Have an Agape Supper on Maundy Thursday: a simple meal recapitulating Jesus’ last supper with his friends. Jesus’ last supper may have been a Passover meal, or more probably an anticipation of the Passover meal eaten thus precipitously in recognition that Jesus’ was not going to survive until the Passover. The Agape Supper follows the custom of the ancient church, which was profoundly moved by the imagery of Christ as the Passover Lamb at the shared meal that became, in time, our Eucharist.

The Agape Supper is NOT, and should never be represented as, a Christian “Seder”. The Seder is a ceremony developed by modern Judaism since the fall of the temple. While both the Agape Supper and the Seder incorporate the storytelling commanded in Exodus, they both incorporate other stories as well. It’s inappropriate cultural appropriation to attempt a Seder outside of a Jewish context.

The Agape Supper is a simple meal of bread, cheese, fresh fruit, wine and honey. A sweet concord wine (which, ironically, is most likely to be sold in liquor stores as “seder wine” or “passover wine”) is most palatable to children, and should be watered down and served in small glasses. Make sure there is water for the children to drink as well. During the meal you may wish to read the Exodus story, the story of Jesus’ instituting the Eucharist and His commandment to “love one another,” and the story of Jesus’ arrest.