“A Meal To Remember” (Luke 22:19-20)

S-1427 MT/3A 4/17/2014 Hymns: (O) # 440; #431; S #445; LS. 634; 633; (C) # 436

Texts: Psalm 23; Exodus 12:1-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 22:14-23

Theme: “A Meal To Remember” (Luke 22:19-20)

Question: “Do you remember a meal you had?” Armour, SD

Faithful followers of the Savior, the text for Maundy Thursday is from the Gospel lesson “And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’” (Luke 22:19-20).

INTRODUCTION: In Nomine Iesu.

Most beautiful and loved children of God Perhaps some of you can remember meals you have had that stick in your mind. Maybe it was going to grandmas for Christmas or Easter. Maybe it was mom’s specialty that you fondly remember.

There are two meals that I remember well. The first, when I was about 13 years old, mother sent me on an errand to buy a thermometer. Well, being young and uncaring, I spent the whole day playing and broke the thermometer I bought. After being gone from home for almost 8 hours, needless to say my father wasn’t very happy with me. I got a good whipping and was sent to the kitchen to eat. My sister dished the meal for me, but in my anger I didn’t want to eat. My sister told my dad that I refused to eat and he demanded I should do so. I refused. Finally, he opened my mouth and shoved the food down my throat. Well that didn’t set well. That which went in quickly came out, and still to this day I can’t even look at that meal. But I also remember a meal my mother making me a special meal (stuffed grapes leaves and zucchini) as I returned home, having spent a year in the States. What a delicious meal that was. These meals conjure up memories be it good or bad. Thinking of these meals brings back memories of people who may not be here anymore. Along with the memories often come thoughts of love and connectedness.

Dr. Luke describes the events in the Upper Room as the Disciples gathered with their Rabbi to observe and celebrate the Passover Meal or the Meal of remembrance as God commanded the Israelites to do for generations to come. In the book of Exodus chapter 12, the O.T. Lesson for this evening, we have the story of God telling His chosen people to kill a lamb they purchased 4 days before and eat it in haste; in preparation for their deliverance from the bondage of slavery. After butchering the lamb, blood was to be smeared on the door frames and when the angel of death came to claim the first-born of the Egyptians, he would pass over the houses marked with blood. Here is the command of God for this Meal of remembrance. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast” (12:14).

Thus, centuries later, this Man from Nazareth with His Galilean followers gather to commemorate this event of deliverance by the Awesome God, who comes to the aid and rescue of His people! Jesus in humility observes the same event as a common ordinary person. Scripture gives us a clear picture that He came from an ordinary family just like ours.

In the text this evening we find Jesus and His disciples observing the final Passover together. At this Passover, He instituted the Lord’s Supper. The Passover was and is a Jewish feast that reminds them of how God delivered them from Egyptian slavery. It was a feast wherein many lambs were slain, perhaps as many as 250,000 in Jesus’ time. The blood of these lambs, however, could never pay for people’s sins. It took a greater sacrifice to do that, and it came in Jesus’ giving of Himself as the Lamb which God Himself has chosen to be pure and blameless to take away the sin of the world on the cross. It was this blessed Meal which Jesus instituted to commemorate the world’s deliverance.

Little did the disciples know that this would be the final meal they would have with their friend, teacher, Rabbi and Lord. Little did they understand what He was about to do. Everything that night was different. First, He humbles Himself and washes their feet. Then gathered around the table He breaks bread and utters those life giving Words: ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ And then He lifted the cup saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’” PAUSE.

The Meal that we come to observe tonight should do for us what the memory of other memorable meals does for us. It should draw us closer to the Savior and show our connectedness to His sacrifice He endured for our redemption. Jesus told His disciples to partake of this Supper in remembrance of Him and what He would do for them. They certainly had no idea at this time that this Meal would later mean so much more than just a meal. It was not until after Jesus was crucified and resurrected that they would know the full impact of this Meal they observed with Jesus before His betrayal and crucifixion.

