Wandering Heart: Maundy Thursday: Streams of Mercy

Thursday, March 28, 2024
7:00 PM 8:00 PM 19:00 20:00

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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We gather around God’s table with Jesus and the disciples, on the occasion of the last supper they will share together—and the first supper Jesus shares with us. Though there are both a denier and a traitor in their midst, Jesus pours out streams of mercy for all. We enjoy the sweetness of that mercy as we too receive the bread and the fruit of the vine. Finally, we end the service by stripping the sanctuary, in order to prepare for Good Friday.

Join us throughout Holy Week and the first two Sundays in †he Easter Season as we participate in the Sanctified Art Series “Wandering Heart: Figuring out faith with Peter.” Join us in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship is live-streamed; videos are available here or on Youtube following the service.

Maundy Thursday: Streams of Mercy

1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-20; Isaiah 53:1-11

March 28, 2024

Liturgist: Diane Sommerville Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Union Presbyterian Church, Endicott, NY

Prelude Barbara Gannon, flute

“The Old Rugged Cross,” Judy Nishimura

Used with permission.

Call to Worship Diane Sommerville

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest

Stay with us, for the day is ending.

Bring to our house your poverty.

For then shall we be rich.

Bring to our house your pain,

That sharing it we may also share your joy.

Bring to our house your understanding of us,

That we may be freed to learn more of you.

Bring to our house all those

Who hurry or hobble behind you,

That we may meet you as the Savior of all.

Bring to our house your Holy Spirit,

That this may be a cradle of love.

With friend, with stranger,

With neighbor, with the well-known,

Be among us tonight,

For the doors of our house we open,

And the doors of our hearts we leave ajar.

Prayer of the Day Rev. Pat Raube

Holy Comforter,

We gather in your name

invited by Jesus,

bound together with your Spirit,

in union with each other.

Feed our bodies and our spirits

with your comforting presence

so that we might be your comfort to others.

Bless the food we will share

and break open our hearts.

Bless the cup we will share

and pour out your love.

Amen.

Hymn #276 W & R

“Christ, Let Us Come with You”

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Christ, let us come with you
To the upper room

Where the feast is laid,
To the bread and wine
Where our peace is made:
Christ, let us come with you!

Teach us your serving love:
To become as friends,
To become as one
That the world believe
What your life has done:
Teach us your serving love.

Jesus, forgive us all
That we use your name
Though we stand apart,
We refuse your prayer
To be one at heart:
Jesus, forgive us all.

Christ of the open hands,
You have brought us close
To be loved and fed,
You have touched our life,
Now you walk ahead:
Christ, let us come with you!

Call to Wholeness Diane Sommerville

God is love. Because we have faith, we dare to approach God with confidence, knowing that our Creator longs to be our healer.

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (responsive)

Holy God, Maker of all:

Have mercy on us; grant us your healing; grant us your peace.

Jesus Christ, servant of the poor:

Have mercy on us; grant us your healing; grant us your peace.

Holy Spirit, breath of life:

Have mercy on us; grant us your healing; grant us your peace.

Let us in silence confess our faults, and admit our frailty.

(Silence)

Lord, hear our prayer.

Amen.

Assurance of God’s Love

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.

The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.

I declare to you, in the name of Jesus Christ,

you are forgiven, healed, and claimed in love.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

Jesus told his friends that the peace he had to offer was not of this world.

But in Jesus, heaven and earth have met,

and it is the peace of God we offer to one another.

The peace of God be with you this night:

And also with you.

Let us share a sign of peace.

Scripture 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

A reading from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, beginning at chapter 11, verse 23. This passage is known as the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Scripture John 13: 1-20, 31-35 Rev. Pat Raube

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

When [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Response: Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.

Thanks be to God.

Sermon “Streams of Mercy”

Anthem Choir 

“At This Table,” Shirley Elena Murray, Allen Pote

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

In the singing, in the silence,

In the hands expectant, open,

In the blessing, in the breaking,

In the Presence at this table,

Jesus Christ, be the wine of grace:

Jesus Christ, be the bread of peace.

In the question, in the answer,

In the moment of acceptance,

In the heart’s cry, in the healing,

In the circle of your people,

Jesus Christ, be the wine of grace:

Jesus Christ, be the bread of peace.

In the singing, in the silence,

In the hands expectant, open,

In the blessing, in the breaking,

In the Presence at this table,

Jesus Christ, be the wine of grace:

Jesus Christ, be the bread of peace.

