.

4) Seeking Silence:

At a typical service, you would leave in silence. As people are reflecting and praying about the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Jesus sought the silence of the garden in his great grief and anxiety to pray before He was betrayed. It’s a good time to try to find a few minutes of silence to pour out your concerns to your Heavenly Father, just like Jesus did.

5) Reach out:

If your neighborhood is doing an Easter Egg window hunt, take some time to participate in that. You might also put up a message of love and encouragement too. Who would you normally be celebrating Easter weekend with? If you haven’t already, now is a great time to reach out to them.

Prayer:

Praying with Younger Kids:

Thank you God for preparing a way for us. Thank You that we can eat together as a family like you did with your disciples. You died on the cross for our sins and came back to life so that we can be with God forever in Heaven. Even though we can be grumpy and tired of staying at home, we are so very thankful for our house and our family. We pray that this week would bring some fresh hope into this time. Amen

A prayer that we adapted from the Book of Common Prayer:

Gracious God, we give you thanks;
For the constant flow of forgiveness, mercy, grace and love
That surrounds us each day.
Fan the flames of the Holy Spirit in our hearts again.
Fill each of us with thanks and praise so that we may be
Faithful bearers of your light and love into this grieving world.
Guide us as we remember that Jesus,
On the night before He suffered and died for us,
Instituted the sacrament of His body and blood.
May we receive it thankfully in remembrance
Of Christ’s sacrificial suffering.
Lord, today we lament.
In anticipation of the hope of this Sunday, Lord.
Desperately we cry out for health and healing.
For peace where there is none.
Hope where there is anguish.
Protection for the most vulnerable.
Mercifully grant that we may walk with You,
And be a reflection of Your light in this darkness.
That we may hold on to You like Jesus, 
In the way of His suffering, and also share in His resurrection;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

We hope that this was helpful for you.
You can find part one that covered Palm Sunday here.
Part three will cover Good Friday.
You can find more of our faith and family posts here.
Are you needing something to do virtually with your life or small group? We have reviews and group discussion guides for I Still Believe, The Chosen, and Breakthrough with Overcomer as well.
We would love to hear how you are celebrating Easter and Maundy Thursday this year at home- drop us a comment below!

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