Tonight, as we gather to celebrate and observe our Passover from death to life—we remember with fondness what Christ has commanded—do this in remembrance of Me. This meal has great meaning and benefit for us—Christians. This Meal is offered for sinners as Jesus dies for the sins of the world and becomes the world’s SAVIOR. This meal reminds us that Jesus died for the sins of all people—for us—for you. It reminds us of His broken body as it hung on the cross and the blood that flowed from His body as He lay dying for our sins. It reminds us that this is the Medicine of immortality.

Just as the blood on the door frames of the Israelites in Egypt, saved them from death; likewise, the blood of the Lamb of God given in this Meal of remembrance saves us and delivers us from death and hell. That is why we never force anyone to eat this meal; like my father did to me. Instead, Jesus offers us the privilege to dine with Him and receive all of the blessings He has to offer us. As you come look closely at this gift and treasure it and hold it dear to your heart; for you are eating Christ’s body and drinking Christ’s blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

For this reason, we, Lutheran Christians spend a lot of time educating young and old of the treasures of the Church in this Meal of remembrance. In this Meal, we are reminded of the cost Jesus paid to win our freedom. In this Meal, we are reminded what Jesus suffered to free us from the bondage not of Pharaoh, but a worse tyrants-Satan, death and hell.

Therefore, as we gather to observe the Passover Meal this evening, we remember it as a Meal of remembrance. The Meal we get tonight is a meal of peace. It is a Meal of forgiveness. It is a Meal of healing for the soul. It is a meal of reverent joy. This is a Meal that nurtures and nourishes and a Meal that brings about deliverance.

This is not just a meal but a Meal of Remembrance of the greatest sacrifice the world has even seen given and shed for you by the Lamb slain on the Altar of the cross.

What blessing awaits you, as you shall dine, celebrate and observe this Meal of remembrance for YOUR good and for His glory. Come, now, everything is ready. Amen.

Now the peace…

“Jesus In the Upper Room” 7th in sermon series Places of the Passion

S-1309 MT/3B 4/05/12 Hymns: (O) #154; (S) #156; L.S. #163; #307 (C) TLH

Text: Psalm 116; Exodus 12:1-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 26:17-29

Theme: “Jesus In the Upper Room” 7^th in sermon series Places of the Passion

Question: “What is the best meal you have ever eaten?” Armour, SD.

Faithful followers of the Savior, the text for the Maundy Thursday is from the Gospel Lesson: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for 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 again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom’” (Matthew 26:26-29).

Saints in Christ, last Sunday during the Triumphal entry to Jerusalem we heard these words: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” That began a week of wonder and amazement. May God bless you as we continue to the Places of the Passion and journey from the throngs greeting Christ at the Eastern city gate to the gift of grace in the Upper room, to the solemnity of the Garden, to the mockery and scorn of the abuse heaped upon Him, to His suffering and anguish on the cross, to His being laid in a borrowed grave and finally to our waiting in vigil for the announcement of His resurrection and the ensuing celebration.

Jesus in the Upper Room and the Setting (Passover), it is a Solemn, Sacred, Sublime event with special meaning not only to those who were celebrating the Passover then, but to us too, when we behold the Divine Physician in mercy dispenses the medicine of immortality.

It is in the quiet, stillness and calmness, that we see the love of and face of Jesus fully in the Upper Room. Tonight, in this place we, behold the Carpenter from Nazareth exchanging the tools of His trade—wood, hammer and nails, to basin, water and towel; then stooping so low that He becomes a servant for His 12 followers and washes their feet.

This act which was only reserved to the lowest servants in the house is performed by Him who is the Greatest Servant of all—Jesus Christ. Then, He continues to serve them, by preparing for them the Passover Meal—a sumptuous Meal for the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of their faith.

This Meal is delicious. This Meal is beneficial. This Meal is for the healing of both body and soul. And whoever is privileged to eat of this Meal knows the joy that fills his heart and the blessings received by it. This is not a Meal that satisfies your physical hunger, but spiritual. This cup is not one that quenches your thirst, but in you it becomes a living spring of hope and peace. PAUSE.

