Holy (Maundy) Thursday
April 17, 2025
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, will be commemorated on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
To attend a Maundy Thursday service, visit locator.lcms.org/church to find a local Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregation. Enter your zip code and click “Search” to see a list of area churches, service times, and contact information.
If you are homebound, traveling, or otherwise unable to attend a service in person, KFUO Radio airs worship services throughout the church year. Visit KFUO.org to view the schedule and listen to services.
Liturgical colors for Holy (Maundy) Thursday
Scarlet will adorn the altar on Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday. It is a color worth investing in because it stands in contrast to the traditional red that is used on Festival Sundays. Scarlet’s use during the somber days of Holy Week help to offer a different message. As the Manual on the Liturgy points out, “scarlet is a color anciently associated with the passion … the color of blood” (p. 25).
Violet may also be used where Scarlet vestments are not present. In some places, White may also be used indicating that this is a high feast of Christ who instituted the Blessed Sacrament on this night.
Three-Year Series C
Scripture readings
- Psalm 116:12–19
- Jer. 31:31–34 or Ex. 12:1–14
- Heb. 10:15–25 or 1 Cor. 11:23–32
- Luke 22:7–20 or John 13:1–17, 31b–35
Lectionary summary
Let Us Love One Another, as Christ Jesus Has Loved Us
By Holy Baptism, “with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22), we enter the holy place with Jesus. For Jesus is our Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for us. He reclines at table with us and feeds us with His own flesh and blood: “the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain” (Heb. 10:20). In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 10:17). With such love, He “loved his own who were in the world,” and He even loves us “to the end” (John 13:1). As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34).
One-Year Series
Scripture readings
- Psalm 116:12–19
- Exodus 12:1–14 or Exodus 24:3–11
- 1 Corinthians 11:23–32
- John 13:1–15 (34–35)
Lectionary summary
Let Us Love One Another, as Christ Jesus Has Loved Us
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). By eating His body and drinking His blood, we proclaim to all the world that Jesus is, indeed, our Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:1–14), who was sacrificed for us on Calvary. In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity. With such love, he “loved His own who were in the world,” and even loves us “to the end” (John 13:1). As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34).
