I'm glad when people ask such a question because it shows that they are thinking about the meaning of Holy Week and are not just treating it like another week as the secular world always does. It is quite the opposite kind of question from "Who's playing against the Oxford United soccer team this Friday night?"-- a question that came up in my mind after reading today's email newsletter from abroad.
Why "Maundy?" Why not "Holy" Thursday as other Christians have come to refer to the day recently? What difference does it make, anyway? What's in a name?
For non-Christians it makes no difference at all what you call the day. This year, because it falls on April 17th, Maundy Thursday also shares the honors with
Bat Appreciation Day!
Blah, Blah, Blah Day!
Ellis Island Family History Day!
Ford Mustang Day!
Get to Know Your customer Day!
National Ask An Atheist Day! and
National Cheeseball Day!
Of course it must be remembered that those "special days" are on the annual calendar rather than the calendar of the Church Year, and the list actually DID include Maundy Thursday, (although it was sixth on the list).
Getting back to the issue at hand, when we call the day "Maundy" Thursday we are focusing on what took place at that meal that Jesus had on the night of his betrayal and arrest. Jesus, knowing that less than 24 hours later he would be dead, wanted to make sure his disciples knew what was the most important thing for them to remember in the days and centuries to come. At that meal h
e gave them his "mandatum." "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Because of that new commandment, we call the day "Maundy." Of course that command is a "holy" commandment, but when we use a different word to name the day, aren't we deliberately shifting the emphasis away from its true meaning and toward something else?
Jesus gave that commandment to his disciples for many reasons, but it is at least clear that he gave it because he really wanted them to obey it. We may forget many of the things the Scriptures say Jesus taught, but this goes to the very foundation of who and what we are as the Body of Christ. People who love one another have a vision of what God intends for His world, a world where He reigns over all people in love and where people truly love one another as Jesus "loved" them-- by laying down his life on the cross.
Such a vision calls into question all our illusions about what it means to be a faithful church member. It forces us to ask ourselves the question, "How can I be more loving toward my brothers and sisters in Christ, and how can that love be translated into love for the whole world?"
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