The song I have picked for Maundy Thursday from Sing Praise is a chant from the Taizé community, “Stay with me, remain here with me, watch and pray”. Those are the only words of the refrain sung by the congregation, and they are to be sung reflectively and repeatedly. This simple chant can be used on its own to lead into intercession or a time of silent prayer.
Alternatively, it can be the base line or ‘ostinato’ while a cantor sings other words above it. The texts given here are probably intended as examples rather than a fixed set, but what they have in common are that they are all words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels as being spoken on this last full day of his earthly life. The first is nearly the same as the refrain, but looking at the others:
Lines 2 and 3 form a pair: “Watch and pray not to give way to temptation / The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak”. Even Jesus struggled with temptation, especially in this last trial when he knew an agonising death faced him. He warns the disciples that they too would be tempted to abandon him for fear of persecution – and indeed many did.
Line 4, “My heart is nearly broken with sorrow, remain here with me, stay awake and pray” is another reminder that Jesus really was human, in the emotions he experienced. He actually needed the friendship, support and prayer of his disciples, just as church leaders today need the friendship, support and prayer of their congregations.
Lines 5 and 6 form another pair: “Father, if it is possible let this cup pass me by / Father, if this cannot pass me by without me drinking it, your will be done”. Jesus in his humanity really didn’t want to through with the crucifixion, and asked God, his own father, to find a way round it. But it was not to be, and he finally abandoned himself to his fate, forsaking any divine powers and letting humanity do its worst.
Line 7, “Stay awake, be ready, the Lord is coming!” reminds us that the command to stay awake and alert is not only for this night but for the whole of our lives, as there will come a time either through death or the return of Christ when we will be judged by our response and attitude to him.
“Stay with me, remain here with me, watch and pray”. This takes us into the night when Jesus was condemned.
Two short comments: the first is that I think the translation of this song into English probably exists in several slightly different versions: certainly when I looked it up in old conference material at which it was sung, I got a different version from the one in this hymn book. These make no difference to the meaning, but they do make a difference to the mechanics of singing the hymn.
And the second is (as I commented on “Jesus in dark Gethsemane”) I think it is very hard to translate Jesus’ instructions to his disciples on that occasion into what we ought to be doing nowadays. The plain truth is that if we stay awake all night watching and praying then we are not fit for our daily work in the morning! In imagination we can stay with Jesus in Gethsemane, but in reality we live nearly 2000 years later. In imagination we can try to enter into the atmosphere of that night, but in reality we know about the cross and resurrection of our Lord. We can re-cork the bottle once the contents have escaped, but we cannot get the contents back in so that the environment is untouched.