Why do we observe Maundy Thursday?

Some musings as we walk through Holy Week.

Today Christians across the world celebrate Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. But what is Maundy Thursday, and why do we celebrate it?

Maundy Thursday is part of the Tridum, the three Holy days leading up to Easter. Taken from the Latin "mandatum novum," meaning "new commandment."

From John 13:34, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

These days leading up to Easter, also called Holy Week, comprise Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.

On the Thursday before Christ was crucified and resurrected, He gave this commandment to His disciples as they shared The Last Supper. He also washed His disciples' feet, and this ceremony is also called "the Maundy."

So, whether we attend Maundy Thursday services or observe it at home, we remember that on this day, when Christ was betrayed, He also shared the Passover meal with the disciples, instituting the Eucharist, or what we today call Communion. At the end of the meal, Jesus washed His disciples' feet, demonstrating not only His love for them but utter humility.

We must remember that in those days, because everyone traveled on foot and only wore thin sandals or sometimes went barefoot, their feet were dirty. Foot washing was a job designated to a lowly servant. For Christ to take on this role teaches us how we ought to treat and love each other. We need to humble ourselves for the greater good of others.

This new commandment Jesus gave them raised the meaning of love to a higher standard. He knew before the Passover meal that His time was coming to an end. He knew that Judas Iscariot would betray him. Yet, despite that knowledge, Jesus washed Judas's feet. Why in the world would He do that? This guy was going to betray him. But Jesus is love. He is love personified. Jesus is what love looks like, sacrificial and perfect. How many of us could treat our enemies or the person who would get us killed the way Jesus treated Judas?

Through Jesus's example of humility, we can learn how to love our enemies, not just with our words but our actions.

Loving our neighbors, loving those who do not look like us, sound like us, come from another country or social class, and loving "the other" takes sacrificial love.

1 John 4:20 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus loved his disciples, and he loved his enemies. He had nothing to gain by loving them, but he did. He loved us while we were still sinners, and we have the gift of Salvation through His death.

So today, on Maundy Thursday, as we partake of the Eucharist and Christ's sacrifice for us, let us ask ourselves if we are obeying Jesus's command to love others, especially those who deserve it the least. Jesus loved the unlovable. Most of us have people in our lives who we have decided do not deserve our love. But this is not what Christ modeled for us, nor is this the Gospel. By washing Judas' feet, Jesus teaches us not to cherry-pick whom we should and should not love.

We have all been the recipients of God's abundant love and grace; our mandate is to love others in return with the same abundance.

John 13:13-15 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly since that is what I am. So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.

Image courtesy Sr.Maria-Magdalena R from Pixabay