Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ.
Maundy Thursday
April 14, 2022 – 7:00 pm
Unfailing Light
An Evening Setting of Holy Communion
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
901 East Stroop Road
Kettering, OH 45429-4688
(937) 298-0136
Introduction
This evening our Lenten observance comes to an end, and we gather with Christians around the world to celebrate the Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Tonight we remember Christ’s last meal with his disciples, but the central focus is his commandment that we live out the promise embodied in this meal. As Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, so we are called to give and receive love in humble service to one another. Formed into a new body in Christ through this holy meal, we are transformed by the mercy we have received and carry it into the world. Departing worship in solemn silence, we anticipate the coming days.
Baring our Soles
“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” (John 13:6). Peter’s question is our own. What is it about feet that is so personal to us? Perhaps it’s because they are so sensitive. We are on our feet all day, and they take all kinds of abuse, but still, that skin on the bottom is so delicate, so ticklish. We wouldn’t willingly put that part of ourselves into just anyone’s hands. But also, just as our feet leave prints wherever they go, there’s a sense in which they carry around the memory of our tracks—to the good places and the bad places, to public places and secret places. Our feet know where we’ve been, even if no one else does.
No wonder we so often live on the surface, unwilling to bare our feet, our hearts, or any other tender part of us to another person. What would they think if they could really see? But to know someone, to know them as they really are, in all their fullness—wounds and scars and toe gunk included—and to still love them . . . that is getting close to what it means to love one another as Jesus loves us.
Tonight Jesus invites us to be vulnerable, to place into his hands the part of us we want most to hide. Wherever your feet have walked, whatever they have tracked inside, whatever prints have been left on the secret places of your heart, bring them to the altar. Put them into the hands of your neighbor, and in doing so, put them into the hands of God.
And tonight, by some strange miracle of faith, you will leave here clean. Tonight, you will leave here forgiven. Tonight, you will leave here knowing what it means to serve and be served, to love and be loved. Tonight, you will know Jesus.
GATHERING
The disciples urged Jesus strongly, saying,
“Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Friends in Christ, in this Lenten season we have heard our Lord’s call to struggle against sin, death, and the devil—all that keeps us from loving God and each other. This is the struggle to which we were called at baptism.
Within the community of the church, God never wearies of forgiving sin and giving the peace of reconciliation. On this night let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor, and enter the celebration of the great Three Days reconciled with God and with one another.
Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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 neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, your sins are for- given. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.
Evening Hymn
Your canopy of vigil lights, each star your hand has set in place,
bestows a blessing on the night, and all creation sings your praise.
You formed the moon and fired the sun, you quickened dust with holy breath,
and binding us to your dear son, renewed our live. destroyed our death.
You walk with us along the way, your Word, a lamp to pilgrim feet;
stay wity us now at close of day, our unknown guest, our host and feast.
Grant those who share this evening meal the faith and vision to believe
that hearts might see what eyes conceal: by grace your presence we receive.
Refreshed by sabath rest this night, awaken us to your shalom:
the reign of Christ, unfailing Light, where peace and justice are at home
and saints need neither moon nor sun to sing your praise eternally,
O merciful, immortal One, O blessed, holy Trinity.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Holy God, source of all love,
on the night of his betrayal, Jesus gave us a new command- ment, to love one another as he loves us. Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
WORD
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
Jesus interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
FIRST READING Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14
Israel remembered its deliverance from slavery in Egypt by celebrating the festival of Passover. This festival featured the Passover lamb, whose blood was used as a sign to protect God’s people from the threat of death. The early church described the Lord’s supper using imagery from the Passover, especially in portraying Jesus as the lamb who delivers God’s people from sin and death.
A reading from the book of Exodus.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congrega- tion of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. [Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ] This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
In the bread and cup of the Lord’s supper, we experience intimate fellowship with Christ and with one another, because it involves his body given for us and the new covenant in his blood. Faithful participation in this meal is a living proclamation of Christ’s death until he comes in the future.
