Maundy Thursday

In observance of Maundy Thursday, the night our Lord was betrayed, many Christian churches are celebrating a Seder meal. This practice first appeared in the 70s as a way to reach out to unbelieving Jews. They were told: “You can still be Jewish and be a follower of Christ.” This is true enough. Salvation is for the Jew and for the Gentile. But both must leave their false religions behind to become Christians.

But before long, the custom of observing the Seder meal had spread among the Gentile Church, especially among the non-denominational branches of Christianity. I remember when my non-Lutheran church invited a Jewish Christian to come teach us the elaborate rituals of the Seder meal: the parsley, the egg, the chair for Elijah. I found it fascinating. Little did I realize that an idea was taking shape in my head: In order to understand the Passover, Christianity must learn from Judaism. Otherwise, we cannot know its full significance. And since the Lord’s Supper was instituted on the night of Passover, by extension, we cannot fully understand Holy Communion without recreating the Seder meal.

It’s no surprise that Christian traditions that reject Christ in His Sacrament soon conclude that something is missing from their observance of the Lord’s Supper. When they deny that the Body and Blood of Christ are present, what does the Supper accomplish? What does it mean? So it’s understandable that these mixed up Christians would go looking for meaning somewhere else. Since they don’t know what the Lord’s Supper is, they might as well ask the Jews to teach them. But why would Lutherans, with our rich and biblically informed understanding of the Sacrament, feel the need to go begging?

Judaism is not the religion of the Old Testament. That religion is Christianity, the faith of Adam, Abraham, and Moses. The books of the Old Testament are not the Jewish Scriptures. They are the Christian Scriptures, with Jesus being found on every page. Judaism is the religion invented by the Pharisees after their rejection of Christ, the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Nearly all the rites associated with the Seder meal today were invented after the Crucifixion. Only a few of them can truly be traced back to the Passover, but the Passover itself was merely a shadow of what was to come. Why would we try to recreate the meal that foreshadowed the Last Supper, when we have the Supper itself? Why would Lutherans, who know what the Sacrament is, regard themselves as so theologically impoverished as to beg for scraps from a religion founded upon the rejection of Christ?

The followers of Judaism have nothing to teach us about the Lord’s Supper. Instead, let them come to us to learn the true meaning of Passover. A child of seven, who believes that “is” means “is” when Jesus says, “This is My Body. This is My Blood.” knows more about the true meaning of the Supper and Passover than the wisest rabbis on earth. But those Christians who, having denied our Lord’s words, mingle Pharisaic rites with the Gospels fail to become either better Jews or better Christians. How can we expect to gain wisdom about the Old Testament from those who have denied its center? But we have the center. We have the Cornerstone. We have our Lord Jesus, and we have His words.

What does this night mean? What is the Lord’s Supper? It is exactly what Jesus tells us it us: “This is My Body, broken for you. This is My Blood, shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” There can be no greater meaning than this. And the Christian who receives our Lord’s Body and Blood in faith has forgiveness, life, and salvation. Amen.