Be the wine of grace and the bread of peace.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Invitation

At your last supper, sharing bread and the fruit of the vine,

You invited your friends to share your journey.

Like many grains of wheat becoming one loaf of bread,

You invite us to become one body with you.

Here tonight, through bread and the fruit of the vine,

We renew our journey with you.

Here, through bread and the fruit of the vine,

We renew our unity with one another,

and with all who have gone before us.

Through bread and the fruit of the vine,

We renew our communion with the earth

And our connection with the broken ones of this world.

So come, taste these gifts of the earth and work of human hands,

Food of both earth and heaven.

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God:

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Come, Lord Jesus, be out guest,

stay with us as day is ending.

With friend, with stranger,

with young and with old,

be among us tonight.

Come close to us that we may come close to you.

Forgive us that we may forgive one another.

Renew us so that, where we have failed we may begin again.

Sanctus

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Holy, holy, holy Lord, 

God of power, God of might, 

Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is He who comes  

In the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest, 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Words of Institution

Among friends, gathered round a table,

Jesus took bread,

and, having blessed it,

he broke the bread

and gave it to his disciples, saying

“This is my body which is given for you.”

In the same way he took the fruit of the vine,

and, having given thanks for it,

he poured it out

and gave the cup to his disciples, saying,

“This cup is the new relationship with God,

sealed with my blood.

Take this and share it.

I shall drink wine with you next

in the coming kingdom of God.”

So, now, following Jesus’ example,

we take this bread and this fruit of the vine;

the ordinary things of the world

through which God will bless us.

And, as Jesus offered thanks for the gifts of the earth,

let us also celebrate God’s goodness.

Memorial Acclamation

Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:

When we eat this bread and drink the cup,

we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Prayer of Invocation

Blessed are you, O God,

for you have brought forth bread from the earth.

Blessed are you, O God,

for you have created the fruit of the vine.

In the beginning you watered the earth

that man and woman might have food and drink.

You gave to your servant Sarah

bread to strengthen her family on their journey,

and wine to make them glad.

You called Moses and his people out of bondage,

and refreshed them with food in the wilderness.

You gave Mary and Jesus their daily bread to share.

And here at your table

you offer us bread and wine for the journey,

to nourish us as your children.

And so with all our siblings,

before us and beside us, and yet to be,

we praise you from our hearts for your unending greatness.

The Gift of the Spirit

Lord Jesus Christ,

present with us now,

as we do in the place what you did in an upstairs room,

breathe your Spirit upon us,

and upon this bread and this fruit of the vine,

that they may be heaven’s food and drink for us,

renewing, sustaining, and making us whole,

and that we may be your body on earth,

loving and caring in the world.

Prayers of the People

PRAYERS

You are above us, O God,

You are beneath.

You are in air, you are in earth,

you are beside us, you are within.

O God, you are in the betrayed and suffering people of our world

just as you were in the broken body of Jesus.

We pray now for all that concerns us,

as we sit at table together.

Together we pray for our world,

that it may know the peace you intend for all creation.

With sorrow we pray for the people of your Holy Land,

that war may end, relationships rebuilt, and a lasting peace come upon it.

And now, we offer our own prayers, in the silence of our hearts.

Lead us, O God, by the power of your Spirit, to live as love commands.

Bound to Christ, set us free for joyful obedience and glad service.

As Jesus gave his life for ours, help us to live our lives for others

with humility and persistent courage.

Give us strength to serve you faithfully until the promised day of resurrection,

when, with those of all the ages,

we will feast with you at your table in glory.

We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray together,

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Communion

The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Music during Communion: #697 W & R

“Eat This Bread,” Jacques Berthier

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Eat this bread, drink this cup,

Come to me and never be hungry.

Eat this bread, drink this cup,

Trust in me and you will not thirst.

Prayer After Communion

In gratitude, deep gratitude, for this moment, this meal, these people, we give ourselves to you. Take us out to live as changed people, because we have shared the Living Bread and cannot remain the same. Ask much of us, expect much from us, enable much by us, encourage much through us. In this way, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of heaven. Amen.

The Stripping of the Church

Scripture Isaiah 53:1-11

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah, beginning at chapter 53, verse 1: the Song of the Suffering Servant.

Who has believed what we have heard?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
    a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
    and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
    struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
    and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
    Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
    and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
    he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
     Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
    The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Departure The congregation departs in silence. 

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.

Prayers taken or adapted from

the Presbyterian Church USA Book of Common Worship

All Images from A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org:

"Golden Hour" by Rev. Nicolette Peñaranda | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org