Holy Thursday begins with the celebration of vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil with a Reserved Eucharist in representation of the earthly presence of Christ realized at the Last Supper.
Two events shape the liturgy of the Great and Holy Thursday: The Last Supper of Christ with His disciples and the betrayal by Judas.
The meaning of both is in love. The Last Supper is the ultimate revelation of God’s redeeming love for man, of love as the very essence of salvation. And the betrayal by Judas reveals that sin, death and self-destruction are also due to love, but to deviated and distorted love, love directed at that which does not deserve love.
Thursday: The Last Supper
Two events shape the liturgy of the Great and Holy Thursday: The Last Supper of Christ with His disciples and the betrayal by Judas.The meaning of both is in love. The Last Supper is the ultimate revelation of God’s redeeming love for man, of love as the very essence of salvation. And the betrayal by Judas reveals that sin, death and self-destruction are also due to love, but to deviated and distorted love, love directed at that which does not deserve love.
The mystery of this unique day, and its liturgy where light and darkness, joy and sorrow are so strangely mixed, challenges us with the choice on which the eternal destiny of each one of us depends, ‘Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that H is hour was come … having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end . . .’ (John 13:1) To understand the meaning of the Last Supper, we must see it as the very end of the great movement of Divine Love which began with the creation of the world and is now to be consummated in the death and resurrection of Christ.
When the glorious disciples were enlightened at the washing of their feet before the supper, the impious Judas was darkened by the disease of avarice, and to the lawless judges he betrayed You, the Righteous Judge. Behold, this man because of avarice hanged himself. Flee from the insatiable desire which dared such things against the Master! O Lord Who deals righteously with all, glory to You!
Reading of the Twelve Gospels
In the evening, anticipating the Matins of Friday morning, the Holy Passion service of the reading of the Twelve Gospels is conducted. In these readings Christ’s last instructions to his disciples are presented, as well as the prophecy of the drama of the Cross, Christ’s prayer, and his new commandment.
The twelve (12) Gospel readings are
| (1) John 13:31-18:1 (2) John 18:1-29 (3) Matthew 26:57-75 (4) John 18:28–19:16 (5) Matthew 27:3-32 (6) Mark 15:16-32 |
(7) Matthew 27:33-54 (8) Luke 23:32-49 (9) John 19:19-37 (10) Mark 15:43-47 (11) John 19:38-42 (12) Matthew 27:62-66 |
The main feature of this service is the reading of twelve selections from the Gospels, all of which are accounts of the passion of Christ. The first of these twelve readings is John 13:31-18:1. It is Christ’s long discourse with his apostles that ends with the so-called high priestly prayer. The final gospel tells of the sealing of the tomb and the setting of the watch (Matthew 27:62-66).
The twelve Gospel readings of Christ’s passion are placed between the various parts of the service. The hymnology is all related to the sufferings of the Saviour and borrows heavily from the Gospels and the prophetic scriptures and psalms. The Lord’s beatitudes are added to the service after the sixth gospel reading, and there is special emphasis given to the salvation of the thief who acknowledged Christ’s Kingdom.
Liturgical Hymnography
The twelve Gospel readings, however, are only a part of the Service. Another large part is composed of liturgical hymnography. This hymnography (the antiphons, verses and kanons sung during the Service) sets the Gospel readings within the consciousness of the entire Church, with all of her history and people. The Gospel texts narrate the events. The hymnography gives the response of the Church, the community of true Christian believers from all ages, to these events. The hymnography clarifies and gives deeper meaning as well as the proper sense of significance, to the narrations which the Gospel relates with such epic simplicity. We are confronted and perplexed by the horrid and the sobering:
The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped in the face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the cross with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced by a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.
He who clothes Himself with light as with a garment stood naked for trial.
He was struck on the cheek by hands that He himself had formed.
A people that transgressed the Law
Nailed the Lord of Glory to the cross.
Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Then the sun was darkened,
Unable to bear the sight of God outraged,
Before Whom all things tremble.
Let us worship Him.
The disciples denied Him,
But the thief cried out:
“Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!”
Accompanying Christ on the road of His Passion
The total effect of this integration of the twelve Gospel sections and the responsorial hymnography is to uplift each participant of the Service into the total life of the Church. In this life, past, present and future are one, and our own accompanying of Christ is not merely a dramatic enactment of past and irrelevant events, but a reality. The entire dimension of our Lord’s saving Passions is opened before us, and we are placed within that experience. Within this liturgical journey a judgment begins to come upon us.
Where do we stand in reference to all those who are accompanying Christ on the road of His Passion? Do we share a common spirit with the treacherous Judas, the scheming priests, the fearful and abandoning disciples, or the denying Peter? Do we in any way find ourselves among the fickle and unruly crowds, or the mocking and blasphemous groups of soldiers? Is the indifference of Pilate in any way indicative of our response to Christ?
Hopefully, we perhaps see ourselves more clearly in the devotion of the disciple John, or in the confessing centurion, or the faithful Joseph of Arimathea, or, most of all, in the repentant thief. The words from the Gospel come to us as a concrete and present judgment; “And this is judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
When Christ was crucified, there were two thieves crucified with Him, to the left and right of Him. One launched into a tirade of insults, asking Christ to prove He was the Messiah by saving Himself and them. The other thief, however, realizing what was going on, defended Christ, admitting his sin and accepting his earthly judgment. Then, turning to Christ, he asked Jesus to remember him when He entered into His kingdom. Jesus replied, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This hymn, sung after the 8th Gospel during the Passion Gospels on Holy Thursday, remembers the wise thief who confessed and repented and entered into Paradise with Christ.
“The Wise Thief didst Thou make worthy of Paradise, in a single moment, O Lord.
By the wood of thy Cross illumine me as well, and save me.”
