Yesterday was Maundy Thursday, named for ‘The Maundy,’ which is what medieval English monks called the Footwashing they did on Thursday of Holy Week. According to Reverend Meeter of Old First Church in Park Slope, the word ‘maundy’ derives from the Latin word mandatum, for ‘commandment,’ as they repeated in Latin the text from John’s Gospel, ‘a new commandment (mandatum novum) give I unto you, that ye love one another.’ Apropos of this, Meeter wrote the following homily for the small group, who showed up last night for the footwashing. I told Meeter that he should send it to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times or the letters section of the New Yorker. He thought it was too preachy. I didn’t. I found it very interesting and unpreachy.”–OTBKB