It’s a truism to say that humans are innately social creatures. Belonging to a community was for all of our evolutionary and cultural history, necessary for survival. It’s no surprise then, that we are a species of copycats: from how we pick up words and behaviours as small children (there is no more eager house … Continue reading Do This in Remembrance of Me: A Reflection for Maundy Thursday 2023
The Maundy Thursday service in my Anglican tradition is a busy one, doing a lot of the heavy lifting of Holy Week. In it we remember the Passover, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ ‘new commandment’ to love one another. And then, after all that, we read Psalm 22 and the story of Jesus’ agony and … Continue reading Take This Cup: A Reflection for Maundy Thursday, 2022
If you knew your time was up and you had one last opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for your friends and family, what would you do? What would you say? It's an interesting question to be sure, and one that is probably worth some contemplation. Whatever it is you would choose to say, you'd … Continue reading Famous Last Words: A Reflection for Maundy Thursday
The Holy Week tradition that is the most meaningful for me is the stripping of the altar and sanctuary of the church at the end of the liturgy on Maundy* Thursday. As the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and Psalm 22 are read, anything that can be carried out of the worship … Continue reading Stripped Bare: A Reflection on Maundy Thursday
Matthew Root 