Perhaps, you remember statements such as this: “You’ve got to taste this!” So said our mothers as they thrust lima beans into our face. “You’ve got to taste this!” So say our spouses as they thrust their latest concoction of hot dish into our face. But all this pales in comparison to the taste test conducted by a gourmet cook as she thrust dog food upon an unsuspecting guest!

That’s right, you heard me right…dog food! It all happened at an elegant reception near Denver, Colorado. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon chips, an olive, and a sliver of pimento on top. You’ve got it. It was hors d’oeurves a la Alpo. The hostess had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course and decided it was time to put her skills to the ultimate test. After doctoring up those miserable morsels and putting them on a couple of silver trays, with a sly grin she watched them all disappear. One man just couldn’t get enough. When they broke the news to him he probably barked and bit her on the leg! In all likelihood, he was famished for real food and thirsty for a gallon of water.

Tonight, in this place the Carpenter who becomes chef and server, serves us a truly gourmet Meal—not dog food, but Lamb’s food. As He entered the Holy City of Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate otherwise known as the sheep gate, He knew that He would be slaughtered. He knew He would be butchered. He knew His blood would be spilled to ransom the world, so that the angle of death would pass over His followers and they would never be forsaken by God.

On that Solemn, Sacred, Special night in the Upper Room, Jesus left His disciples the greatest gift He could. It was a gift built on the Old Testament sacrifices that had pointed to His death for many centuries. When a worshiper brought his sacrificial animal to the priest, he laid his hand on the animal’s head. As he confessed his sin, God transferred his guilt onto the animal, which was then killed in his place. In one special sacrifice the meat of that sacrificial animal was roasted and then given back to the worshiper and his family to eat. By eating the very body of the sacrificial victim who died so they might live, they were reassured they were forgiven by their God.

Gathered together around the table, Jesus gave His disciples His own body, miraculously united to the bread—the very body that would carry their guilt and sin to the cross. In the wine He gave them His own blood, soon to be shed for the forgiveness of all people. As Jesus’ followers continue to receive His body and His blood in Holy Communion tonight, they receive the assurance of their forgiveness for Jesus’ sake.

Here in this place beloved in the Lord, Jesus becomes the Chef of dispensing food and drink for the soul that brings life and salvation. The hymn writer captured it correctly when he wrote: “Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord; And drink the holy blood for you outpoured. Offered was He for greatest and for least, Himself the victim and Himself the Priest” (TLH 307 vs. 1).

This High Priest who is after the order of Melchizedeck offers to His disciples of old and us the miracle of LOVE. He left us the treasure of His Holy Supper, in which He gives His true body with the bread and His true blood with the wine so that penitent sinners might be assured of forgiveness. “Go in peace,” this Priest tells the penitent, “your sins are forgiven as surely as the body and blood prepared that forgiveness which you now have just received.”

Oh, the blessings we have tonight on this most Sacred, Sublime and Solemn night. Jesus knows what lies ahead for Him—suffering, extreme agony, shame and humiliation and finally crucifixion and death—death on a Roman cross. Yet, He doesn’t think of Himself for this is the reason He came to earth to win man’s redemption by the shedding of His blood as the Passover Lamb.

Oh, the privilege He gives us tonight, to dine with Him and drink with Him the Holy FOOD and the Life-giving CUP to take away our shame and disgrace and give us eternal life.

Unlike the gourmet cook in Denver who prepared dog food, Jesus gives us Lamb’s food prepared on the wood of the cross for you. Therefore, when this Meal of LOVE is offered soon, come please, come eat, come drink and receive the GRACE and Treasure of heaven in, with, and under the bread and wine His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith.

THIS IS GIVEN FOR YOU, by Him who loved you then, and loves you now. And when you receive this gift, go home in peace knowing full well your sins and forgiven you and heaven’s gate is opened wide.

No wonder THIS IS A SPECIAL NIGHT FOR US. Amen.

Now the peace of God…

SOLI DEO GLORIA

“Broken BREAD”

S-1248 MT/3A 04/21/11, (O) LSB #445, (S) #312, L.S. LSB # 629, #547; (C) #434

Text: Exodus 12:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; Matthew 26:17-30

Theme: “Broken BREAD” (Matthew 26:26-28)

Question: “Do you like Bread?” 7^th in Sermon series Broken BUT not Broke

SOLI DEO GLORIA, Armour, SD

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! The text for our Maundy Thursday is from the Gospel lesson: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28).

