Not Monday. Not Mandy. Maundy. Taken from the Latin, “mandatum” = “to command.”
The command? “Love one another as I have loved you.” The “I”? Jesus.
Let that sink in. Love one another as Jesus has loved you. As Jesus has.
Stooping at the feet of His disciples and washing their feet. Praying for them before one of them betrays Him and all of them run away. Mocked, whipped, crucified. Died. As Jesus has.
Some people call this day “Holy Thursday”. It takes the punch away. Sure, people don’t confuse “Holy” with “Monday”. But it loses some distinction. We lose the connection to the command.
Of course, we fail at the command. The line from individual confession and absolution goes like this: “I have not let His love have its way with me, and so my love for others has failed.” His love have its way with me. That love that died on a Cross for you.
The assumption in the line is that our love fails when it is left to us. It isn’t about our love. The command is not to muster up love. It is to find His love in our bodies, in our actions, in our thoughts. His love follows the command. All the way to the Cross and back again.