Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday
April 2, 2026
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 & John 13:1-15, 34-35
When one thinks of Maundy Thursday, they often think of the Lord’s Last Supper.
Rightfully so, as in the sequence of Holy Week’s events, this is when the Lord’s Supper was instituted by our Savior for us Christians, to eat and to drink, for the forgiveness of our sins.
It’s also for this reason that we hear St. Paul’s instructions regarding the Lord’s Supper.
In the epistle this evening, St. Paul follows up the words of institution by instructing the Christian that whenever they receive the gift of the holy supper, they are confessing what Jesus has done for them upon the cross every day of their life, until Jesus returns.
But also, Paul says,
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 11:27)
Receiving the sacrament unworthily means approaching the altar with an attitude or behavior that lacks faith and fails to recognize that, at this altar, you receive the very flesh and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. At this altar, you confess a shared faith with the brothers and sisters to your left and right, and you also confess love for your Lord and your neighbor.
But unworthiness can also present itself when you come to receive the Lord’s Supper if you are guilty of not loving your neighbor, because when someone does not love their neighbor, they are not loving Christ. For this reason, to sin against your neighbor is to sin against Christ.
St. Paul says, “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28)
To examine yourself means to test yourself and critically reflect on your actions, thoughts, and beliefs. Do they align with God’s will for you? For example, do they align with the Ten Commandments, as you’ve learned them not only from the Small Catechism but also from Holy Scripture?
In the letter to the Galatians, St. Paul says, “Let each person examine his own work.” (Galatians 6:4)
Examine yourself—your thoughts, words, and actions—while avoiding pride and selfishness. Looking upon others and saying, “I’m glad I’m not like them…”
For just two verses prior, Paul said to the Galatians, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
Part of fulfilling the law is to bear one another’s burdens, to walk through this life with your brothers and sisters, not only to the communion rail but also as you leave the rail to return to your seats, your homes, and your vocations.
Which leads us to this question: What does Maundy Thursday mean?
Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum (commandment), referring to the “new commandment” Jesus gave his disciples and to us during the institution of the Lord’s Supper. He said,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
But if you honestly examine yourselves, your lives, your words, and thoughts, do you come to the altar of the Lord with this love for one another as Christ says?
Or are you like Judas, just a bunch of betrayers of God and His word?
Betraying your Savior with your silence… silence in confessing your faith in Him, silence in confessing your sins to Him, silence in confessing your sins against Him because of your transgressions against your neighbors.
Think about this: do you approach this rail without first considering how you hurt and sin against others? Or the lack of reconciliation you have with one another? Have you made peace with each other or those individuals who have hurt you in your life?
This is a good time for us to remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:22-26)
St. Jerome, a translator of the Scriptures, reflects on this passage,
[Jesus] did not say, “If you have anything against your brother” but “If your brother has anything against you,” so that a greater need for reconciliation is imposed on you. As long as we are unable to make peace with our brother, I do not know whether we may offer our gifts to God.
In other words, if you are unable to make peace and reconcile with your brothers and sisters, you won’t be able to approach God with faithful gifts like prayer, singing, or devotion, let alone be prepared to receive the gift He has for you in the flesh and blood of the Lord’s Supper.
And why is this important?
Because when Jesus gives you a new commandment to love one another, He is instructing you to be merciful to each other, just as He will be to them and has been to you through His sacrificial death on the cross.
So, what does a sacrificial and merciful life look like for you?
Probably doing one of the hardest things you could imagine. No, you won’t have to give up your life savings to rescue a family member from debt. You won’t have to give up a vital organ to save a child’s life. You won’t even have to give up your earthly life.
Still, what you will need to do is one of the most challenging things you could imagine: ask your Father in heaven for a humble heart, to remove pride from your heart, so you may die to your sin, confess the malice, spite, hatred, coldness, and enmity you have toward your neighbor, and repent.
All of this is difficult because the world will call you weak, and your heart will feel vulnerable.
But to walk in the footsteps of Jesus is to do as He commands, “that you love one another: just as [He] has loved you, you also are to love one another.”
Because here, at this rail, there may only be love for one another, because He, your Savior, has loved you to the end, even to the cross.
+INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org
The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/