Introduction: In Nomine IESU

Beloved in Christ, greetings to you in the name of Him who is the Bread of Life, Jesus our Lord and Savior! On this holy night we call Maundy Thursday (meaning a New Commandment) we gather along with Jesus and His band of disciples in the Upper Room. As we do so, we see the humble Rabbi first kneeling down, taking a basin and water and washing the feet of His followers. Then we behold them around the dining table in preparation for the Passover Meal. During this Meal that commemorated the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of slavery from Egypt, Jesus does something most amazing. He takes the bread, gives thanks and breaks it and announces to them, this is no ordinary bread, but His body BROKEN for their sins.

Did you know beloved in the Lord, that Gods’ Holy book has lots to say about breaking bread? In the O.T. God provides manna for His people in the wilderness. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord God states: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (8:3). Perhaps you remember that the devil tried to tempt Jesus to turn stones into bread while hungry in the wilderness. Jesus responded: “It is written!” We remember how Jesus fed thousands of people, starting with just five little loaves of barley bread and two fish (Lk.9). Jesus taught us to pray to the Father: “Give us today, our daily bread” (Mt 6). And in John chapter 6, Jesus reveals Himself to be “the bread of life” from heaven. The “bread” that Jesus speaks of is His flesh which He gave for the life of the world.

These and other passages demonstrate how the topic of bread keeps coming up in both the Old and New Testament. But bread is not only prevalent in the Scriptures. Bread is a staple food throughout the world. In my Palestinian culture, we would never sit down to eat without bread. As a matter of fact the first thing mother put on the table was bread. Bread is an important part of our daily diet. PAUSE.

But it appears in this country, that we’ve replaced putting bread on the table with putting meat and potatoes. It used to be, that bread was the centerpiece of the meal. That’s why we still use phrases like being the “breadwinner.” We still equate bread with nutrition, nourishment, and the basic necessities of life. And no matter how you slice it, bread is still a staple. Bread is sustenance. Bread IS a centerpiece of the global diet. Even though we have so many food choices here in this country, just look at how many forms of bread we have in our grocery stores. There’s a whole aisle dedicated to it.

Bread has been a dominant source of food for thousands of years. Jesus consumed bread every day. It was the centerpiece of His diet. He knew bread’s importance—in His time, survival depended upon having the resources for baking bread. Jesus even came from the “house of bread” (which is what Bethlehem means) and then He and His parents spent a few years as refugees in the “breadbasket” of Egypt.

On a daily basis, Jesus “broke bread” with His parents and siblings, and later with His disciples. “Breaking bread” is just another way of saying “eating, or dining together it is the most intimate of times between friends and family.” So we continue to “break bread” every time we eat … Whenever we share and enjoy the daily bread that God showers down on us, we’re experiencing a good thing, the God-given gift, of breaking bread with others just as we got done doing in the basement.

But breaking bread can also get us into trouble. In the Garden of Eden, the very first sin involved breaking bread. Satan appealed to Eve’s appetite, prompting her to disobey God’s simple command not to eat from the Tree at the center of the Garden. Adam and Even “broke bread” together anyway as they took and ate the fruit. That instance of breaking bread was earth-shattering; it was the first sin against our Creator, putting everything under a curse, and opening the floodgates for every sin to come. Breaking bread continues to get us into trouble. Far too many people fall into the sin of gluttony. You don’t need me to tell you that we live in the most overweight country in the history of the world. You can see this for yourselves every day. In recent decades, our nation has been so blessed with an abundance of daily bread that we go overboard. We take and eat, and we over-eat. PAUSE.

Breaking bread gets us into trouble, because our sinful hearts are never satisfied just like our parents in the Garden of Eden. We always want MORE. Because we’re cursed with Eve’s sin and Adam’s sin, our need for daily bread has a way of becoming an insatiable desire for what we crave. Little did they know that their desire for better bread to break, and more daily bread to consume, would unleash a chain reaction of sin. We see it in our lives and the lives of those we love. How do we overcome this terrible dilemma?

