April 2, 2026

Maundy Thursday Worship

We ask the question a million different times
over the course of lives.
Do you love me even now?
As children we ask this question
with eyes the size of saucers
and a quivering bottom lip.
In our teenage years,
we ask the question by pushing people away
and paying attention to who comes back.
As adults we ask the question by
extending the first invitation
and seeing who returns the kindness.
Over and over again we ask the world,
Do you love me even now?
The thing I’ve learned about God
is that, no matter what comes before “even now,”
the answer will always be yes.

“Even Now”
by Rev. Sarah A. Speed

Blessing for the Meal

Pastor Alexis Ward Owens

Meal

The following liturgy is adapted from a liturgy by Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes
A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

PREPARING                

Chris Zepp   

Opening Reflections

Prayer of Confession

Silence

FOOT (and Hand) WASHING

John 13:1-17 (CEB)

1 Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.

2 Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.”

8 “No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.”

9 Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!”

10 Jesus responded, “Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed, because they are completely clean. You disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 He knew who would betray him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you is clean.”

12 After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. He said to them, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. 14 If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do. 16 I assure you, servants aren’t greater than their master, nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sent them. 17 Since you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.

Reflections 

Hand and Foot Washing

Music: “Will You Let Me Be Your Servant?” (Mutual Kumquat)

COMMUNION

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Invitation

Bread and Cup

FORESHADOWING

John 13:21-35, 18:1-5 (CEB)

21 After he said these things, Jesus was deeply disturbed and testified, “I assure you, one of you will betray me.”

22 His disciples looked at each other, confused about which of them he was talking about. 23 One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was at Jesus’ side. 24 Simon Peter nodded at him to get him to ask Jesus who he was talking about. 25 Leaning back toward Jesus, this disciple asked, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “It’s the one to whom I will give this piece of bread once I have dipped into the bowl.”Then he dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. 27 After Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 No one sitting at the table understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Some thought that, since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus told him, “Go, buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So when Judas took the bread, he left immediately. And it was night.

31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Human One has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify the Human One in himself and will glorify him immediately. 33 Little children, I’m with you for a little while longer. You will look for me—but, just as I told the Jewish leaders, I also tell you now—‘Where I’m going, you can’t come.’

34 “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

18 After he said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples and crossed over to the other side of the Kidron Valley. He and his disciples entered a garden there. 2 Judas, his betrayer, also knew the place because Jesus often gathered there with his disciples. 3 Judas brought a company of soldiers and some guards from the chief priests and Pharisees. They came there carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus knew everything that was to happen to him, so he went out and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

5 They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I Am.” (Judas, his betrayer, was standing with them.)

If You Hear Nothing Else, Then Hear This

~Rev. Sarah A. Speed

If You Hear Nothing Else, Then Hear This:
You can make a fool of yourself.
You can bet on the wrong thing,
lose it all, unravel people’s trust.
You can laugh at a funeral,
curse in a church, say the wrong thing
at the wrong time, every time.
You can lose yourself in a bottle,
a relationship, a false sense of security.
You can uncover prejudice
and wrestle with the shame of it all.
You can withhold an apology,
blame it on someone else,
tell yourself it’s not your fault.
You can trade in love
for a bag of coins.
And even then,
even still,
even now,
Jesus will love you enough to
wash your feet.
If you hear nothing else in the gospel,
hear this.

Parting Reflections

Silence and Song

Music: “Spiegel im Spiegel” (Arvo Pärt)

SENDING PRAYER

REMEMBER - YOU ARE A GIFT!

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