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Maundy Thursday • Year C
April 17, 2025
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Maundy Thursday Bulletin Template
This service focuses on the theme of Holy Communion, with liturgical language drawn from Luther's catechisms. It provides a place for the recognition of First Communion candidates (optional), and closes with the Stripping of the Altar.
First Communion Prayers of the Church and Greeting of Communicants
Historical Collect
O Lord God, you left to us a wonderful sacrament, a memorial of your passion. Grant, we beseech you, that we may so partake of this sacrament of your body and blood that the fruits of your redemption may continually be manifest in us; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Thomas Aquinas)
Thematic Collect
Holy God, your Son gave us a new commandment and through his act of radical servanthood showed us the way of true love. Grant that we may share his servant nature as we live out your reign awaiting the promise of his return; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
God is making a new covenant with his people. He promises to put his word in their hearts and forgive their sins. What does he expect us to do for this wonderful benefit? We are merely to receive it: to lift up the cup of salvation and “call upon him in every time of need, and worship him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving” (Small Catechism, Second Commandment). This new covenant requires no sacrifice for sin since Christ is the sufficient sacrifice for all our sins. He is why there is forgiveness without additional sacrifice on our part. The only thing left for believers to do is draw near to God in full assurance of his mercy and grace, receiving the bread and lifting up the cup: his body and blood given for us.
First Reading • Jeremiah 31:31–34
Jeremiah said, “The days are coming...” But we now know that those days are here! God has made a new covenant with his people. It has been guaranteed with his body, which is given for you (Luke 22:19), and with his blood, that is poured out for you (Luke 22:20. This new covenant is sealed in his blood. The result is that he forgives our iniquities, and no longer remembers our sin.
Psalm • Psalm 116:12–19
What vows can we repay except those the psalmist indicates? We can only offer God our confession, our praise, and our thanksgiving, for God does not desire sacrifice (Psa 51:16). What is there left for us to do, when we have weighed all the benefits of God, but to drink deeply of his salvation?
Second Reading • Hebrews 10:15–25
Because God has written his law on our hearts and forgiven all our iniquities, we are bold to enter into the hope of heaven. We ought to think of all these iniquities as both our daily transgressions and our original sin nature. We are wholly and completely forgiven. Because our sins have been far removed from us (Psa 103:12), for Christ’s sake, we may draw near to God with a good conscience, a true heart, and the complete confidence of faith.
Gospel • Luke 22:7–20
Jesus said, “Go and prepare” the Passover meal. But “when the hour had come,” they discovered that he had prepared all for them. During the meal, Jesus focused his disciples on the bread and the wine, telling them that the long awaited new covenant was to be fulfilled in his body and blood. God in Christ has prepared all things for us and for our salvation.
SMALL INSERT WITH FULL TEXT: Click here to download a small insert that has the full text of the readings for today's worship.
Resources
Links to Worship Resources for this Service
