St. Cross Church ​Clayton, Manchester
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Maundy Thursday 2021

A message from Fr. Chris for Maundy Thursday...

​It has been a year of changing rules, hasn’t it? “Stay at home”, Rule of 6, bubbles,  masks, no singing, limited weddings, to name just a few. We know on one level  that this has been necessary in our fight against the pandemic, but it hasn’t always been easy, especially for our churchwardens (who in this parish have  reacted admirably to the moving goalposts).  

We have been angered by those who have flouted the rules, especially those at  the top of Government and Science whose interpretation of the rules has been  questionable, at best. For those who have been confused by the changing rules,  by the tiers and their changes, by the inherent inconsistences, I am with you! 

Thank God Christianity, whatever some may think, is not about following a set  of rules. It is not! Today, we recall the very simple and the very hard rule that  Jesus gave his disciples, and he gives to us. Against the background of a Jewish  faith saturated in rules, Jesus says this:  

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.’ 

This is the one rule that matters, the new rule, that you love one another, that  we love one another as we are first loved by God. But there is a problem, isn’t there? It is impossible, isn’t it?  

Jesus is saying, here is the new rule, the only one that really matters for the new  age after loving God. He Himself has given us the pattern in His own life and as  the end draws near, he says “You do it!” You love one another like that, I’ve even  showed you in the washing of feet, its hard and dirty work, but you do it! Love  one another like that. It’s more than being “nice” to each other which is the caricature of the average Church-goer! It’s much deeper and more challenging than simply being “nice’! Nice isn’t really that hard. We can all put on a nice face and so rarely mean it. This is much more  than that. This is the love that says stop trying to control and manipulate each other. Lay down your ego self and give your true  Self to each other. Give God to each other and receive God from each other and  raise each other from the dead. Wow. 

Jesus knows that this is the hardest rule for the disciples and for us. We are so  consumed by our own blind ego-centricity that we can often be “nice”, but we  cannot live this love that Jesus commands us to walk in. Perhaps that is why he  says that where He is going we cannot come, because the leap from the world  to the Father is a leap from ego-centricity to Love which is probably the hardest  leap that we can ever make. Perhaps that is why, on this night, that we call Maundy Thursday, he gives us ways to live this deep, challenging, costly and  self-giving love:  

Firstly, He shows us, by washing feet, that this love is more than an “idea”. It is  practical and it is gritty. It is not for the lowliest slave, the poorest paid, the  immigrant, the professional. It is for us all! If the Master can wash the feet of his  disciples, we can wash the feet of others too. It will be dirty work.  

Secondly, he leaves us this meal, this Eucharist, as a sign of the Kingdom. That  in bread and wine we can be strengthened by Him, through Him and with Him,  for His service. For this is the meal that makes strangers, friends, that binds us  together as his mystical body in the world and empowers us to live that costly,  challenging, self-giving love in our everyday lives.  


So, friends, on this most solemn night, we recall the foot washing, and you can be grateful that Covid restrictions mean I am not seeking volunteers this year!  It doesn’t matter because it is symbolic of something that only makes sense  when we do it for real, outside this building, in the world. We also recall the  institution of the Holy Eucharist at the centre of our lives as Christians. How good  it is that we can share it together this year. But none of this is important until  we grasp that most simple and most challenging rule, the only rule that matters,  that just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Amen.


