A Reflection on Maundy Thursday
By Jennifer Snell, Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, ACNA
Psalm 102 | Psalm 142; Psalm 143 |Jeremiah 20:7-11 | 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 | John 17:1-11; John 17:12-26
It’s time. We’ve awaited this entire Lent not to finish with a countdown but to start counting up. Lent’s 40 days culminate in the Great Three Days, the Triduum, which follow Jesus’ Passover from death to life on the third day. In Hebrew reckoning, the three days to Easter Sunday begin on the Eve of Good Friday. That’s tonight. Maundy Thursday evening begins the first day of the Triduum, the finale of Lent, the high point of Holy Week, and the hinge of the Christian Year. It’s a lot to take in.
There’s so much to take in, in fact, that groups of early Christians spent all night observing Maundy Thursday. It marked a night Jesus didn’t sleep, so neither did they. Today’s celebrations of Maundy Thursday follow the same ancient traditions of representing Jesus’ momentous final acts before his death, especially the Last Supper and the foot-washing. Jesus prepared his disciples for the significance of his sacrifice unto death, with words and actions likewise significant. He gave them the context to understand, then later to celebrate, his passing through death as the decisive moment for God’s glorious reign on earth as in heaven. This cosmic victory, this turning point of history, this glory is the focus of today’s gospel for the daily office: John 17.
John 17 shows Jesus in prayer, the climax of his last discourse with his disciples before his agony. It’s his longest recorded prayer, also known as his “high-priestly prayer” due to the parallels with the Levitical high priest’s atonement offering. For us, beholding this scene is like getting VIP access to the intimate moment the disciples had with their Messiah. The vision of Jesus praying is an up-close and personal glimpse into the divine communion among the Godhead. The Son of God bared his heart, and we’re within earshot. If we have ears to hear, we encounter his astonishing, life-changing proposal.
Jesus petitioned the Father, not just for the faithful eleven around him that moment, but for everyone who would come to believe through their word. That’s us! We are included, not just implicated but directly mentioned, in Jesus’ cherished desires for his friends. His words deserve our lingering attention today, for in them He gave the summation of his entire life and teaching. He prayed for our protection, joy, holiness, vision, unity, and most especially that the bond, the glory, the love of the Father and Son might be in us and we in them. This mutual indwelling is what we are in for. It’s more than we can take in, because God longs to take us in. The revelation of John 17 is the invitation of the Triduum: Be taken in, today.
Jennifer Snell is the author of the chapter on Holy Week for the resource guide Let Us Keep the Feast: Living the Church Year at Home (Doulos Resources, 2014). She worked in administration at Nashotah House, where her husband The Rev. Micah Snell graduated in 2008. With their three young children, they now live in Houston, Texas, where they serve at Houston Baptist University.