Just One Day?

Palm Sunday

with First Communion

April 9, 2017

Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 10:45, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and 1 Timothy 1:15

Just One Day?

What does it mean to profess Jesus before others

and to receive Him in the Sacrament?

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

On the Sunday before He was crucified many voices loudly professed their faith and trust in Jesus as He rode into the city of Jerusalem. Hosannas were flying through the air; adults and children were openly giving their blessing to this Messiah from Nazareth.

Many on that day probably hoped this joyful day would go on and on. But it turned out for many to be just one day.

This is the danger and temptation to sin that we face today. That today turns out to be just one day. On Palm Sunday some in the crowd were just out doing their routine; others had come from a distance. Today we also have a large crowd from near and far. There are doings today that are out-of-the-ordinary: three believers are going to receive Jesus’ body and blood for the first time.

Selena, Kaitlyn, and Ceci, we’ve talked about this day many times. How today will simply and wonderfully be the first of many Sundays, when you will receive the first of many Communions from the Lord Jesus.

On the other hand, today is not so unusual because you’ve been professing your trust in Jesus for years and years already. You’ve prayed with your family since before you can remember. You’ve been brought to God’s house, to church, on more Sundays than you can count and joined with your fellow baptized saints as you have confessed the Creeds of the Church. You’ve sung the hymns of the Church that confess Jesus as your Savior.

So today is a milestone, but not because you believe in Jesus now. You always have since you were baptized, and by His grace and through His Word and Body and Blood, you always will. Today is one special day because on this day, on the ninth day of the fourth month in the Year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, you finally receive the Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of your sin.

But for the sake of Christ, today will not just be one day. After the spectacle of the parade of Jesus on the donkey, the crowd went home. And that was that. Just one day. A memorable day, to be sure, but just a day.

For many these days, it is no different. Their special day was a memorable day, because it really turned out to be just one day. So for those who are wondering what to do, find your pastor, if you still have one, and ask him to forgive you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And begin again in the Lord’s name.

What is His name? All that He has told us about Himself. He is the One who gave His life as a ransom for many, including you. He is the One who became sin, including yours, so that you are now right and innocent before God. He is the One who came to save sinners, including you. Now today, the first of many, come to His table and eat and drink His body and blood.

Amen.