I was a young adult before I ever heard of "Maundy Thursday," and a seminarian before I knew what the word, "Maundy" meant. (It comes from the Latin word "mandatum," and refers to the new commandment Jesus gave us to love one another.")  Today is Maundy Thursday.  We don't have an official worship service to remember or celebrate it this year at New Life.  If you want to celebrate it individually or as a family, various churches throughout the community do have services or consider this:

Maundy Thursday services focus on Jesus' Last Supper with the disciples.  It was at the Last Supper, when Jesus gave the new commandment to love one another. (It wasn't really a new commandment, since He'd been telling the disciples to do that for His entire time with them!)  He also washed the disciples' feet.  He also celebrated the Passover with them, and reinterpreted it as what we call the Lord's Supper, or Communion or the Eucharist.  So, why not get together as a family or a group of friends, and read the Gospel account or accounts  (since we find one in all four Gospels) of Jesus' last meal with the disciples and then reflect on it, or re-enact a portion of it.  You could wash one another's feet in obedience to Jesus' challenge (command?) in John 13 to wash one another's feet.  You could celebrate a meal together (I realize this would be a little impromptu at this point!) and it could be a Passover seder (outlines for a seder are easy to find online), or even a Lord's Supper.  (If you're wondering whether it's okay to celebrate the Lord's Supper as a family or a group of friends, 1 Corinthians 11 shows us that's the only way it was celebrated in the Corinthian church of the Apostle Paul's day.)

Whatever you decide to do to remember or celebrate Maundy Thursday, here's the key:  remember that Jesus gathered with His closest friends to establish a means of remembering what He was about to do on Good Friday:  give His holy, innocent life on the cross, in exchange for our sinful lives.  As Jesus prepared to redeem humanity, He instructed His disciples, and through them He instructed us, to REMEMBER.  Remember, Jesus died so we may live!  Jesus willingly became a captive so we may be free.  Jesus endured the punishment for all human sin of all time, so we may enjoy God's grace and abundant life.  That is surely worth remembering today and every day!  When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He certainly set the bar high with His ultimate example, didn't He? Thank You, Jesus!