Christ, the heaven-sent Savior gives us the answer in our text this evening. Through the breaking of Bread, God gives us the only Way out of our cursed trouble. Not only does He give us daily bread to live on, but He is our spiritual bread. For you and for me who were headed toward eternal DEATH, God gives the Bread of LIFE: JESUS THE BREAD OF HEAVEN.

Our sermon hymn tells us that “Jesus Christ is our Living Bread”. This is none-other than THE Bread of Life. This bread gives life not only for a day, or a year, but for a life-time. Jesus speaks about Himself, “HERE is the Bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I Am the living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. This Bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world … Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

The Good News we hear tonight is this: Jesus Himself is the Life-Giving Bread. Physical daily bread is a staple for sustenance and survival. And Jesus knows that we need bread to live, physically and spiritually. He provides our sustenance for this life, and He meets our desperate spiritual needs for eternal life. He provides us with both our “daily bread”, which is everything necessary to support our bodies, and eternal bread, which is His body, broken for us.

Bread must be BROKEN before it can be shared. This was the case when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. He first BROKE the unleavened bread, and then passed it along to His disciples. Jesus, God’s Living Bread, the Bread of Eternal Life, was also BROKEN for you before His Life could be shared with you. On Good Friday, Jesus’ body was BROKEN for the life of the world you too. Just as Jesus took bread on the night of the Passover meal, so too, He was Broken by whips and thorns and crucifixion. As Jesus was dying on that cross, even Jesus’ disciples wondered how He could be the Bread of Life. But it’s precisely because Jesus was broken and killed on His cross that He can feed and fill us, satisfy and sustain us, nourish and nurture us FOREVER.

In a few moments, I will repeat what the Savior did on that Holy night so long ago. I will take the Bread, lift it up, give thanks and break it for you. Likewise with the cup it will be shed for you. In a few moments, you will walk up to dine with Your Lord and Master Jesus. Here you will be the honored guest at a most beautiful table served by Him who is the Bread of Life. He will give YOU His body for added grace, strength, mercy, and assurance. Here you will receive the treasure of heaven in His Supper. Every time you receive in faith this Holy meal you receive the heavenly manna that assures you of eternal life. Every time you gather around the table, YOU will break bread with Your Lord and family of faith. Cherish these blessed times you get to dine with Your Savior. This will remind you that He has overcome your troubles; He has delivered you from the slavery of sin and death and has filled your life with joy, hope, and peace in your journey to the eternal City.

Come my children, come the table is ready for you. It is time to BREAK BREAD. Amen.

Now the peace…

Soli Deo Gloria

“Finding Ourselves!” (John 13:1-5).

S-1180 M.T./3C 4/01/2010 Hymns: (O) #445; (S) words to the tune of 423; L.S. #159; #428; LSB #550

Texts: Exodus 12:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 23:1-56

Theme: “Finding Ourselves!” (John 13:1-5).

Question: “How well do you fit with others?” (7^th in sermon series of Life Together).

SOLI DEO GLORIA, Armour, SD

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The text for our M.T. is from the Gospel Lesson: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” (John 13:1-5).

Introduction: In Nomine IESU

People of God, chosen and beloved, sometimes you find yourself in a place where it becomes clear how God wants you to live your life. One such place for me was the Mcgreevy Clinic in Sioux Falls. It was in the early 80’s and I was working with my brothers in the painting business. As painters working on this clinic we were part of many laborers. All the workers would take their breaks and lunches together. One man in particular got under my nerves. Listening to this Plummer made my ears hurt at his vulgar language. Day after day he would speak, loudly and coarsely about everything. Listening to his colorful language bothered me a lot especially when he would use God’s name in vain.

I prayed to the Lord to give me strength to witness to this man about the Savior’s love displayed on the cross. I was looking for the perfect opportunity. I prayed for the right moment, using the right words. But I was afraid. What will the others say? How will they react to what I would share with them?

