Getting to the point here, what does Maundy mean? Growing up, I guess I always assumed Maundy meant, "sad", or "mourning", because of the betrayal and all. But that's not even close. The word "Maundy" is from the Latin word "mandatum"....sound familiar...it's where we get our word, "mandate". The church applied it concerning Jesus statement in John 13.34, "A new commandment (mandate) I give to you: Love each other, just as I have loved you!" "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" So, Holy Thursday, became known as Mandate (Maundy) Thursday, or as, "Go love each other as I have loved you Thursday!"Just thought you would want to know."
(Taken from a posting by Sam Osterloh of Campus Crusade for Christ)
In other thoughts on the day, I flash back to my days in college around this time. My religious studies professor, Dr. Brubacher, would host a Seder meal for his students that were interested. Dr. Brubacher went so far as to have a mock up of a triclinium for us to eat at. He would do the presentation with many of his archaeological slides and vasts amount of knowledge. I am pretty sure those Sederdinners were things that marked my life in some way and helped form my thoughts on the last supper for a more accurate grasp on what was happening. The triclinium was a three-sided table usually used for special occasions and you reclined at the meal... Passover was one such time. It's an interesting way to eat for sure. It is a meal marked with great symbolism. I cannot remember it all now but I may take the time to look it up again in the near future. It would be an excellent thing to do with our family in the coming years. (I remember loving every morsel of food and thought it would be a much beter way to eat, too!)So, there are some of my random thoughts on this day of Holy Week. More to come hopefully next week on the whole of the Easter season.
Excellent -- you just did some of my work, Jessica, LOL! I was explaining what Maundy Thursday was to the boys yesterday and realized I had *no* idea what Maundy meant. I promised myself I'd look it up. Well, I did, sort of...I looked up you! There are some excellent Passover guides which explain the symbolism of the meal. We did this at Peralta once. I keep meaning to do it with the boys, and always forget. Next year when we're back to studying the ancients, I'll make a point to put it into our holy week celebration.
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