Maundy Thursday

Tonight, after the scriptures were read, the sermon was preached, dinner together (as part of the Liturgy) was finished, we had taken Communion, and the foot-washing ceremony completed, we moved into the Sanctuary to continue our Maundy Thursday Service.

As we knelt and responsively recited Psalm 22, the Altar Servers slowly and methodically stripped the Altar and Sanctuary. The Icon of St. Bartholomew, the Patron Saint of our Congregation, was covered in a black mesh cloth. The burlap covering the Altar was removed, folded, and put away. The prayer book and cross on the Altar, the burlap adornment and Bible on the Ambo were all removed. As we neared the end of Psalm 22, Fr. David looked around, walked to the back wall, and blew out the flame of the Holy Candle. It's amazing how much the loss of that little flame seemed to darken the Altar area.

We bowed our heads for a final prayer and, at the end, as we were just raising our heads, a black cloth was pulled from the top of the cross down over it. The effect was shocking. In silence, the congregation made their way out of the Sanctuary.

My spirit is stilled. My heart is waiting. As I sit here typing, I'm very aware that the hour is near when Jesus was betrayed by one of His beloved. At this very moment, Jesus was probably praying and sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. So many of our religious holidays don't take place on the actual day that they occurred, but this one is different. We can trace the exact date of the Passover and know the weekend that Jesus was crucified.

Daelyn will be taking his first Communion on Easter Sunday, in honor of Christ's resurrection. But, tonight, there is little joy as we await the hour of His death. It is a somber time, one in which we contemplate the great sacrifice that was made for us.

Lord, deliver me of my sin. Make me fresh and clean and help me to stand anew before you, worthy of the price you paid for me.

Amen.