The opportunity came one day. And I thought, “Lord, this is it, isn’t it! This is the time to talk about You, isn’t it!” I was a little worried, my hands began to sweat, I felt a lump in my throat if all he would hear as I began my witness was Blah-Blah-Christian-Blah-Blah. But I knew I needed to speak and speak well. I began, “May I ask you a question?” “Sure was his response!” I continued, “Are you a Christian?” “Of course!” was his answer. “Do you speak like this at home to your wife and children?” “Why no!” was his response. Then I asked, “Then, you are able to control your tongue so that you don’t have to use such foul language every time you speak.” “I suppose I could,” I told him as Christians we should always attempt to honor God. I spoke of the Savior’s love and His death on the cross and what He accomplished for us. How our lives should reflect that we are new creatures to bring glory and honor to His holy name. If we are Christians how can we use His name so thoughtlessly and carelessly? Now, I’m not sure what impact, if any, my words had on this plumber. But it was an affirmation in my life that I had done the right thing for the Lord.

Maybe you’ve tried to share your faith and got a roll of the eyes, a polite suffering through your witness, or just outright rejection. You thought all the other person could hear was Blah-Blah-Christian-Blah-Blah. But maybe, like my experience at the work place, it went pretty well, at least far better than you imagined it would. And maybe that experience helped you to understand more clearly that God wants you to stand for Him, and He will help you to do that. That caring conversation helped you discover more about yourself and your place in this world.

Today is Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday is the day Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper and told this is New Command for us. Maundy Thursday helps us discover more about how God wants us to live our lives.

John chapter 13 begins, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.” In other words, Jesus knew His death was near, very near…the next day. What would you do if you knew that you would die tomorrow? PAUSE. This is what Jesus did: John writes, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”

That Maundy Thursday the first disciples found themselves served by the Son of God. Jesus knew that He was going to die tomorrow and what did He do? He showed His love by the menial service of washing the disciples’ feet. But Peter balked. “It was as if Peter says: “I’m in charge here! I’ll pick and choose how I relate to you, Jesus!” We might say that Peter was an individualist, a good-hearted individualist, but still someone who wanted his will, not God’s, to be done. Jesus challenged Peter’s individual judgment. Tonight Jesus challenges you and me: Do you choose how you will relate to Me? And if you think you can relate to Me in any old way you choose, is that how you’ll relate to one another?

This is the most challenging time of this evening’s sermon. Listen to the Bible. Jesus “came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.’”

This was evident to me this past Tuesday as few of us traveled to the Jehovah’s Kingdom Hall to listen to them express what benefit is there in Jesus’ death. It is interesting to note the use of words just like us but mean something totally different. They want Christ on their own terms. He is only a sacrifice, but not God. They can pick and choose what portion of Scripture applies to their individual person. Oh, they are polite, they dress well, but their hearts are far from the crucified One. Did you know that they observe and commemorate His death, but not His resurrection? How absurd that is. These people want to do only what they want to do but not adhere to the whole counsel of God. In my conversation with them, I asked, “Why do you observe His death, but not His resurrection?” There response was, “He didn’t tell us observe His resurrection but His death!” How tragic. I shared with them the words of the apostle Paul from the great Resurrection chapter “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Without the resurrection we have nothing. I further added. What you are doing in your individual practice is like a woman who is pregnant but doesn’t give birth. What benefit is there in this pregnancy? NOTHING! We want to be individualistic in our approach to Christ. But Jesus goes against this do-your-own-thing individualism. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

Our life together as a church is not a voluntary association of independent individuals. It’s not for us to decide how we relate to Jesus or to each other. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me but I chose you” (John 15:16). Peter backed right off. “‘Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean.’” By washing their feet Jesus was giving the disciples a sign. They were cleansed…we are cleansed…by His coming, by His passion, by His death for us, by His resurrection and going back to the Father, and by the cleansing work of His Holy Spirit in our lives. Your Baptism cleansed you. “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,” says Jesus (John 3:5). This Word you are hearing cleanses you. “My words are spirit and they are life,” says Jesus (John 6:63). The Meal we shall shortly receive, the Supper of our Lord, is our cleansing. “I Am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty,” says Jesus (John 6:35).

