Maundy Thursday
The last meal. The institution of the Lord's Supper and the foot washing.
Bibelsk grunnlag
Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples and institutes the Lord's Supper: 'This is my body, which is given for you... This cup is the new covenant in my blood' (Matt 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:14-23, 1 Cor 11:23-26). Jesus washes his disciples' feet: 'I have given you an example' (John 13:1-17). The farewell discourse (John 14-16). The prayer in Gethsemane: 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me! Yet not my will, but yours be done' (Luke 22:39-46). Judas's betrayal and arrest.
Betydning
The Lord's Supper is the meal of the new covenant — Jesus identifies with the Passover lamb and gives himself personally: 'my body, my blood'. The foot washing turns all power dynamics upside down — the Lord serves his servants. Gethsemane shows Jesus's full humanity: fear, sweat, the prayer to be spared — and complete surrender to the Father's will.
GT-forbindelser
The Passover meal in Exodus 12 — the last meal is a Passover meal. Covenant blood: 'See, this is the blood of the covenant' (Exod 24:8) when Moses sprinkles blood on the people. Jeremiah's promise of a new covenant: 'I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts' (Jer 31:31-34). The servant motif from Isaiah 53.
Liturgisk kontekst
White color (institution of the Lord's Supper). The name 'Maundy Thursday' may come from Old Norse 'skíra' (to cleanse/wash) — referring to the foot washing. The altar is stripped after the service as a sign that everything is taken away. Many churches hold an evening communion service.
Historie
The celebration of Maundy Thursday is known from the 4th century. The foot washing (Mandatum, hence 'Maundy Thursday' in English) became a liturgical act where the bishop washed the feet of the poor. The institution of the Lord's Supper has made this evening one of the most central in the church year.