A Prayer to Receive Comfort This Maundy Thursday
By Kyle Norman
Bible Reading:
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” - 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
Read or Listen Below:
I come from a liturgical denomination that celebrates Maundy Thursday, the night of the last supper, in visceral detail. We read the story of the Last Supper, washed each other’s feet, and stripped the altar of all decorations. It’s a dramatic and moving service. But this service hit me even more powerfully in 2015. On that Maundy Thursday, my wife was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
The fact that we sat weeping in the exam room as our church gathered for our annual Agape Feast testifies to how spiritually distant I felt at that moment. With the news of my wife’s diagnosis, I felt laden with sadness and confusion. All the times I prayed with my wife while she hunched over in pain felt pointless; the prayers I prayed seemed forsaken. At that moment, my faith felt very thin.
This is not a comfortable experience for an ordained priest, but I am a priest, and it was Maundy Thursday, so after dropping my wife off at home, I went to the church to lead our service.
During that service, I felt overwhelmed by discouragement and disconnection. The prayers were said almost as if I was on autopilot. My sermon felt hollow. During this, I started to feel waves of guilt and shame come over me because I was not able to be the faithful and stalwart priest the church deserved.
But then we hit communion. I met Jesus in a new way as I celebrated the Eucharist that evening. As I spoke the words that had become so familiar, “This is my body, This is my blood,” the words seemed to echo back to me. It was as if, from within the liminal spaces of the church, Jesus whispered these words into my heart.
I felt addressed, heard, and known. More than anything, I felt comforted. It was as if Jesus was telling my wife and me that all the confusion, discouragement, and dismay we were experiencing was the reason for his incarnation. It was as if Jesus was saying to us: “into the fear of what comes next, into the awaiting pain, into the sickness and the struggle, into the struggles for prayer, and the yearning for ease, my body is given for you, and my blood is shed for you. Into all those dark places I come. You are not alone.
Maundy Thursday, with its rehearsal of the Last Supper, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, and Judas’ betrayal, reminds us that it is into a world of lostness and confusion, where we sometimes feel powerless against the dark things that crash upon us, that Christ comes and offers himself. In his sacrifice, Jesus enters our inner and outer darkness. As we reach our hands out to receive him, we can feel the warmth of his comforting presence.
Struggle, confusion, sadness, and discouragement do not discredit our faith nor remove us from who we are to be. In those times, we meet the one whose nature is to come and dwell with us. Christ surrounds us, and the power of his resurrection is offered to us for the road we must walk.
God’s strength means that our discouragements will never beat us. God’s love means the Lord’s comfort can be met in the darkest places. If you face such a situation today, be bold and pour your heart out to Jesus. Claim the Lord’s promise that you will be heard, embraced, and lovingly received.
Let’s Pray:
Lord of all compassion, Maundy Thursday reminds us that your presence is not reserved for those in palaces of ease. You are not a savior who stands aloof, removed from the difficulty of life. You come to us, and you embrace the very things in life that we embrace. As we deal with rejection from friends, we walk the path of rejection. Just as we sometimes struggle to pray through our agonies, you threw yourself down in the garden of Gethsemane, too. And you do all this so that you might join us when we face such things.
Gracious Savior, I pray that you give me the capacity to feel you ever near me as I walk the road. When I am discouraged, give me a sign of your delight for me; when I struggle in prayer, may your groanings carry me; when I feel overwhelmed by chaos, may your presence calm my heart and soul. I open my heart to receive you, not as an escape from all I face, but as an embracing of you who join me, who cry with me, and who will lead me through this time. I thank you, Gracious Lord, and I pray all this is in your holy name. Amen.
Photo Credit: Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/rudall30
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