Maundy Thursday is where God works in our hearts and find us to be used for Him. What God does this evening is show us again who we are. Our sitting together to hear Jesus’ Words, our gathering at His table, is a visible sign that our life together is not autonomous individuals who voluntarily came to church, but we are made one body, washed by our servant Savior, brought together by Him and the Holy Spirit.

Social commentator Robert Bellah wrote, “We find ourselves not independently of other people and institutions but through them. We never get to the bottom of ourselves on our own. We discover who we are face to face and side by side with others in work, love, and learning” (in Stanley Grenz and John Franke, Beyond Foundationalism [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001], 203).

Listen again to this from John 13 -- “When [Jesus] had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He asked them. ‘You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I Am. Now that I, Your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’”

Let me close by going back to that much younger Nabil Nour. Remember how I was worried that all the workers could hear was “Blah-Blah-Christian-Blah-Blah.” But that wasn’t the way they reacted. They were pretty respectful. Perhaps they knew that I cared. The experience taught me that God is awesome; that He’s at work in the details of life. Maybe the conversation changed me more than the others, because it forced me to acknowledge that God is in loving control and I’m not; but always to be open to be used by Him to serve others.

The earliest Christians gained a reputation for loving and serving one another. This Maundy Thursday God finds us. We are the people who have been washed and loved. He even finds us so that we may love and serve others in His name and for His glory. Amen.

Now the peace…

SDG

“The Taste Test” (Jeremiah 15:16)

S-1043 3/20/08 MTIL/3A. Hymns: #621; 629 LSB; L.S. #305; 159; 428

Texts: Psalm 102; Exodus 24:3-11; Hebrews 9:11-22; Matthew 26:17-30

Theme: “The Taste Test” (Jeremiah 15:16)

SOLI DEO GLORIA Armour, SD.

Saints in Christ, tonight we embark on a most holy and sacred journey. This evening, we will join our Savior in the Upper Room, travel with Him to Gethsemane, and end up by the empty tomb on Sunday morning. As we are privileged to participate in these events, the Holy Spirit directs us to the words of our meditation by Jeremiah the prophet. “When your words came, I ate them; they were the joy and delight of my heart.”

“You’ve got to taste this,” My mother said, as she dished a spoonful of spinach to my mouth. “You’ve got to taste this ….” So say our spouses now as they thrust their latest concoction of tuna casserole into our face. “You’ve got to taste this” Said my mother-in-law as she offered me her specialty of an egg salad (can’t stand it), and my mother said to my wife, “You’ve got to taste this” as she gave her a bit of a cow stomach to eat. But all this pales in comparison to the taste test conducted by a gourmet cook as she thrust dog food upon an unsuspecting guest!

One of my professor shared what happened at an elegant reception near Denver. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon chips, an olive and a sliver of pimento on top. This was Alpo par excel lance. The hostess had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course and decided it was time to put her skill to the ultimate test. After doctoring up those miserable morsels and putting them on a couple of silver trays, with a sly grin she watched them all disappear, and my friend just couldn’t get enough. I don’t recall how they broke the news to him, but knowing this guy, when he found out, he probably barked and bit her on the leg!

“You’ve got to taste this,” so says the LORD as he places His Word before Jeremiah. The taste test begins with Jeremiah’s call in 1:9, “The LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.’” Later Jeremiah says, “When your words came, I ate them; they were the joy and delight of my heart.” “

Joy and delight” –. Jeremiah uses this word-pair four more times and each time are paired with “bride and bridegroom.” By means of this poetic word association Jeremiah evokes the connection between the exuberance, the ecstasy and the sheer excitement experienced by a “bride and bridegroom” each with the love of their life and eating God’s Word.

Having eaten this word Jeremiah is ready for what ministry would serve up. And yet his ministry was anything but troubles and hardships. People were out to hurt and harm him. They even attempted to kill him by dropping him in a well. However, when his enemies accused him God’s Word vindicated him and to came to his defense by claming that Jeremiah is echoing an earlier oracle from Micah 3:12: “Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins.” In chapter 29 Jeremiah hears about hopeless exiles so he writes them a letter with God’s word: “I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.”

