Maundy Thursday

"I no longer call you servants, because I servant does not know his master's business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my father, I have made known to you." - Matthew 15:15

Sometimes a friend is called an "other self."  What this means is that a friend is basically an extension of you.  When your friend celebrates, you celebrate with them.  When your friend grieves, you grieve with them.  Jesus called us friends, therefore we should suffer with him in his crucifixion.  We didn't have to go to the cross; Jesus did that for us, but our "selves" should die daily, just as Jesus died for us.

This is just one of the messages I heard like night that I really liked.  The service was very formal.  We sung hymns, did recitations, and had scripture readings.  Duke is Methodist although it kind of came off what I imagine a Catholic Church to be like.  I'm not sure if this is typical for a Methodist Church or if Duke does things different.  At first it's easy to be critical of the ritualistic nature of the service, seeing as how that I have attended mostly churches that try to get away from that.  However, I really enjoyed it.  It's very bare bones and straight to the point.

I love my church, but sometimes my non-traditional church can become repetitive and very traditional in it's own way.  Going to a service like this helped me regain my focus on what's most important, especially at this time of year.