Maundy
Thursday
Over the
years I have preached more often then not on Maundy Thursday. In that process I
have learned many interesting factoids about how it is observed in various
places and unique rites, rituals and menus that have sprung around its
commemoration.
In the
Scandinavian countries, Maundy Thursday is a national holiday, as it is in the
Philippines, Spain, Columbia, Venezuela and Uruguay.
In Germany,
it is known as Grundonnerstag or Green Thursday and the main meal consists of green
vegetable soup and salads. In Bulgaria it is the day children color their
Easter eggs and adults clean the houses. In other Slovak regions a pastry
called Judases (yu da ses) which are reminiscently shaped like nooses ( a bit creepy, I must say) and
served with coffee and honey are consumed for breakfast or for dessert on
Maundy Thursday. In most parts of Europe the tradition of the “silent bells” is
followed where it is said, the bells fly to Rome for confession, and children
roam the streets with wooden clappers or rattles collecting treats and coins
from friends and neighbors.
In Southern
Europe, Italy and Malta for example, there is a tradition of visiting seven
neighboring churches after the Maundy Thursday Eucharist at your home church in
a mini-pilgrimage stopping at the altar of repose at the various sites to sit
and pray for a while. I have to say I do remember this ritual growing up in
post World War II NYC especially in the Irish-Italian neighborhood of my
Brooklyn childhood. The number “seven” is said to represent the “Last Seven
Words of Christ” from the passion Gospels which were not “words” at all but
phrases that include the familiar “Father forgive them”, “ Son, Behold thy
Mother”, and "It is finished”.
But my
favorite new fact is from England. My
first interesting factoid from Great Britain was the “Maundy Money” ritual by
which the British monarch currently honors local citizens who work to improve
life in their communities. It derives
from the custom of medieval monarch washing the feet of paupers and distributing
alms.
I learned
that in some parts of the British Isles this day was called Sheer Thursday, as
in cutting sheers because it is when men trimmed beards and hair and all the
folks, men and women, boys and girls, took an actual bath to clean up for the
upcoming Easter following the model of the washing of the feet and Peter’s
declaration that Jesus could wash is head and hands also.
But I always
go back to the meaning of “maundy” itself which is connected to the Latin word
“mandatum” which refers to the command from Jesus that his followers “love one
another as I have loved you.”
Yet I also
think it should refer to another one of his statements in the Gospel:
“For I
have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.”
This command is more difficult than one might think. It
is one thing to wash the feet of those we know.
One comment that I heard as we recruited Washees for foot washing
was “Remember, you have to come in to church with feet already washed.” On Facebook
a deacon I know from Alabama sent around a posting of preparing for Maundy
Thursday with a photo of a woman getting a pedicure before having her feet re-washed
in church. The deacon who posted this and I both found this somewhat amusing,
but also shocking.
It made me think of the phrase: “How does what we do here
affect or involve those living in poverty?”
Who in our present society washes the feet of
others? Usually young struggling
immigrant women, either Asian or Hispanic who toil for low wages and tips at
the local nail salon. Aides and orderlies in local hospitals, rehab centers and
nursing homes work with the ill for low wages.
Home health care givers who work with our elderly family members who also
are mostly immigrant women from third world nations struggling to live a decent
life and send money home to loved ones.
So, how should we approach this ritual of foot washing?
Reverently and humbly…remembering that we are following the example that Jesus
sets before us and that as participants, we are carrying on an ancient
tradition from his first disciples. They had big shoes to fill, those first
followers of Jesus, and we can look to their example to try to do the same.
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