Stripping of the Altar
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday initiates the profound and sacred events of the Paschal Mystery, which we re-experience every year with Christ and one another over the subsequent three days.
The evening's liturgy unfolds from the New Commandment of Love to Jesus's tangible demonstration of that love through the washing of the disciples' feet. It culminates in the institution of Holy Communion, the gift provided to the Apostles, through hundreds of generations to us, and to countless generations to come. Next, the priest and altar server carry the Sacrament outside of the church proper and into the Chapel where an Altar of Repose has been prepared. This small chamber will become for us this night the Garden of Gethsemane, where we will wait and watch with Jesus. In a matter of minutes, the Night Watch or Vigil of the Hours at the Altar of Repose will commence.
The church is empty of the Blessed Sacrament, and the priest and altar server return empty-handed from the Chapel into the Church and to the Chancel steps. Here, the Priest removes the Chasuble, the outer Eucharistic vestment, and the stole, the symbol of their priesthood, placing them over the Altar rail. All kneel, and together we recite the 22nd Psalm, echoing Jesus's final words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
As the recitation of the psalm commences, members of the Altar Guild emerge from the Sacristy behind the Altar and, with deliberate slowness and profound reverence, begin to strip the Altar of its linens and all ornamentation. In this powerful act, we are confronted not only with the absence of Jesus from our midst but also see the foreshadowing of the ways in which he will be stripped of everything. This moment is undeniably visceral and deeply affecting.
Here are how some members of the parish describe their experience of the Stripping of the Altar.
"I was especially moved by a Maundy Thursday service when the altar was stripped a piece at a time, and then the candles were blown out, and we were all instructed to leave the darkened sanctuary in silence. It struck me what a dark and sad world it would be if Jesus, our “Light in the world,” hadn’t come." Diane Perman
"The stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday is not just one unforgettable memory but more a journey of memories for me. This journey started with my seeing the stripping as a series of tasks; now I experience it fully, with great emotion and reverence. Standing at the altar in its stark bareness, after stripping it piece by piece, is a reminder of what’s to come on Good Friday. My full experience is often pain and sadness about the sacrifice that Jesus is about to make. Yet, in that sadness, I am also reminded of the joy that comes with His resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is then that my journey of Maundy Thursday comes full circle." Barb Davis
"In my Roman Catholic upbringing, the solemn Stripping of the Altar was a post-Mass observance, conducted with quiet reverence. Consequently, my first Maundy Thursday service at the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Luke in Portland, Maine, presented a moment of disorientation. As the lights dimmed and the apparent conclusion of the service prompted me to rise, I was arrested by the sight of my fellow parishioners kneeling. Joining them, a wave of bewilderment washed over me. Then, the haunting verses of the 22nd Psalm began to penetrate my awareness. A chilling realization dawned: we were not merely observing Jesus' final, desolate hours; we were viscerally experiencing the profound emptiness of our own estrangement from God, a consequence of our collective rejection." Michael+
Do you have special memories from Holy Week liturgies you want to share? Please email Fr. Michael at rector@stjohnskirkland.org for inclusion in this week's reflections or in future Holy Week materials.