O Jesus, our ever-living Teacher, Friend, and Master:

we have heard your new command to love one another;

we have seen your example of how to serve humbly—you, their leader and Lord,

bent down to wash your disciples’ feet;

we have received bread and wine, signs of your presence and power within us.

By your Spirit, prompt us now, we pray,

to do as you command, to imitate your willingness to serve,

and to live as your children, fed and nourished for the journey by Jesus, our Lord.

We bless you, God our Father, that on this night your Son, Jesus,

humbled himself to wash his disciples’ feet

and modeled the servant way of your kingdom for our life.

We bless you, Spirit of God, that on this night you help us to pray,

“Not ours, but your will be done,”

in all the public and private places of our life.

And now may this God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—

bless you and keep you,

make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

May this God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—

turn his face to you and give you peace. Amen.

God of glory,

in a world drawn

to so many lesser visions of glory,

teach us the greater glory of Jesus,

    who did not grasp power,

    who was obedient to death,

    who did not despise the lowly,

    who stooped to wash his disciples’ feet,

Then help us to be formed

into the likeness of Jesus.

Help us

    to do nothing out of selfish ambition,

    to seek the interests of others,

    to love our enemies,

    to be servants of your peace,

Breath of God,

quiet our hearts,

hush our lips,

open our eyes,

and fill us with holy wonder

as we look to Jesus,

our host, your servant, our Lord. Amen.

In reference to “Meekness and Majesty,” the composer, Graham Kendrick said in an interview for the BBC’s Song of Praise: “You don’t normally see these two words side by side…but that’s what we have when we think of God…made manifest to us in Jesus Christ. And that is the wonder of the God we worship.”

 

Graham Kendrick (b. England, August 2, 1950), the son of a Baptist minister in Northamptonshire, is one of the most prolific Christian singer-songwriters in the United Kingdom. He’s written music for over thirty years, and to date has released thirty-eight albums. He is best known for his songs “Shine, Jesus, Shine,” “Knowing You,” and “The Servant King.” Kendrick has received honorary doctorates in divinity from Brunel University and Wycliffe College. In 1987 he helped co-found the March for Jesus, which today is a global phenomenon in which Christians take their faith to the streets in a celebration of Christ. In 1995 Kendrick received a Dove Award for his international work, and he remains an active advocate for Compassion International, which is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world, and also is a contributor to CompassionArt, an organization with the aim of generating income from works of art to assist in the relief of suffering around the planet.