A reading from Paul’s first letter to the 1 Corinthians:
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Let your steadfast love come to us, O Lord.
Save us as you promised; we will trust your word.
GOSPEL John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The story of the last supper in John’s gospel recalls a remarkable event not mentioned else- where: Jesus performs the duty of a slave, washing the feet of his disciples and urging them to do the same for one another.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you 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.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
YOUTH MESSAGE
MESSAGE – Pr. Jamie Vannoy
ANTHEM “Let Us Break Bread Together”
African-American spiritual; arr. Mark Hayes
Chancel Choir
MEAL
When Jesus was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
GATHERING OF GIFTS
GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ, whose suffering and death gave salvation to all. You gather your people around the tree of the cross, transforming death into life. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes,
who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna, in the highest,
hosanna in the highest.
Holy God, you alone are holy. You alone are God. The universe declares your praise beyond the stars, beneath the sea, within each cell, with every breath.
We praise you, O God.
Generations bless your faithfulness: through the waters, across the wilderness, by night and day, out of exile, into the future.
We bless you, O God.
We give you thanks for your Son: at the heart of human life, near to those who suffer, beside the sinner, among the poor, with us now.
We thank you, O God.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Remembering his love for us on the way, at the table, and to the end, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
We pray for the gift of your spirit: in our gathering, upon this bread, within this cup, among your people, throughout the world.
Blessing, praise, and thanks to you, Holy God, for your mercy, through Christ Jesus, in your Spirit in your Church, without end.
Amen, amen, amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
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, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
Here is food and drink for the journey. Take and be filled.
Amen.
LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; grant us peace, grant us peace.
COMMUNION HYMN – “Will You Let Me Be Your Servant”
Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant, too.
We are pilgrims on a journey,
we are trav’lers on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we’ve seen this journey through.
Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant, too.
TABLE BLESSING
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you always in his grace.
Amen.
HYMN AFTER COMMUNION: “The Canticle of Simeon”
Now Lord, you let your servant go in peace: your word has been fulfilled
My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.
Now Lord, you let your servant go in peace.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord Jesus, in a wonderful sacrament you strengthen us with the saving power of your suffering, death, and resurrection. May this sacrament of your body and blood so work in us that the fruits of your redemption will show forth in the way we live, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
STRIPPING OF THE ALTAR
“W + 2” = Worship Plus Two
Make a commitment to not only worship each week but also try to find a way to serve in the congregation and seek out a way to serve our community.
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD
Upcoming Commemorations
Olavus Petri, priest, died 1552; Laurentius Petri, Bishop of Uppsala, died 1573; renewers of the church
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
These two brothers studied with Luther at the University of Wittenberg and then returned to their native Sweden to introduce the Lutheran reforms. Olavus published a catechism and hymnal; Laurentius was a professor who defended the office of bishop and later became one.
Anselm, Bishop of Canterbury, died 1109
Thursday, April 21, 2022
This eleventh-century monk was one of the greatest theologians of the Middle Ages. He is remembered for emphasizing the maternal aspects of God, and for the theory that the Son of God became human in order to make the necessary payment for our sin.
Day of the Creation (Día de la Creación) (LLC)
Friday, April 22, 2022
This observance invites us to notice and give God thanks for the wonders of the created universe. As stewards of that creation, we are also challenged to be careful in our use of it.
Toyohiko Kagawa, renewer of society, died 1960
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Born in Kobe, Japan, Kagawa was orphaned as a young child. Later, when he became Christian, he was disowned by the rest of his family. Wishing to bring Christian principles into society, he worked among poor people, established schools and hospitals, and worked for peace.
“Unfailing Light”
text by Susan Briehl, © 2004, Augsburg Fortress Publishers
music by Marty Haugen © 2004, GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A-702747.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2014 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #22920.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Curches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.