Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday

My Brothers and sisters in Christ, we begin a 3 day service tonight. As on this night Jesus gathers with this disciples and He shows to them what the purpose of the Passover truly was. It wasn’t just that God would save the people from slavery in the land of Egypt, but that he would set free all people from the powers of darkness and sin, and it would be done not by the blood of a lamb from their flock, but a lamb that would be provided by God himself from heaven.

Jesus showed what the whole passover was about, from the blood that was painted on the lintel and door posts to the bread that they ate in haste, and that all of this was to show us what Christ was doing for us. The Passover was the meal that the Jews ate in anticipation of their freedom from slavery to Egypt, but here we witness how it was setup to be more than that. The Passover foreshadowed what Christ would do on this night as He prepared to free mankind. So the Lord’s supper is the meal that we eat in anticipation of our freedom from the power of sin, death, and the devil.

So the meal that Christ institutes on the night of His betrayal is meant to be a comfort for them, and to prepare and sustain them on the road ahead. For in this meal Christ comes to us in, with, and under bread and wine to give us his very body and blood to eat and to drink. Christ descends from heaven to earth to give us these gifts, and this is where Jesus has stayed with His Church to this day and will remain with it until the end of the ages. So this meal which brings to us the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation it is also where Christ comes to you.That’s why this meal is something had Jesus looked forward to, to establish a lasting covenant with those He considered His friends as fulfilled the Passover.

This is is why we hold fast to Jesus’ words that this IS his body, and it IS his blood. We don’t understand how that it is, but we trust Christ. That is also why a person wants to be properly prepared for reception of the Lord’s Supper. For a person who takes the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner will not receive these great and wonderful blessings, but will instead take it to their own harm and will be guilty concerning the body and blood of Christ. This is why those whose faith have not been examined are asked to wait, or if a person has been confirmed, and falls into sin they are told that they must refrain. For here at the Altar, Christ comes to you as He has come to countless Christians throughout the centuries to give them these gifts.

Now it may seem odd that a person could be in danger by coming into contact with Christ and there are many who ignore this portion of Scripture, either because they don’t understand it, or they don’t want to appear to be unloving or uncaring. But look at what Paul says, if a person takes this unworthily, they grow weak, ill and it’s why some have died. That is why we ask people to wait, lest they take the Lord’s Supper to their own harm. But perhaps you still ask how, how could the Lord’s Supper put a person in danger?

Because that is the Body and Blood of Christ, 2nd Person of the Trinity, through whom all things were made, and who is not only the Savior of mankind, but judge of the World. This isn’t a symbol or a representation of Jesus’ body and blood as some claim, Jesus isn’t speaking in metaphors, He is holding up the bread and saying this is my body. We don’t know how it is, but Jesus himself says this IS his Body. We know already that He changed water into wine, He walked on water, He made the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the dead live again. When Jesus said to Lazarus come out, Lazarus was dead, and even though his ears didn’t work, his heart didn’t beat, and his brain did not function, Lazarus got up. So if Jesus says, This is my body. Then we believe him that it is.

Now how could the body and blood of Christ which was given and shed for you on Calvary cause such harm to a person in the Lord’s Supper. The concern is for a person who rejects and denies the work that Christ did on Calvary. Christ’s work on Calvary was to overthrow the power of sin, and so if a person is unrepentant in any sin, they should not take it for they refuse Christ’s gift of freedom and make war against Christ. Christ’s work was also to reconcile us to God, and so if a person refuses to be reconciled they would take it to their own harm, and a person who refuses to forgive their neighbor, would take it to their own harm, for Christ gave up His body unto death, and shed his blood to reconcile God and man and to forgive sin.

That is a reason a person ought to refrain and the reason that Paul says that if we judged ourselves truly we would not be judged. If we had the wherewithal to refrain, when we cling to sin, then at least you would not be guilty concerning the body and blood of Christ.

Now if you have lived this way and or perhaps still do, if you refuse to be reconciled or to forgive your neighbor, and perhaps you heart has been hardened and you have cling to sin. Do not rise to take it to your own harm and come under God’s wrath, but first repent, repent of your sins for it is not too late for you to receive it properly. The hour has not yet set upon your life, and there is still hope for you. For Christ earnestly desires that all people receive this gracious gift for their salvation. But you cannot treat it lightly, for what we receive this night is the body and blood of Christ, in with and under bread and wine.

This meal is a wonderful gift as it unites believers throughout time, space, ethnicity, both rich and poor, kings and paupers, for Christ gives to each and every soul his Body and Blood. He wants people to receive His forgiveness life and salvation and connect them to His sacrifice on the Cross. That is what the sacraments are about, which is why it would be tragic to take it to your own harm. That is why the pastors are known as Stewards, calling some forward and keepings others back.

This gifts unites and binds together the Church throughout History as we are all given the same precious gift at the altar. The body and blood of Christ it is the same body and blood that our family and friends were given years ago, it is the same body and blood that Luther received, that Augustine received and that the Disciples received on this night. For Christ established this new covenant for His people.

This New Covenant, This New Testament, is better than the covenant that was made at passover, for in the Lord’s Supper we do not just remember these things and bring them to mind, but Christ gives them to us again, and again. That is why they used to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. It was the central part that they gathered around as Christians. Somewhere along the way we dialed it back a bit, but it was the place where we were united not only with each other, but with Christ.

So tonight if you have been instructed and confirmed, if you repent of your sins, if you seek reconciliation with your enemies, the table has been prepared, and what Christ and the benefits of what Christ has done for you on Calvary are laid here for your sake, but if even one of these things is untrue, then seek instruction, repent of any hard-heartedness and consider how Christ loved you, and seek reconciliation with your neighbors as Christ reconciled you to God. By God’s grace the next time the Sacrament is offered you will receive it for your benefit.

So my brothers and sisters the table has been prepared Christ is offering up his gifts, may our hearts be prepared to receive this gift aright, for it gives great blessings to the one who is prepared, repentant, and forgiving others, but if you are not, stay back for this is no trivial thing that happens here, For Christ comes to all in this sacrament and you do not wish to meet him as Judge, but as the Savior who gave up his body and shed his blood for you. In Jesus name. Amen.