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 Photo by Roger Werth Rev. Harlan Gilland, interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Kelso, gives and introductory description of Maundy Thursday service. |
Maundy Thursday -- Kelso service bridges Jewish, Christian traditions
Saturday, March 26, 2005 12:09 AM PST
By Tom Paulu
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E-mail this articleThe meal included typical trappings of a church potluck: steaming potatoes, slices of baked ham and rich chocolate cupcakes. The menu also included bits of salty parsley and slices of bitter horseradish as the congregation contemplated Jesus' last evening with his disciples.
Every year, the Kelso First Presbyterian Church marks Maundy Thursday with a dinner and service.
Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, is the day Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples, which Christians call the Last Supper. The word "maundy" comes from the Latin for command (mandatum) and refers to the command given by Jesus that night that his disciples should love one another.
Pat Fairies, the church's worship committee chairwoman, said the Maundy Thursday service "makes you stop and think about what life was like for Jesus and the people in those days. I think it's good for us to remember that."
It's a good reminder that Easter is "not all bunnies and coloring things."
"It's a very meaningful time," said Ruth Riedesel, a member of Kelso First Presbyterian. "You have to have this beginning to have Easter and to celebrate on Sunday."
The Rev. Harlan Gilliland said he's "always a bit squeamish about doing the Passover" because he's not a rabbi and doesn't want to oversimplify a sacred Jewish tradition. "But that's where Jesus was" that evening, said Gilliland, the retired pastor at Longview Community Church who is filling in while the Kelso congregation looks for a new permanent minister.
Jesus' presence in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with his disciples set the scene for his arrest and crucifixion the next day, Gilliland pointed out.
Gilliland abbreviates the Seder meal celebration that occurs the first night of Passover. "The traditional Passover service would last six hours," he explained. "The main thing that is happening is we are remembering a heritage that means so much to the Jewish people."
Because a Seder is a family gathering, seating at the church tables was organized by family. The mother from each table lighted the candle and recited the first prayer of the evening.
The fathers lead toasts and as in a traditional Seder, children asked questions. "Why is this night different from other nights?" asked Laura Jackson. Gilliland responded with readings from the Old Testament about the Jewish Exodus.
After the hearty potluck, Gilliland explained the significance of ceremonial foods given to everyone on a small plastic plate.
"Why do we eat only unleavened bread?" asked Deanna Thompson. The Jews didn't have time to wait for their bread to rise when they escaped Egypt, Gilliland explained.
"Why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs dipped in charoseth?" asked Carol Jackson.
Charoseth, a mixture of nuts, chopped apples and raisins, represents the mortar used to make bricks by Jewish slaves; horseradish is a symbol of the bitterness of slavery.
A spring of parsley represents the hopefulness of spring and the sign of new life. Gilliland asked people to dip the parsley into a vial of salt water that represented tears and sorrow. "Swish it around, then taste it," he suggested.
After the traditional four questions and toasts, Gilliland reflected on the significance of the Jewish custom at the most important time of the Christian calendar.
"We remind ourselves that the reason Jesus was in Jerusalem that Thursday night so long ago was to celebrate that Passover," he said, reading from the account in Mark 14.
The bridge to the Christian tradition included bread -- a food that would never appear on a Seder table -- and the connection of the Last Supper to the Christian ritual of communion.
Gilliland took a loaf of bread and distributed chunks of it among the tables for communion, asking the celebrants as they dipped it in grape juice to think about the first communion Jesus celebrated with his disciples. "I give it to you because it is a sign of God's grace."
Kelso First Presbyterian doesn't have a Good Friday service, though members are encouraged to attend those at other churches. On Easter morning, they'll return to their church and pull away black drapes in the sanctuary that cover the greenery and flowers.
It will be a joyous culmination of the week. "Maundy Thursday was that last earthly night in Jesus' life," Gilliland said, "but with that Earthly finish, Easter is just beginning."
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