One of my new favorite traditions is observing Maundy Thursday. It’s only recently that I even know what Maundy Thursday is or what it means. Apparently, Maundy comes from the Latin word for command. As best as I can understand, Maundy Thursday is a reflection on the last Lord’s Supper before the arrest, trial, and crucifixion on Good Friday.

The service is typically a come and go service. It’s subdued and reflective. There’s usually a minimal amount of music and lighting with the majority of the focus on the cross looming in the foreground, a kind of foreshadowing of what’s to come.

It’s hard to see the bread and the wine (or the juice if you’re Baptist), and not see the body broken and the blood spilled out. Jesus was preparing His disciples for the next 24 hours, although they didn’t grasp His meaning until after the fact, after the cross and the grave and the resurrection.

Easter is a celebration. Maundy Thursday is a reflection, not only of what Jesus did but of what that means for us as followers still caught in the struggle of sin in the midst of a sinful world. Easter is not possible without Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and the Saturday in between.

May we prepare our hearts even now to truly receive the joy of the coming Easter.