Maundy Thursday (A)
April 13, 2017
Text: Matt. 26:17-30; LSB 617
We
must always make a distinction between the way our Lord Jesus wins our salvation, and the way He gives it to us. Dr. Luther carefully makes the distinction
for us in his Against the Heavenly
Prophets: “We treat of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to
us. Christ has achieved it on the cross,
it is true. But he has not distributed
or given it on the cross. He has not won
it in the supper or sacrament. There he
has distributed and given it through the Word, as also in the gospel, where it
is preached. He has won it once for all
on the cross. But the distribution takes
place continuously, before and after, from the beginning to the end of the
world… If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I
will not find it given there. Nor must I
hold to the suffering of Christ, as Dr. Karlstadt trifles, in knowledge or
remembrance, for I will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament or gospel
the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness
which was won on the cross” (AE 40:213-14).
The point is, you can’t go to the cross when you need forgiveness and
life. We don’t have the cross anymore,
and even if we did, it wouldn’t do you any good. It would be an interesting museum piece,
perhaps, but ultimately a useless relic and an object of superstition. Jesus won our forgiveness on the cross, but
He hasn’t attached His Word to the wood in such a way that we are to seek
forgiveness there. Instead, He takes
bread and says, “This is my body, given for you.” And He takes wine and says, “This is my
blood, shed for you. Eat it, drink it,
in remembrance of me.” That is to say,
the very body given into death for you on the cross, the very blood shed for
you on the cross, is given into your mouth here and now in the Holy
Communion. The Supper makes what
happened there and then present for you here and now.
We
sing of this in Luther’s marvelous Communion hymn, “O Lord, We Praise
Thee.” It’s hymn 617 if you want to
follow along as we meditate on the hymn verses.
“O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee, In thanksgiving bow
before Thee” (v. 1). Luther paints a
picture of the Divine Service for us as we gather around the altar with one
another, and with angels, and archangels, and all the company of heaven. We are singing. We are praising. We bless His saving Name. And of all things, we bow in adoration, and
even kneel, before bread and wine, as if this food and drink were God
Himself. Because it is. It is the true body and blood of Jesus of
Nazareth, the Son of God. Think about
that when you come to the Supper tonight, and each time you come before the
altar. The way you carry yourself, your
gestures, your disposition, these are a confession of the bodily presence of
Jesus in the Supper. You wouldn’t bow if
it were just bread and wine. That would
be idolatry. But here the Lord’s own
body is under the bread, and His own blood is under the wine, and so you act
accordingly. And what you do says something about what is going on
here. It preaches a sermon to all who
witness it. This is what St. Paul means
when he says that as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Cor. 11:26).
We
give thanks. Eucharist, another name for the Lord’s Supper, literally means thanksgiving. We thank God by receiving His gifts. We thank Jesus by receiving Him into
ourselves. Now, don’t
misunderstand. This does not make the
Supper our work. Why are we so thankful
according to the hymn? Because by His
body and blood Jesus feeds and nourishes us so that our weak souls may flourish. We are beggars, starving and destitute, and
here the Lord of heaven and earth bids us feast at His Table! And the fare is sumptuous indeed, the very
body born of the Virgin Mary that carried our sins to the cross, the very blood
poured out on Calvary for our forgiveness, now courses through our veins and
pleads for us before the throne of God in every trial, fear, and need. The Father cannot turn His back on the blood
of His Son. Therefore He cannot turn His
back on you, for the body and blood of Jesus makes you one with the Savior.
“Thy
holy body into death was given, Life to win for us in heaven,” we sing in v.
2. “Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain
Thee That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.” Note again how Luther connects what happened
there and then on the cross to what happens here and now in the Supper. The body of Jesus was given into death for us
on the cross. Now it is given to us here
for our eternal life and salvation. The
blood of Jesus was shed there on the cross.
Now it is given to us here in the chalice to bless and sustain us. Our debt is paid in full. God no longer holds our sins against us. The proof is in the gift given here, the body
and blood of Jesus for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.
On
the basis of all of this, v. 3 of the hymn is a prayer that closely resembles
our post-Communion collect, which was also written by Dr. Luther; namely, that
being refreshed through this salutary gift, we would, of God’s mercy, be
strengthened in faith toward God and fervent love toward one another. Faith and love. Vertical and horizontal. Helpfully, it makes the sign of the holy
cross. We pray in the hymn that God
would bestow on us His grace and favor to follow Christ our Savior: Faith
toward God. And so also we pray that we
would live together here in the Church in love and union: Fervent love toward
one another. We pray that by this Supper
the Spirit would make us heavenly minded: Faith toward God. We pray that Jesus would give His Church to
see days of peace and unity: Fervent love toward one another. That for which we pray is bestowed in the
Holy Supper. As we commune with Jesus,
receiving His body and blood, so we commune with one another, one body in
Christ. Receiving the body of Christ
makes us the body of Christ. You are
what you eat, or in this case, who
you eat and drink.
And
so Luther’s hymn captures the great mystery that is the Holy Supper of Jesus’
body and blood. Just compare it with the
Catechism: “What is the Sacrament of the
Altar? It is the true body and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ
Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink… What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life,
and salvation are given us through these words… How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things? Certainly not just eating and drinking do
these things, but the words written here: ‘Given and shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins’”… Who receives this
sacrament worthily?... that person is truly worthy and well prepared who
has faith in these words: ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of
sins.’”[1] Do you sense a running theme in all of
this? The body and blood of Jesus for
the forgiveness of sins. Is your
conscience troubled? Are you loaded down
with guilt? Do you need Jesus, the real
one, the flesh and blood Jesus, the flesh and blood God? Run to the altar! You will meet Him there. And He will give you everything He
accomplished at the cross. He will give
you Himself, His body and blood, crucified for you. He will give you Himself, risen from the dead
and living. What happened there and then
is given to you here and now, by the real, tangible Jesus who is here, now. O Lord, we praise Thee,
bless Thee, and adore Thee, in thanksgiving bow before Thee. For You are here in Your very body and
blood. And as You once gave Yourself for us, now You give Yourself to us: Given and shed for us, for the
forgiveness of sins. Praise be to Thee,
O Christ. In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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