Daily Devotional for April 1, 2021

The five most important days of the year in the Christian calendar are Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, Good Friday, and Maundy Thursday.  This is one of those important days.

Today, Maundy Thursday, may be the least understood of these five significant days.  It is the subject matter of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper,” painted between 1492 and 1498 on a wall at the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy.

Thousands of years ago, on a Thursday like today, Jesus was with the disciples for the last meal he would eat before his death.  As he sat there, knowing he was going to be betrayed and die a horrible death, Jesus carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Knowing he was quickly running out of time; Jesus needed to teach the disciples one more lesson: a command.  After washing the disciple’s feet, he said, “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.”  (John 13:34-35)

The word Maundy comes from the Latin word for command.  Commands aren’t negotiable.

We love because Jesus told us to.  It isn’t always easy, convenient, or fun, but it is a necessary component of being a faithful follower of the One who died so we may live.

Tonight, at 6:30, we will hold a Maundy Thursday service.  Like the disciples, two thousand years ago, we will participate in that sacred meal and remember the command that defines our lives.  I hope you will be there.

Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, thank you for sending your Son to save me.  Please help me to be the living embodiment of his teachings.  Help me to love.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Also, tomorrow we have a Good Friday service at 6:30 and the worship services on Sunday morning. Come celebrate and remember.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins