Maundy Thursday
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Maundy Thursday
April 1, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord’s Supper is the heartbeat of the Church. The Apostles with the early Church, recorded for us in the New Testament would celebrate the Blessed Sacrament whenever they gathered together as a congregation, every holy day—every Sunday. The Evangelist Luke records for us in his second book of Acts that the Early Church, “Devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Luke is describing for us the public worship life of the New Testament Church. They, the members of the Church, devoted themselves to the teachings of the Apostles: corporate public worship, prayers, praying for all people, and to the breaking of bread—that’s shorthand for the Sacrament of the Altar.
In another place, in the Book of Acts, chapter 20, Luke again records that while they—they being the congregation of Christian believers—were gathered together on the first day of the week, which is Sunday, they gathered together to break bread. The main purpose of their coming together, their gathering together was to worship by breaking bread, that is, celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Because it is in the Lord’s Supper that our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread. And when He had given thanks, He gave it to His disciples and said, take eat; this, this bread, is My Body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.
The Early Church, and the Church throughout her entire history celebrated this blessed meal every week, on the first day of the week, whenever they gathered for worship. Martin Luther certainly also spoke very highly of the Sacrament and never would have dreamed that anyone would willingly go without it. So the question becomes, why do we need this Sacrament? We need it because we are sinners. For if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So do we believe that we are, in fact, sinners? Yes. We confess this fact at the beginning of each Divine Service, “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner confess unto you all my sins and iniquities…”
We know that we are sinners because we have not kept God’s Law. We have not kept the Ten Commandments. We’ve returned time and time again to other false gods; we’ve blasphemed God’s name by cursing and swearing; we haven’t remembered the Sabbath day. We’ve despised preaching and God’s Word. Children haven’t honored parents and we haven’t honored those in authority. We’ve murdered our neighbors by our words and thoughts. We’ve lusted after things which are not ours and degraded the reputations of others.
And what do we deserve from God because of our sins? Death. We deserve His just wrath and displeasure, temporal death and eternal damnation. We do not deserve to be shown mercy or grace. We do not deserve to feel His loving embrace or receive His forgiveness.
But we have hope. We have faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Thus, we have faith in our dear Lord Jesus Christ who is the Son of God, true God and true man. We have hope, because of the promises that God has made to us, that for Jesus’ sake, The Father will not look at our many sins or our transgressions against His Law but instead will look at Christ, who goes to make atonement for our sins, who goes to the cross to cover our sins with His precious blood. For this is in what we place our hope: Jesus died. He died for us. He shed His blood for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
We know this to be true because God has recorded this message of salvation for us in each of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And we also know that we receive the true Body and Blood of Jesus in the Sacrament because of His very words, This is My Body, This is My Blood. Just as Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd or that He is the door or that He is the resurrection and the life and the way, the truth, and the life, so He is. The bread and wine that we receive do not represent His Body and Blood. They are His Body and Blood. Just as He said.
So what should we do as we eat His body and drink His blood, and receive His pledge and promises of eternal life? We should remember and proclaim His death and the very shedding of His blood, just as He has taught us, This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. It is important that we remember and proclaim His death first, so that we may learn to believe that no creature could make satisfaction for our sins. Only Christ, true God and true man could do that. Second, so that we may learn to be horrified by our sins, and to regard them as very serious. Third, so we may find joy in comfort in Christ alone, and through faith in Him, be saved.
For it was only out of love that motivated Christ to die and make full payment for our sins. It was His love for His Father but also His unconditional love for us. So if we’re going to talk about unconditional love, which is such a prevalent saying in pop culture and popular music today, we must first talk about the unconditional love that Christ has for us. Sadly, none of us are capable of showing or giving unconditional love. There’s always a catch. We always expect something in return. Only Christ’s love is unconditional. He gave all of Himself, first into death on a cross. Now, He gives Himself to us in the Sacrament. He is completely selfless. He loves us.
Receiving the Lord’s Supper, the Sacrament of the Altar helps us learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for our sins, and also helps us to learn from Him to love God and our neighbors. The people who you commune with are your true brothers and sisters. Leave all animosity, gossip, and grudges behind. Learn to love each other as Christ loves you. Then, come to the communion rail and receive eternal life together. It can be done. Jesus has overcome it all. By His death He has destroyed death and has locked all your sins in the grave. Now all that’s left is to come and receive forgiveness for free.
This alone should admonish and encourage us to receive this Holy Sacrament frequently. What is meant by the word frequently? Frequently or often, in the Biblical sense of the word, means as often as possible. Certainly, we have the command and promise of Christ to receive it as often as possible. Likewise, we have a dire need to rid ourselves of our sin and vices. So what should we do if we aren’t aware of our great need to receive the Sacrament? What if we have no hunger and thirst for the Sacrament? Touch your body. See if you are still made of flesh and blood. Then believe what Holy Scriptures say. They tell us that the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealous, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and things like these (Galatians 5). But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its sinful passions and desires. Receiving the Lord’s Supper further helps us crucify our sinful flesh. For in the Supper, we receive Jesus, who was crucified. We receive a new heart. We are able to put aside the sinful things of this life and enjoy the fruit of the Spirit.
So if you are not aware of your sin and continue to have no desire or hunger and thirst for the Lord’s Supper, look around you. Check to see whether you’re still in this world. If you are, you will notice that there is no lack of sin and trouble. And because you’re a Christian, you know that the devil himself prowls around like a lion waiting to devour you as prey. He’s always in the world, and with his lying and murdering day and night, he lets us have no true peace. Holy Scripture calls the devil a murderer and a deceiver, who whispers in your ear and tells you that you are holy and well off on your own. He whispers in your ear and tells you in your conscience that you don’t need this holy meal as often as it’s offered. It is the devil’s doctrine that speaks to you and encourages you not to receive this holy, free, wonderful blessing.
Resist him. Though you are flesh and blood and though you live in this sinful world, you are also of the Holy Spirit, who has called you to Christ, who has endowed you with eternal life and has washed you to be God’s own children. By nature, children trust in their parents to provide for Him. God has instituted and provided, for you, this Sacrament that we call the Lord’s Supper. He would never want you to go without. The Lord’s Supper is the heartbeat of the Church. Without it, there would be no point. Without receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, we could not carry on until we come to our heavenly home. So come. Come and proclaim Jesus’ death with your Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world. For here, at the communion rail, at the altar, you not only commune with one another, but also with God, and with all Christians throughout time and existence, even those who have died. Even He who has died, but who lives.
In +Jesus’ name.