In Jeremiah’s lifetime Judah would lose everything; temple and sacrifice, their king and their cities and the biggest loss of them all their land. But Judah would still have the Word and this Word would undermine tyranny and mobilize the faithful. No wonder Jeremiah calls this Word his joy and delight, the love of his life!

To define our lives the LORD places His sacramental Word in our mouths as well. Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 10:16, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” And we say, “Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!”

But isn’t there something tastier, more appetizing, with a bit more pizzazz? Here it is. “For breakfast – one-half grapefruit, one piece of whole wheat toast, no butter, eight ounces of skim milk, coffee – black. Lunch – four ounces of lean broiled chicken breast, skin removed, one cup of steamed zucchini, herb tea, no sugar … one Oreo cookie. Snack – the rest of the package of Oreo cookies, one quart chocolate almond ice cream, one jar of hot fudge. Dinner – two loaves of garlic bread, heavy on the butter, one large sausage and pepperoni pizza, extra cheese, a large milk shake with whipped cream, and for desert – three Milky Way candy bars and an entire frozen cheesecake!”

Oh, we try, don’t we? We try to hunger and thirst for the sacrament. We try to repent and confess our sins before we approach the table. But then we slip one Oreo cookie. One crumb of coveting, one piece of pornography, one slice of slander, one sip of sarcasm, and then the rest of the package of Oreo cookies! We just can’t get enough and it’s killing us!

The enemy thrusts this junk food before us on silver trays and with a sly grin as he says, “You have got to taste this...” and watches it all disappear.

So we are reminded tonight that the LORD served up one more Word; a more vindicating Word than that written by Micah in Jeremiah’s defense, a more hopeful Word than that penned to exiles, a more victorious Word than that spoken against Babylon, and a more enduring word than that rewritten before Jehoiakim. For coming down past the galaxies, past the solar system, past the moon and the stars, this Word became flesh and appeared in the silence of a night, in the depth of a cave, in the whisper of a Baby. And as a Man His appetite is defined in Hebrews 2:9, “… so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

Talk about a taste test! This was it for all time! Jesus tasted the demonic delight called death; the soldiers’ spit, their cheap wine, sweat running down His cheeks, His own blood. But there was more; He drank the cup of the Father’s wrath to the very last drop. He just couldn’t get enough and it killed Him.

Jesus not only tasted death. He swallowed him up chewed him up and spit him out!!! I Corinthians 15:54, “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY!”

And now the Spirit of the Risen Christ creates in us a new hunger and a new thirst for His true body and true blood.

When we eagerly and humbly come to the Holy Supper and later we are accused by the enemy, we say – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Christ’s body and blood enlivens hope in the midst of our hopelessness: “In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope.” When enemies mock and deny the Savior’s true presence we have a more powerful word, spoken by Jesus: “This is My body; this is My blood.” And sustained by this meal we face the enemy realizing and knowing that the victory is ours in Christ our Savior. The enemies of our souls, that would have us eat the bread of death and to drink from the cup of poison; we know that we have been delivered by Him who said, “Take eat this is My body, take drink this is My blood.”

“When your words came, I ate them; they were the joy and delight of my heart,” the love of my life. Tonight, we will be privileged to taste this Word made flesh. And when we do, we taste LOVE. Because we have tasted this love, we can leave here and share this love with others. Tonight, we will be privileged to taste this Word of forgiveness, and because we have tasted this forgiveness, we forgive others. Tonight, we will be privileged to know that God is patient with us for His Son’s sake, and because He is patient, we leave here and be patient in our dealings with others. All because the Words of Jesus says, Come and eat and taste this food, it is sweeter than honey comb. These words are the love of my life.

The words of the sermon hymn capture these thoughts to help us realize how blessed we are to taste the gift of heaven: “Is this for me? I am forgiven and set free. I do believe, that I receive his very body and his blood. O taste and see – the Lord is good” (LSB # 629.5).

Come and taste the feast is ready for you. Amen.