1 “Holy Communion and Tenebrae” Maundy Thursday Worship Service
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1 “Holy Communion and Tenebrae” Maundy Thursday Worship Service Thursday, April 1, 2021 Service Time: 7 p.m. Ministers: All the People Worship Leaders: Rev. Lois Punton and Rev. Trevor Potter Maundy Thursday Worship Zoom Connecting Info Apr 1, 2021 Join Zoom Meeting (meeting will be open at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time Canada) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82799620431?pwd=blFKcnVraWp0NE5HbktiK0dHNDIyUT09 Meeting ID: 827 9962 0431 Passcode: 979142 By Phone Dial: 1 587 328 1099 Canada Meeting ID: 827 9962 0431 Service Notes: During the service we will share in communion. Please have your own "bread" and "juice" ready, wherever you may be, to fully participate. Note the quotation marks. When we worship in-person in our churches, we often use bread and grape juice as the communion elements. You are welcome to use whatever is handy, wherever you are, as your communion elements. During the Tenebrae Service of Shadows, we will be using 7 smaller candles plus a Christ candle- 8 in total. You are welcome to have the same number of candles with you if you wish. It doesn’t matter what kind of candles you use as long as they will burn for a while. (So, not cake candles.) They will be extinguished one by one in the latter part of the service. You will be muted upon entry to the service to prevent overwhelming background noise as we gather. The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin name for the day, Deis Mandatum, which means “The day of the new commandment.” The service is linked with four elements in the faith – the serving of each other and our being prepared to be served by Jesus, the New Commandment, the origins of the Eucharist/Communion, and the journey of Jesus towards the cross. GATHER Opening Prayer (adapted from Psalm 116) Leader: Incline your ear, O God, as we call upon you this night, even as we call upon you all our days. All: What can we give to God for all of the abundance of gifts we receive? Leader: We lift up high the cup of salvation and call upon our Holy One. All: We speak our commitments to love one another and let those commitments lodge deep within our community. Amen. Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Prayer of Confession: responsive Leader: God's love for the world has been revealed in Jesus Christ, who certainly loved us to the uttermost; Jesus - Saviour and Lord - who at his last meal with his disciples gave them – and us that new commandment - "... love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34,35 NRSV) Merciful God, we confess that so often our discipleship has been weak ... when we have failed to serve as Jesus served; All: forgive us. Leader: When we have failed to love one another as Jesus loves us; All: forgive us. 2 Leader: When we have been happy to proclaim our devotion to Jesus with our lips and then denied him by our actions; All: forgive us. Leader: Merciful God, empower us by your Spirit to be steady and true to you in every time of trial; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Assurance of Forgiveness: responsive Leader: Jesus said: "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."(John 12:47b) and "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."(John 13: 1b) The good news therefore is this: In Jesus Christ, we are loved and we are God’s forgiven people. All: Thanks be to God! Sacrament of Communion: Invitation: Great Prayer of Thanksgiving Living and loving God, we lift our hearts to you in gratitude and joy for all your gifts to us. You made us in your own image and set us in this world of contrasting beauty. In your great love you delivered your people of old from slavery and you have delivered us from the power of evil and death through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. We praise and honour you, holy God Heaven and earth are surely full of your glory. Blessed is He whose supper we share this night, and blessed are we - renewed by his life. Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come... …make yourself known to us as we share among us this bread and this wine - your life in us. Amen. Breaking of the Bread As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We eat and drink with thanksgiving, remembering all that Jesus has done for us. We Receive the Elements This is the body of Christ given in love for us all. Amen This is the lifeblood of Christ poured out in love for us all. Amen Prayer after Communion unison Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for refreshing and renewing us with this meal - for nourishing our lives with the gracious gift of your life. Amen. The Peace After Jesus had shared the meal with his disciples and washed their feet, he said to them, "I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you...Love one another, as I have loved you"... He also said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." Leader: The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. All: And also with you. 3 Hymn: VU 130 “An Upper Room Did Our Lord Prepare” 1 An upper room did our Lord prepare for those he loved until the end: and his disciples still gather there to celebrate their risen Friend. 2 A lasting gift Jesus gave his own: to share his bread, his loving cup. Whatever burdens may bow us down, he by his cross shall lift us up. 3 And after supper he washed their feet, for service, too, is sacrament. In Christ our joy shall be made complete: sent out to serve, as he was sent. 4 No end there is! We depart in peace. He loves beyond the uttermost: in every room in our Father's house Christ will be there, as Lord and Host. Tenebrae: The Service Of Shadows After each reading, the reader says "Lord, have mercy" to which the response is "Christ, have mercy" Readings 1. The Shadow of Betrayal -Matthew 26:20-25 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 2. The Shadow of Inner Agony -Luke 22:40-44 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 3. The Shadow of Loneliness -Matthew 26:40-45 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 4. The Shadow of Desertion -Matthew 26:47-50,55,56 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 5. The Shadow of Accusation -Matthew 26:59-67 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 6. The Shadow of Mockery -Mark 15:12-20 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) 7. The Shadow of Death -Luke 23:33-46 Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. (extinguish candle) Only the Christ candle remains. Hymn: VU 132 “Bitter was the Night” 1 Bitter was the night, thought the cock would crow for ever. Bitter was the night before the break of day. 2 Saw you passing by, told them all I didn't know you. 4 Bitter was the night before the break of day. 3 Told them all a lie, and I told it three times over. Bitter was the night before the break of day. 4 What did Judas do? Sold him for a bag of silver. Bitter was the night before the break of day. 5 What did Judas do? Hanged himself upon an alder. Bitter was the night before the break of day. 6 Bitter was the night, thought there'd never be a morning. Bitter was the night before the break of day. 7 Bitter was the night, thought the cock would crow for ever. Bitter was the night before the break of day. Final Reading: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1:1-4 ) The light has come into the world, but people love the shadows rather than the light. The Christ candle is extinguished. Departure: You are invited to exit the service in silence. The worship service that lasts throughout Holy Week continues… .