The Lord’s Supper (also referred to as Holy Communion or the Eucharist) is venerated on Maundy Thursday, as we remember when Jesus first instituted this sacrament during his final Passover Seder.
(Side note: The responses I received from my reflection on Maundy Thursday last year inspired this current year-long series on the Church Year.)
For Christ-followers, Holy Communion is the most sacred act we partake in to remember Jesus and commune with Christ still. Baptism is the second holiest sacrament cherished across all of Christendom. Both of these acts are celebrated in a variety of different fashions by people around the world, each bringing their own cultural traditions and identities to the mix. Despite the varying customs, the key points of these sacraments remain the same. In the case of the Lord’s Supper, the simple sacramental invitation is this: to commune with God and one another.
During Holy Communion we eat bread and recall how God sent Jesus Christ in the flesh, and we drink wine to remember Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Eating and drinking, a basic act of humanity, is elevated to become something profound, mystical, and divine. We experience an emotional mix of thanksgiving and melancholy, as we feel gratitude for the gift of communion and come to realize the full expense of our forgiveness.
On Maundy Thursday, the feelings are heightened by other memories of this holy day. Jesus shares a new commandment to love one another as he has loved us. He washes the feet of the disciples to demonstrate that our God is a God who serves. He tells his followers they will do even greater works than he has done. And he prays for his followers, including you and me. All this while knowing he is about to be betrayed and even his closest friends will deny him. Indeed, before the night is out Jesus is utterly abandoned and the trial to seal his doom is begun. (See Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-71, and Matthew 26:17-75 for the basics; and see John 13-18 for more extraordinary words from Jesus on this day.)
In many mainline Christian churches on Maundy Thursday, worship services begin with the altar filled with all the leftover joy and celebration of Palm Sunday. As the service progresses the altar eventually becomes stripped of everything other than a cross and a candle, symbolizing the abandonment of Jesus and foreshadowing the horror to come.
This particular Holy Communion service is extra heartfelt, but our hearts are also flesh and likely to fail when the going gets tough. Tomorrow will be unparalleled in its grief and pain, as we recall that Calvary is a place only Jesus can go.
Relevant Reformation 