Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text is from the Third Commandment, Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do
not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and
learn it. Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. Remembering the Sabbath Day is
all about God being your God by giving you His Holy Precious Word. God is a talker. God is a speaker. He does and gives what he says in his
words. What he says, happens.
So you are given
by God to take time out of your hustle and bustle to let God speak to you through his word.
That’s your job in church,
not to praise, not to worship, not to lift up, not to offer, but to be a
perfectly passive receiver of His speaking to you through His Word.
Its through that
Word that God makes you holy. He
sanctifies you. He cleanses you from all
your sin through His divine word preached and proclaimed by the pastor. Namely these words, “I forgive you.” When you hear these words spoken, you are
really hearing Christ himself speaking.
The living voice of Christ is heard in the divine word of
forgiveness. And being forgiven by God’s
word, you then also forgive as you are forgiven. In other words, you do not despise preaching
and His word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
And that brings
us to tonight- Maundy Thursday. The
beginning of the Holy Triduum. Tonight,
the night when Christ was betrayed, he gave us his Word saying, Tke and Eat,
this is my body, take and drink this my blood of the new testament poured out
for many. Christ attaches his Words of
forgiveness to simple bread and wine to give to you to eat and drink.
These are the
words of God himself. From his own
mouth. From his own divine lips. The same one who spoke, “Let there be light,”
so that light sprung into existence is the same one who speaks these
words. They are his words, for his
supper. Gladly you are to hear
them. Happily you are to learn them and
make use of them. After all they are for
you. For your forgiveness of sins, life
and salvation.
But will you
hear them and believe them? Are you
bored with His words? Do you routinely
blow off his words? Ignore them or
disregard them? Would you change the
Lord’s words into something that is more palatable to you? Words like “This symbolizes my body and my
blood?” Would you change God’s words so
that they only mean a nice post sermon snack with no Christ and no
forgiveness? No body. No blood?
Or would you change it from the Lord’s Supper into your own supper? Inviting anyone whom you deem a worthy
Christian regardless of their confession?
Making the unity of faith something less than confessing according to
God’s Word who the Jesus is who spoke these words?
Dear friends,
that’s not what Jesus says or promises.
He is clear. “This bread is my
body. This cup of wine is my blood. Shed for you, for the forgiveness of
sins.” There’s no spinning it. No misunderstanding it. Is means is.
The bread in the Lord’s Supper is His body. The wine in the Lord’s Supper is his
blood. St. Paul reinforces that reality
with these words, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a
participation in the blood of Christ?”
Well, is it? Yes! And is not the bread which we break a
participation in the body of Christ?”
Well? Yes again!
So tonight you
hear the Lord’s words from the Lord Himself.
It is His sermon, His preaching to you and for you: “Take it, this is my body.” “This is my blood of the new testament poured
out for many.”
And he seals
these words in his actions of Good Friday.
These are the words of the crucified and risen Jesus, who won and
achieved the treasure of salvation for you in His good Friday death. And through that death forgiveness was earned
so that it might be delivered to you in with and under bread and wine. It is For you. For your forgiveness. In the eating and drinking you are free and
clear.
The point of the
Sacrament then is this. It is the Lord’s
service to you and for you. He came not
to be served but to serve. He is among you
as one who serves. He bestows His body
and blood with the bread and wine to you by His word on his terms. You are to passively receive and commune, to
be given forgiveness by the Word and promises of God.
That’s what the
third commandment says isn't it? To hold
God’s words sacred, to gladly hear and learn them, and to receive the
forgiveness they offer. As you believe
His Word, you have precisely what he promises.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
