Announcements

St. Luke's building remains closed to the public until further notice. If you have a Pastoral Care concern or a family emergency, please call the church at 651-437-9855. See the bottom of this email for details.

 

Collect

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Exodus 12:1-4, 5-10, 11-14 (CEB)
 
Psalm 116:1, 10-17 (BCP)
 
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (CEB)


The Gospel and Reflection

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Common English Bible (CEB)
Foot Washing
 
13 Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.
2 Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God.  Read more here


Reflection by The Reverend Mary Rowan, Priest

Maundy Thursday, the day of Jesus’ last supper. This day brings many emotions. It brings thoughts of celebration, reflection, obedience, and sadness. Sadness because we know the stories, we know what is about to happen. This day brings us the reminder of the celebration of the Passover that Jesus and his disciples were celebrating. The day when God spared the people of God in Egypt and started their journey to salvation. Maundy Thursday brings us to reflect on the actions of Jesus that last day and causes us to contemplate what it means for us to obey Jesus and follow what he teaches.
 
Jesus teaches two very significant things at his last supper. He teaches us the Holy Eucharist to remember him by, and he teaches us that we are to be servants to one another. The outward and visible signs of the bread and wine in our Eucharist have become a very important part of our lives and our worship. And now, at this time, we are not allowed to come together and share in this most sacred act. In this time we are living in, we are not allowed to get close to people and it is increasingly hard to get close enough to serve one another. So what does that do to our faith when we are not able to do these things? It really shouldn’t do anything to our faith. We are still Christians. We are still a family and we are still brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all parts of one body, we just have to do things differently.  
 
The hope of the resurrection is still there, God has not left us. We just have to dig a little deeper and maybe pray more to keep that connection to God. We may no longer have that weekly or maybe even monthly outward visible sign of the Eucharist that we are used to, but we can still celebrate and remember what Jesus has done for us. There were times in history that no one but the priest partook of the bread and wine of the Eucharist. There are times in the history of the Episcopal Church when we partook of the bread and wine once a month. Yet faith survived, God never left us then and he won’t leave us now. We can call out to God our desire to receive Holy Communion anytime using this prayer from St. Alphonsus de Liguori.  
 
“My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I love you above all things, and long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.”  
 
Reach out to God today, express your thanks for Jesus and all he has done for us. Follow Jesus’ command to be servants to others by reaching out to friends and neighbors by phone. Show the love and compassion of the ever present God in your life. This way of life won’t last long but while it does, the long distance serving of one another goes a long way.
 
May the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always.


Prayers of the People

Prayers of the People for Maundy Thursday are Form I which can be found on page 383 in the Book of Common Prayer or can be accessed online here.  
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• Those serving in the military including Sean, Steve, Nicholas, Shaun, Scott and Marcos. 
• Those on St. Luke’s Prayer List including Edward, Bud, Ruth, Aileen, Mark, Brian and for all those affected by COVID-19. 

Collect at the Prayers

Lord, hear the prayers of thy people; and what we have asked faithfully, grant that we may obtain effectually, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



 

The Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer can be accessed online right here.  You will need to click on The Table of Contents link and then scroll down to the section desired. There are also apps available for your smartphone. Search for Electronic Common Prayer in your App Store.


 

The Lectionary Calendar

The Revised Common Lectionary determines which readings are to be used for each Sunday. You can click right here to get to the calendar to select Sunday and Holy Day scriptures.
 
If you click on the scripture selections embedded above they will take you to the Common English Bible version at BibleGateway.com.


 

Online Worship with the Cathedral

Many congregations are offering a variety of online worship streams. We invite you to explore the services offered by the Washington National Cathedral by clicking right here.


 

COVID-19 Information and Updates

You can read up to date announcements from the Episcopal Church in Minnesota by clicking on ECMN. The Rt. Rev. Brian Prior has been offering regular updates and his staff continues to offer helpful information.
 
Clicking Hastings Cares will take you to a group of local civic and religious organizations connecting to help communicate valuable information for area residents.