Remember

[Jesus said to them,] “When you eat this bread, remember me.” – Luke 22:19 (adapted) 

Many Christians point to Christmas Eve as their favorite worship service. Others I know talk of Maundy Thursday as their favorite. Interesting. Both evening services. Both lit with candles. Is it the intimacy of the liturgy, or the hush of candles casting shadows, or the tactile elements of melting wax and torn bread that make these services so popular? 

(Why not worship more at night? Vespers, anyone?) 

The French sociologist, Émile Durkheim, developed the idea of “cultural effervescence,” the bonding and deepening of community ties through shared rituals. Like eating together. Like holding up tiny flames and singing. But also, like rising with the spirit of the Olympics, or cheering at a football game, or singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir—even if online. One thing we missed most in Covid was cultural effervescence. 

The concept also suggests transcendence of bonds across time. The solidarity around glowing candles is almost like we are rediscovering our early lives around fires. The precision of chronos yields to the infinite goodness of kairos. 

In Ancestral Future, Ailton Krenak says that remembering our past will restore a possibility of a human future. When we don’t gather, we separate. We forget our past. We lose our cultural effervescence. 

Maundy Thursday is a night of remembering. We go deep to our past. We remember the candles we used to light. We share bread that was shared long before us. We enter an eternal kind of time. Tonight, let the light go long. Don’t wrap up worship or finish prayers until the candles are out. Let your soul catch fire. Let your spirit step out of time and be alive with the effervescence of community. 

Prayer
Holy of Holies, you are Most High. Join us in the light tonight, the light where we remember you. Amen.

About the Author
Donna Schaper is an interim Pastor at the United Church of Gainesville, Florida, and author, most recently of Remove the Pews—first from your theology, then from your building.