2011 Lent Study Guide - University Presbyterian Church

All: (Drink the CUP OF THANKSGIVING).
The Washing
Leader: (Pour a little water into a bowl and wash hands. Then dry hands on a small towel.) It is
customary at this point in the feast that the leader wash his hands symbolizing the
interior cleansing necessary for those partaking in the meal. Rather than washing his
own hands, Jesus “. . . got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped
a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to
wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
(John 13:4, 5)
All: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has cleansed us by your Word, and
has come among us as one who serves. Grant that we might learn to truly serve one another.
The Green Herb
Special Activity: Seder Meal
Leader: Take some green herb, dip it in salt water and say: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of
the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.
All: (Take some of the green herb and dip it in salt water and eat.) By eating this green herb we recall
the marking of each house with blood that the angel of death might see the blood and pass over.
The Breaking of the Middle Matzah
Leader: (Take the plate on which the three matzahs are wrapped in a napkin. Uncover the upper
piece and show it to the others at the table.) Unleavened bread was prescribed for the eight
days of the Passover because during the first Passover and the flight from Egypt there was
no time to make leavened bread. Behold! This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors
ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.
All: Let all who are in want come and celebrate the Passover with us. May it be God’s will to
redeem us from all evil and from all servitude.
(At this point a door may be opened as a symbol of hospitality.)
Leader: Remove the middle matzah and say: There are several traditional interpretations of the
meaning of the three matzahs, but one of the most common is that the upper one stands
for God, the bottom one for the people and the middle one for the priest-mediator between
God and the people. “There is one God, and there is also one mediator between God and
humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human.” (I Timothy 2:5)
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