Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, April 17, 2025)
This Thursday is Maundy Thursday. It is also known as Holy Thursday in many countries and is a public holiday. “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word, “mandatum,” or “command.” The English word “mandate” is also derived from the same Latin word. The command to which it refers is the one which Jesus gave to his disciples at the Last Supper on the night of his arrest. It was the command to love one another as he had loved them.
In this evening’s message we examine how this command applies to his modern-day followers.
GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear a piano solo of the Genevan psalm tune RENDEZ A DIEU.
Silence
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 13.34
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbour.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear F. Bland Tucker’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
1 O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father’s glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you, his holy Son.
2 Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
the lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Spirit: God
Who dwells in the eternal light.
3 are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, Life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are through all the earth
And in the highest heaven adored.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Jeanne Cotter’s arrangement of Psalm 103, “The Lord Is Kind and Merciful,” for cantor, choir, and assembly.
Refrain
The Lord is kind and merciful;
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Slow to anger, rich in kindness,
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Verse 1
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
all my being bless God's name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
forget not all God's blessings.
Refrain
The Lord is kind and merciful;
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Slow to anger, rich in kindness,
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Verse 2
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, full of kindness.
God is good to all creation,
full of compassion.
Refrain
The Lord is kind and merciful;
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Slow to anger, rich in kindness,
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Verse 3
The goodness of God is from age to age,
blessing those who choose to love.
And justice toward God's children;
on all who keep the covenant.
Refrain
The Lord is kind and merciful;
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Slow to anger, rich in kindness,
the Lord is kind and merciful.
Silence
Merciful Lord,
as we come from dust and return to dust,
show us the face of our Redeemer,
that in our frailty we may bless your name
and praise you all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Gospel according to John.
John 13: 1-17, 31b-35
It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.
Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?”
Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”
Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!”
“If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you will no longer be my disciple.”
Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!”
Jesus said, “Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. All of you are clean—all except one.” (Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)
After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked. “You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them. Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!
After Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him. And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once. My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s metrical paraphrase of the Magnificat.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
1 For God has looked with favor,
on one the world thought frail;
and blessings through the ages will echo
the angel's first "All hail."
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
2 God's mercy shields the faithful
and gives them safe retreat
to arms that turns to scatter
the proud in their conceit.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
3 The mighty have been vanquished;
the lowly lifted up.
The hungry find abundance;
the rich, an empty cup.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
4 To Abraham's descendants
the Lord will steadfast prove,
for God has made with Israel
a covenant of love.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
“You Must Love One Another…”
According to Jesus, the world will know his disciples by their love for each other. Their love for each other will be their number one distinguishing characteristic of his followers.
Generations of Christians have understood that when Jesus commanded those present in the upper room to love one another as he had loved them, he was giving a commandment to all his disciples for all time.
From the writings of their pagan contemporaries, we gather that the early Christians’ love for each other was something of which their pagan contemporaries took notice. It helped to overcome the negative impression that their pagan contemporaries had of the early Christians due to the many rumors circulating about their beliefs and practices.
What does it mean to love one another? We find much on the subject in the four gospels and the letters of the apostles. A fruitful undertaking for individual Christians or the members of a Sunday school class or a small group would be to study relevant passages from the four gospels and the letters of the apostles and to apply what they learn to their own lives. This last step is essential since loving one another requires more than a knowledge of what it means to love each other. A knowledge of something is not very good to us unless we put it to use.
First, we can examine what Jesus taught about how we should treat other people and how he himself treated them. The, we can look at what the apostles about loving others and our fellow Christians. Reflecting upon what Paul wrote in the Letter to the Romans about “a better way,” the way of love, and putting into practice what we have learned, would yield many benefits.
Loving one another we will discover is more than a feeling. It is an attitude. It is a way of thinking. It is a way of acting.
We will learn that loving others, loving our fellow Christians, is not about promoting ourselves, always being the center of attention, bossing others around, bullying them, always having our way, always being right, blaming others for what is our own fault, going after those to whom we have take a dislike and doing harm to them. It is none of those things.
Can we make too much of Jesus’ love commandments? I don’t think so. We can’t say, “Jesus, I’ll accept the salvation that you offer but I am going to live my life as I have always lived it,” and consider ourselves a disciple of Jesus.
In parts of the United States what may be described as “a ‘Lord, Lord’ culture of decisionism” is all too common. In this culture people, while claiming Jesus, will deny his call to humble themselves and serve others. Jesus, however, taught that he will know his own by how they live, not by what they say.
Living how Jesus instructed his followers to live and following his example are a part of the package of being a disciple. They are not optional. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, they take priority over everything else in our life. We need to lean into them, taking advantage of every opportunity in our lives to show grace, kindness, and forgiveness to others, to treat them with consideration, respect, and patience. Above all else, we should show them compassion, acting toward them as God acts toward us.
We should act this way toward all people but especially toward our fellow Christians.
Then the world will indeed know that we are Jesus’ disciples.
Silence
[Let us confess our faith, as we say,]
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear James Quinn’s “This Is My Will, MY One Command.
1 This is My will, My one command
that love should dwell among you all.
This is My will, that you should love
as I have shown I love you.
2 No greater love a man can have
than that he die to save his friends.
You are My friends if you obey
all I command that you should do.
3 I call you now no longer slaves;
no slave knows all his master does.
I call you friends, for all I hear
My Father say you hear from Me.
4 You chose not Me, but I chose you,
that you should go and bear much fruit.
I called you out that you in Me
should bear much fruit that will abide.
5 All that you ask My Father dear
for My name's sake you shall receive.
This is My will, My one command,
that love should dwell in each, in all.
[If a collection is taken, it is presented with these words and placed in a suitable place.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness,
the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.]
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
(With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”)
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Additional intercessions, petitions, and thanksgivings may be offered silently or aloud.
Almighty God,
at the Last Supper your Son Jesus Christ
washed the disciples’ feet
and commanded them to love one another.
Give us humility and obedience to be servants of others
as he was the servant of all;
who gave up his life and died for us,
yet is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to say,
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine
on us and be gracious to us. The Lord look upon us with favour
and grant us peace. Amen.
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