Sermon for Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday: “A sword shall pierce through thy own soul; that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There is a remarkable complexity to Maundy Thursday. There is, of course, The Continuation of the Passion according to St. Luke which provides three of the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” is the first word. The second is Christ’s word to the one who was crucified with him who said, “Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.” Jesus responded, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
Luke’s third word becomes the seventh word in the devotional tradition of the Last Words of the Crucified developed by the indigenous Peruvian Jesuit priest, Fr. Alonso Messio Bedoya, in Lima in the late 17th century. From there the practice travelled to Europe ultimately shaping the liturgical and musical devotions for both Protestant and Catholic Churches. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With Luke, the words of the Crucified begin and end with the prayer of the Son to the Father in the Spirit of their eternal love.
There are as well other devotional and symbolic events on this day such as the washing of the feet, the giving of the Royal Maundy, the King’s coin, to the poor, the stripping of the Altar, and the watching at the Altar of Repose with Christ in Gethsemane. But most crucially, perhaps, Maundy Thursday recalls the Institution of the Holy Eucharist on the night, this very night, in which Christ is betrayed.
All these events highlight two themes: service and sacrifice in humility and love. Dramatic and moving, the liturgies of Maundy Thursday draw us into the vast and spacious mysteries of sin and love, as George Herbert suggested. They reveal to us our hearts of sin and they pierce our souls in sorrow and in love. They convict our consciences and move us to acts of compassion and service to others. All as grounded in the Passion and in the forms of our participation in the Passion of Christ. The three last words in Luke’s Passion contribute to our growing into the mystery of Christ.