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  • Home
  • Covid-19 Info & Updates
    • Latest Message from Fr Chris
    • Blog - Coronavirus - Latest Info & Updates
    • Helplines & Support
  • Worship from Home
    • This Week's Live Service
    • Holy Week & Easter at St Cross >
      • Palm Sunday
      • Maundy Thursday
      • Stations of the Cross (Good Friday)
      • Good Friday Liturgy
      • Easter Day
    • Deanery Worship >
      • Deanery Christmas Online Act of Worship
      • Deanery All Saints Act of Worship
      • Deanery Pentecost Service
  • Services
    • Worship for Everyone
  • Events
    • Past Events >
      • Ash Wednesday Live Service
      • Mothering Sunday
      • 2020 >
        • Ash Wednesday
        • Holy Week & Easter at St Cross
        • Remembrance Sunday 2020
        • Advent Santa Sack Foodbank Appeal
        • Christmas Day Live Service
      • 2019 >
        • Coffee Morning
        • Spring Craft Market
        • Mothering Sunday
        • Lent, Holy Week & Easter 2019 >
          • Lenten Stations of the Cross
          • Easter Egg Tombola
          • Holy Week & Easter Services Explained
          • Palm Sunday
          • Maundy Thursday
          • Good Friday Liturgy
          • Easter Vigil
          • Easter Day
        • Songs for Summer Concert
        • Summer Fair
        • Harvest Festival
        • Parish International Day
        • Pet Blessing Service
        • Christmas at St. Cross 2019 >
          • Christmas Craft Market
          • Christmas Fair
          • Advent Santa Sack Foodbank Appeal
          • Christmas Tree Fesitival
          • Deanery Christmas Tea Dance
          • Christingle Service
          • Crib Service
          • Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Eucharists
      • 2018 >
        • Mothering Sunday 2018
        • Holy Week & Easter 2018 >
          • Holy Week & Easter Services Explained
          • Lent Course
          • Palm Sunday
          • Stations of the Cross
          • Maundy Thursday
          • Children's Service
          • Good Friday Liturgy
          • Easter Vigil
          • Easter Day
        • Summer Fair 2018
        • Heritage Weekend
        • Harvest Festival
        • Child Friendly Church Award Presentation & Little Stars' 1st Birthday
        • Pet Blessing Service
        • Shoebox Appeal
        • Christmas Craft Market
        • Remembrance Sunday 2018
        • Christmas at St. Cross 2018 >
          • Advent Santa Sack Foodbank Appeal
          • Christmas Fair
          • Advent Course
          • Deanery Christmas Tea Dance
          • Christingle Service
          • 9 Lessons & Carols
          • Crib Service
          • Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Eucharists
      • 2017 >
        • Women's World Day of Prayer 2017
        • Spring Coffee Morning 2017
        • Thy Kingdom Come Prayerwalk
        • Summer Fair
        • Heritage Weekend
        • Renaissance in Concert
        • Confirmation Service
        • Pet Blessing Service
        • Remembrance Sunday 2017
        • Christmas at St. Cross >
          • Christmas Fair
          • Advent Santa Sack Foodbank Appeal
          • Advent Course
          • Deanery Christmas Tea Dance
          • Christingle service
          • 9 Lessons & Carols
          • Crib Service
          • Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Eucharists
      • 2016 >
        • Easter 2016
        • Harvest Festival Appeal 2016
        • Remembrance Sunday 2016
        • Christmas Fair 2016
      • 150th Year Celebrations >
        • 150th Year Memorabilia
  • Rector's Reflections
    • Reflections for Maundy Thursday
    • Reflections for Passion Sunday
    • 2020 >
      • Reflections for Advent
    • 2019 >
      • Reflections on Holy Week & Easter
      • Lenten Reflections
    • 2018 >
      • Christmas Reflections
      • Reflections on our Child Friendly Church Award and Children in Church Life
      • Reflections at Pentecost
      • Holy Week & Easter Reflections
      • Lent Reflections
      • Reflections at Epiphany
    • 2017 >
      • Christmas Reflections
      • Reflections on Advent
      • Taking Care of God's Vineyard >
        • The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
      • Introducing MAP through Romans
      • 'Growing Our Mission'
      • 'Ordinary Time' Pt. 2
      • 'Ordinary Time'
      • Eastertide
      • Holy Week & Easter
  • Baptisms & Marriages
  • Room Hire
  • Community
    • The Beacon Centre
    • Community News
    • Get Involved >
      • Volunteering
      • Fundraising >
        • 150th Year Memorabilia
    • Foodbank
    • St. Cross Singers
    • St. Cross Little Stars Sunday School
    • Deanery Dancing Lessons
    • Friday Film Nights >
      • Film Nights 2018
    • Bible Study Group
    • Links >
      • Neighbouring Churches >
        • Ardwick Deanery Churches
        • Churches Nearby - CofE
        • Nearby Churches - Other Denominations
      • Nearby Community Organisations
    • Church Centre Activities
    • Plans to re-open Barrington Street Community Centre
    • Manchester Arena Attack >
      • Prayers for Manchester
      • Messages from the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester and Fr. Chris
  • Stewardship & Donations
    • Stewardship (Regular Giving)
    • Donations
  • Our MAP
    • Preliminary Stage >
      • Preliminary Stage: Part 1 >
        • Part 1: Review
    • Stage 1: Review >
      • Stage 1: Parts 2-6
    • Stage 2: Create a Vision and Prioritse >
      • Stage 2: Part 7
    • Stage 3: Plan >
      • Stage 3: Part 8
    • Stage 4: Do
    • Our MAP
  • Blog
  • About
    • Tour St. Cross >
      • Jigsaws of St. Cross
    • Who's Who
    • Church Repairs & Improvements
    • History of St. Cross
    • Safeguarding
    • Data Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Newsletter Sign-Up