Maundy Thursday 2025
- David Anderson
- Apr 17, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 1, 2025
Why do people do rituals and unity ceremonies at weddings? Symbolism, tradition, and meaning are often the most effective answers. Then there is the real reason: someone saw another couple do it at their wedding. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, but you should probably know the origins of a tradition that you thought looked cool on Instagram.
A few years ago, a picture of Caleb and Maggie before their wedding went viral. The couple did not want to break the age-old tradition of not seeing each other before the bride walked down the aisle.
Their story again went viral and was even picked up by some major news networks. The groom's sincerity and the bride's tears just became a powerful image. It was a faith statement before their marriage, a commitment, and a consecration of their marriage, at least in their eyes, before God. And many couples want to emulate that. I have seen it staged in various ways. Some are almost identical, some combine a prayer with a reading of vows or a personally written letter.
I saw one recently that made me pause. It was a couple who staged the corner pose, reached around, took each other’s hands… and took a shot together.
No offense to the couple that did this. There is a long-standing tradition in Scottish weddings to pour Scotch into a two-handled, loving cup called a Quaich. It symbolizes the love and trust implied by the bond as the new couple shares the first drink of their marriage together.
I suppose that this couple was not trying to make a faith or heritage statement. They simply took a tradition and reworked it for a cool picture and video.
Which is fine. At the risk of sounding like the old guy in the room, I would suggest that the ceremonial elements in weddings have meaning and do not just set the stage for a picture.
This brings me to a ritual that is gaining increasing popularity in wedding ceremonies. It is called foot washing. It is a Christian tradition that is perhaps the ultimate sign of love and service. I am posting this article on Maundy Thursday, 2023. Maundy Thursday is part of the Christian observance of Holy Week. On Thursday, Jesus gathers his disciples for what is commonly called the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus institutes the Eucharist, also known as communion. He takes two elements, the bread and the wine, from the Passover table and gives them new meaning. Later that evening, Jesus is arrested. He is crucified the next morning on Good Friday, and his body is placed in a tomb until his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Back to foot washing. In the various accounts of this evening recorded in the Four Gospels, the meal is marked by an excitement with the disciples and a jockeying for position. They had no idea that Jesus was hours away from being arrested and killed. They were assuming a new regime was beginning and they were getting first dibs on all of it. They debated over who would be the greatest, which of them was second in command or Jesus’ new right-hand man.
In John chapter 13, Jesus gets up and does almost the unthinkable. Jesus “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
The bickering gave way to silence and nervous pause. No one knew what to say. Peter tried to refuse. He feigned heroism and humility by trying to refuse this action.
It did not work. “Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Peter relents and asks Jesus to wash him head to toe.
Why was this so unnerving? In the first century, foot washing was akin to removing one's shoes when entering someone’s house. Perhaps the dirtiest thing in the world is the bottom of someone’s shoe. Many people wore sandals, while others wore nothing. But everyone’s feet were filthy.
Just the dirt of a dry and dusty region was enough, but mix in the idea that the frequency of people bathing depended greatly on your socioeconomic status. Sanitation, drainage, and the proximity of people and livestock, even in the most urban areas, well, you get the point.
Everything and everyone were just dirty.
In a home, as a custom of hospitality, a host would provide water for guests to wash their feet and provide a servant to wash the feet of the guests. Jesus gives his followers a straightforward command, “Love one another.” The word Maundy comes from the Latin word for command or mandate. The whole theme of the night was love.
Wait, so what you are saying is that before I use the whole foot-washing thing in my wedding, I need to know this story and understand what it means? Well, yes.
Don’t do this to get the coolest picture. Do it because you are entering this marriage with a clear idea and purpose. Your purpose in marriage is to love. It is not just about getting love, making love, finding love, or sharing love. It is to love.
When I proposed to my wife, I surprised her at the end of a church service and called her up to sit in a chair, accept a ring, and answer a question. But, I knew I had to do something else. As part of the proposal, I washed her feet. When a guy proposes to a girl, I always tell them to make sure the girl gets her nails done before the proposal. However, there was no good way to describe my fiancé at the time to ensure you were ready.
But my message to her was clear. I am not here to take something from you, but rather to give something to you, or specifically to do something for you. My marriage is focused on serving her, and that is what I believe I needed to commit to in that moment.
Understand the meaning behind what you are doing and do what brings meaning.
Comments