Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday
April 1, 2010

Behold the Hidden Glory of the Cross!
It Is Hidden in the Savior's Feast

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

This Lent and Holy Week we have learned of glory that is hidden. When it comes to Jesus' glory, what is striking is that His most lowly words and works are the most glorious and most powerful!

This is very true of Jesus' words as He commanded us to celebrate His Holy Supper, which you've heard hundreds of times and no doubt know by heart. Let's hear them again and marvel at how simple they are:

Matthew 26:26-30

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is My body."

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father's kingdom."

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Every year Jesus and His disciples looked forward to celebrating the Passover. Passover was the most important day on the Jewish calendar. They commemorated the final plague that God brought upon the Egyptians 1,500 year earlier (for us 3,500 years ago): every firstborn son, human and livestock, would be killed by the angel of death unless... unless they were in a house that had blood on its door frame.

But during this Passover feast Jesus institutes a new feast—what some today call variously Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, or the Sacrament of the Altar. And since Jesus started this new celebration without any fuss or fanfare, we wonder if His disciples even realized how big this was. Probably not, since they were busy trying to decide who among them was the most important.

To hide the glory of this new feast even more, Jesus uses plain old bread. Plain ordinary bread which He states matter-of-factly: “This is My body.” He didn't explain it. On the one hand, He didn't say that this bread was a symbol of His body. No, His words were plain and simple: “This is My body.”

On the other hand, He didn't tell them to save it up or parade it around or worship it either. All this applies to the wine. A cup with some ordinary wine. Not a magic potion. Not some health drink. Just wine, which He declares is His blood.

All so ordinary. His disciples missed the glory. But so often so do we. A common conversation in Lutheran homes before a Communion service goes something like this: “Are we going to Communion today?” Well, let's see. Did we go last time?” No, well then, I suppose we should go today.” Or before you came tonight: “Well, it's Maundy Thursday: that means that we have to go to Communion. Everybody goes to Communion on Maundy Thursday.”

Yes, it's all so simple that we often treat it like an empty ceremony whose purpose we have long ago forgotten. But the purpose is clear. In this last will and testament of Jesus, He doesn't promise gold or stock or bonds or property or cash. Just Himself. Think of it—He gives us Himself!

Just hours before His Passion began, He was thinking about you. As He hung from the cross and people told Him to come down, He didn't. He chose to stay on the cross... for you.
The world passes by the Lord's Supper with disdain. Many Christians dismiss it as unimportant, not really worth bothering with. But we are looking for the glory hidden in the cross. And here it is! In simple bread and in simple wine, we have the medicine of immortality!

So come to the Lord's Table with hearts that broken with sin and guilt and shame. Come for the food that will give you strength in your ongoing struggle with the devil, the world, and yourself.

And then go. Go and hold on to Jesus who when He faced pain and death wasn't thinking about Himself—He was thinking about you. Go with the gift of His body and blood which strengthens and preserves you in the true faith unto life everlasting.

Amen.

(Note: This sermon is taken from The Theology of the Cross by Prof. Daniel Deutschlander. It has been modified from the original sermon written by Prof. Deutschlander.)