Jesus Comes to Feed My Hungry Soul

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

When is the last time you hosted a meal? There are so many things to be concerned about as you have other people come and join you. You need to make sure that everyone has a place to sit at the table. So you count out how many chairs you need, you pull out the card table from the basement and you make sure that there are enough chairs, enough table space for everyone to sit comfortably. If you are hosting a meal you also want to make sure that food is ready for the time of the feast. You don’t want to tell people to arrive at the house and have them waiting for hours un-end for the food to finally be ready. You want the food to be ready for the people to part take in the feast. If you are hosting a dinner - you want people to arrive and not have to worry about any details. You want them to arrive and enjoy themselves, and all the behind the scenes stuff you want to take to care of without them even knowing.

In our text today, we see Jesus preparing for the Last Supper with His disciples. Jesus and His disciples had experienced the great triumphant entry of Jesus into Jersualem earlier in the week. Many people had traveled down to Jersualem for the great high feast of Passover. It was the tradition of the Jewish people to share in this Passover meal every year at this time. And in the Gospel of Luke - we find that it is no different than any other time. Jesus wants to have a feast with His disciples. He instructs Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover feast on His behalf that they may all, the disciples may all eat together. But Peter, John, and even Jesus - weren’t from Jerusalem; they were from Galilee - a region to the north, so they ask Jesus the most obvious question: Where will you have us prepare it [the meal]? Jesus either divinely or secretly had preordained this upper room. And He gives Peter and John the sign to the look for. He says to Peter and John as you enter the city find a man carrying a water jar - follow him to the house and tell the master or owner of the house - “The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And this master of the house went on to show Peter and John this great Upper Room for them to use on the Passover. And the hour came for the feast to happen, and Jesus says to His disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Jesus intentionally took care of all the details, He made it happen that this meal would take place with His disciples before the next step of His passion would occur. Jesus took care of all the details, so He could dine with His disciples.

But this meal, was so much different than a normal Passover feast. The Jewish people gathered every Passover around the table with family and friends and everything they did at the meal was extremely intentional. They were gathered around the table with specific foods. But it wasn’t just about the food or fellowship, but it also involved what was said at the dinner. Every Passover - Jewish people gathered to eat, but also hear the story about how God had delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. They would recall what their God had done in the past, to give them faith, give them confidence in what their God would continue to do for them do. This meal was something that God had instructed His people way back in Exodus. But Jesus stands up and instead of looking back at what happened - He was looking forward to what He was going to do. He stood among them and said as He took the bread, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. And then He took the cup and said, “ This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Jesus is no longer talking about the Exodus and Israel being set free, but He is describing the kind of suffering that He would have to through for the whole world. He is looking ahead to what He will have to do for His disciples and you and me.

The leftover bin is all empty. That great dinner, was made by that mom for the family to celebrate the special occasions and that is the only time that she made it. Near the end of the week, some of the family as they were packing their lunches, would scrape the bottom of the Tupperware, or the pan to get as much as they could, because they knew it would be a while until they could taste it again. No matter how great the food tasted - they knew it wouldn’t last them until the next time they would share in this great meal again. Jesus invites us and His disciples into this meal - that will never leave us hungry, it will never leave us empty. He invites us to part take in the meal of His body and blood. Jesus is the fulfillment of the old Passover meal again that the Jewish people did year after to remember the past. Each year another lamb was slaughtered to provide for a meal at the table. But in Jesus - He is the great Lamb of God that has taken away the sins of the world. Jesus and His sacrifice means that we no longer just have to remember what God has done in the past, hoping that we can experience that again, but we have true life and forgiveness in Him. Jesus as He stands up in the midst of this meal - Jesus makes a bold claim that He would not share in this meal again; this is the last time He will share in this meal until the Kingdom of God is comes near again. The work is done; you and me will never be unsatisfied. There is no need for another new meal - this meal will last a lifetime.

Jesus as He hands out the Last Supper to His disciples He says do this in remembrance of Him. What does that mean? How do we participate in this meal today - in remembrance of Him?

When we think of the word - remember we maybe think of past experiences that we loved like a great vacation, but its more than that. Or some people remembering - is spending time looking through old photo albums, but it is more than that. Remembering something for some is making a note to prevent you from forgetting, but it is more than that.

Living and participating in this meal today in remembrance of Jesus is more than just head knowledge about what He has done. It is more than just factual knowledge of knowing what the Bible or what Lutherans say about the Lord’s Supper. But doing this remembrance of Jesus it means bringing the past into your present right now. It means receiving the benefits of the gift right now. As we gather around the table - we aren’t just remembering what He has done for us - but we are invited into the new covenant of Jesus. We are called His people claimed by this new covenant. As people who have received the benefits of Jesus and the last supper - it means living as we are actually forgiven; this means accepting the forgiveness of Jesus for ourselves and willingly sharing that forgiveness with others. It means joyfully gathering around His table often - to dine and share in this meal. This is a meal that won’t leave you empty, it is a meal filled with life - it is a meal that truly fills our empty souls.

Now may the peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding, may it guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.