The Maundy

Have you ever wondered what “Maundy” means? Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter, believed to be the day when Jesus celebrated His final Passover with His disciples. That Passover meal was when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples in an extraordinary display of humility. He then commanded them to do the same for each other.

The word "maundy" is a shortened form of the Latin word mandatum, which means "command." If you already knew that, you get a gold star! I took three years of Latin in high school, then three semesters of Latin in college, and I had to look up the Latin meaning.

It was on the Thursday of Christ's final week before being crucified and resurrected that Jesus said this commandment to His disciples. Jesus and His disciples had just shared what we call the Last Supper, and He was washing their feet when Jesus declared this profound new commandment:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34).

Jesus calls us to love each other like Jesus loves us. It’s a simple concept, but it is very hard to do. I hope you take this commandment seriously in everything. This commandment is not a sometimes thing when we are feeling particularly gracious. It’s an every moment of every day kind of thing.

Maundy Thursday is a commandment to love each other like Jesus loves you. Hope you will love like Jesus as we worship tonight at 7:00PM in the sanctuary or on the livestream!

In His Grip,
Mike Toluba

2 Comments


Jeri Lynn Barnett - April 14th, 2022 at 3:05pm

Mike, I have very much enjoyed this blog all through lent. Thank you for helping my roots to grow deeper.

Mike - April 15th, 2022 at 8:37am

I am so glad you have journeyed through Lent with us!