03/31/2021
Maundy Thursday Family Celebration – April 1, 2021
Supplies:
• Matzo – unleavened bread, pita bread, matzah crackers, or saltine crackers - 1 piece per person
• Maror (mer-ore') – bitter herbs: horseradish, romaine lettuce, escarole, endive, or chicory -1 piece per person
• Karpas – celery or parsley, 1 piece per person
• 3 questions each written on a separate small piece of paper:
Why do we eat matzah? Why do we eat maror? Why do we eat karpas?
• Communion supplies: bread and juice, 1 small cup or glass per person
• Markers or crayons
• 1 piece of white paper or small white poster board
• 1 washcloth per person
• Bible*
If you’d like to create an atmosphere similar to the Passover celebration Jesus shared with his disciples, you could have everyone dress in robes and sandals, gather around a table top which is low to or on the ground, and serve food for your dinner which follows the celebration that would have been similar: vegetables, bread, figs, dates, olives, pomegranates, charoset (a mixture of apples, walnuts and cinnamon), and a bean stew.
Preparation:
• Set the table with what you will need for your meal which will follow your family Maundy Thursday celebration.
• At each person’s place, put a small plate with:
o a piece of what you are using for matzah, maror, and karpas
o a small piece of bread
o the small cup/glass with the juice
o 1 marker or crayon
• Put the strips of paper with the questions at the places of the 3 youngest people or you could let the youngest read all three
• Place the piece of white paper or poster board where it is easily accessible
• Just before you start, dampen the washcloths, warm in the microwave and place in a plastic baggie to keep warm
*Scripture is referenced at various times. To engage your family, have different readers. They are highlighted in yellow to be easily found. If you decide to do this, write each reference on a post-it or small paper and place in the Bible ahead of time.
OPENING:
Leader: Today is the Thursday before Easter. It is known as Holy Thursday or
Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy means command. Before He was crucified, Jesus celebrated a special meal with his closest friends and He gave them two new commands. Tonight, we will share a special meal like Jesus shared with his disciples and we will remember the two commands - two things Jesus always wants us to do.
Before we have this special meal, let’s talk with God.
Sample Prayer: Dear Jesus, during this week leading to You rising from the dead, we think about your last steps on earth. We welcome You to our dinner as we remember the last dinner You had with Your disciples. Help us understand what You were thinking and feeling. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Leader: The night before Jesus died, he gathered with his disciples to celebrate the Jewish holiday called Passover. Just as our families have traditions or things we always do on special occasions, Jesus and his friends had grown up in families that celebrated this holiday each year. They knew everything that would happen: the prayers that would be prayed, the food that would be eaten, and the order of how the evening would go. This night, however, was different. Jesus knew it would be his last meal with his followers, so he turned the “usual and ordinary” into something more, something deeper, something that would change their lives.
We are going to share in three of the parts of the Passover celebration that Jesus had with his friends. Each part holds great meaning for the Jewish people because it reminds them how God rescued them from slavery because He loves them. As you hear and experience each piece, remember that, like the Jewish people, God loves us and He has a rescue plan for us as well!
THE MAROR or BITTER HERBS (harshness) –
Have the youngest at the table ask: Why do we eat maror?
Leader: The bitter herbs represent harshness. For the Israelites, this was a way to remember the harshness of their slavery in Egypt.
It reminds us of the harsh, painful things in our lives. Things like anger and hurt, fears and anxiety, sickness and sadness, and all the bad things we and other people do that is called sin.
As you taste the ______________________, remember what Jesus told us about the harshness and suffering in our world, John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Even in the midst of this harsh world and the suffering we experience and see around us, the next thing reminds us of something greater!
KARPAS (hope) –
Have the next youngest at the table ask: Why do we eat karpas?
Leader: The karpas is a symbol of hope. These greens represent new life. For the Israelites, that hope and new life was the hope of freedom and the land God promised. For us, we know can receive new life when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and ask Him to be our forever friend. The Bible tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 1 Corinthians 5:17:
Through His death and resurrection, we also have the hope of everlasting life to come. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
As you eat the _______________, let it help you to remember the hope we are given when we become forever friends with Jesus.
MATZAH (healing through His death) –
Have the next youngest at the table ask: Why do we eat matzah?
Leader: When God told Moses to prepare the Israelites to leave Egypt, he instructed them to make bread without yeast. The Israelites eat matzah or unleavened bread as part of their Passover meal to remind them of how God brought them out of slavery. The matzah reminds us of how Jesus freed us from the slavery of sin, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He gave us freedom to know God personally, “In him and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12.
As you eat the ______________, remember God loves us so much he wants us to be free so we can love and worship him.
JESUS’ NEW COMMANDS
Leader: These parts of the Passover meal were exactly what the Disciples expected based on the traditions they had long experienced. It was during the meal that Jesus turned things upside down to give his friends his first new command. John 13:4-5, “Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” This act of washing feet was job of the servant of the house, not the messiah, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.
The disciple Peter was shocked! Jesus replied to him, “You call me Teacher and Lord—and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” John 13:13-15
The first new command Jesus gave his friends was to serve one another in love. Let’s think about ways we can love and serve each other in our family, and others around us.
Bring out the paper or poster board and say:
On this paper we will each trace our hand*, and write inside it one way we will use our hands to serve others in our family. Outside of our hands, we’ll write ways we can serve others outside of our family. (*if using a poster board, you may have space to do both)
(Spend time discussing and writing ideas until everyone has shared)
To show that we commit to a life of service to one another in our family and the world, let’s wash each other’s hands. (Distribute wash cloths and have family member’s take turns washing hands. Make sure everyone does someone else.)
Leader: Jesus’ second new command was a special meal we are to share to remember Him and what He did for us on the cross because He loves us so much. It is recorded in Luke 22:19-20, “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. After supper he took another cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Before we have our dinner, let’s share this special meal known as communion.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks and broke it. He gave it to His disciples and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this to remember me.” (Everyone eats the bread on their plate.)
When the supper was over, He took the cup and gave thanks. He gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this to remember me.” (Everyone drinks the juice in their cup.) (Pause)
Every time we celebrate this special meal, we remember that Jesus died for us so we are forgiven for all the wrong things we do. He did that because He loves us so much. Jesus is God’s rescue plan from the slavery of sin for us!
Our Passover celebration is now finished. Let it remind us that God loves us so much He wants to rescue us from the thing that separate us from Him. When we invite Jesus to be our forever friend, we are forgiven of our sin and we become part of God’s family.
Close in prayer.
Sample Closing Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you loved your disciples so much. You love us so much! Thank You! Please help us to love our families and other people as well as You love us. Help us serve our families and others to show how much we love you and how much You love them. Thank you for being our rescue plan from all the wrong things we do. We love you. Amen.
