Maundy Thursday

I had thought about writing something about Maunday Thursday today. About its origin, its meaning and such, but instead I have posted Doug's sermon from this evening. Call it a wives pride or something like that, but I thought it was a good one and he said everything I wanted to and more. It isn't too long, a homily really. I hope you all get a chance to read it.


Where there is life there is death. This reality hit home for me several years ago as I was making a hospital visit. As I was waiting in line to find the room number for the person I was planning on visiting, my attention was drawn to the hospital waiting room. There sitting in a wheel chair was a new mother holding in her arms her newborn child. Her face was one big smile as she glowed with love for her husband and her child. I smiled and thought of my own children and how such a new life is a blessing from God.
Then I heard the sound of wailing. I first thought it was another child. I turned and saw and old man crying into his hands. Through the sobs, I heard his daughter explain that he had just lost his wife to a sudden stroke. He looked like they were about to go out and enjoy a sunny afternoon together, but just like that, in a blink of an eye she was gone. I saw the tears and heard the pain in his voice as he finally came to grips with the words his daughter had just told him. As I stood there in line, I saw the drama of each of our lives being unfurled before me. That day God had reminded me of a powerful truth, that where there is life there is death.
Tonight we gather in the midst of Holy Week to remember Jesus. Tonight our time of Lenten preparation gives way to a time of celebration, a celebration of the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins. Scripture tells us that the life Jesus lived , he lived for us. For what Jesus was about to undergo, no mortal man could even begin to endure. However, the pain and suffering would come, but for now this night was a night to enjoy life. A night that Jesus used to prepare Himself and his disciples for His coming death.
Some this week will ask themselves, why did Jesus have to die? The reason is simple Jesus had to die because we have to die. Jesus humbled himself and was born under the law and in doing so submitted himself to the punishment of the Law that is death. For as the Law of God decrees, the wages of sin is death. Everyone has fallen short of the glory of God and is under God’s judgment. We are all like the flowers that will soon bloom in the fellowship garden outside the church. We bloom for a time, but when the darkness and cold of winter come, we will wither and fall away. Yet, although Jesus was just like us in every way, there was a difference. He knew no sin. Yes, Jesus was born under the Law, yet because he was perfect , the Law had no hold on Him. Sin and death had no hold on Him. The angel of death could not touch Jesus.
As Jesus sat down to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. Someone, would ask,”Why is this night different from all the rest?” Jesus, as the host of the dinner, would respond by retelling the story of the Passover. How God stretched out his mighty hand and rescued the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. How God sent ten plagues to show His power and might over Pharaoh and his false gods. Jesus would tell how with the last plague, the plague of the first born, God commanded the people to place upon their doors the blood of the lamb so that as the angel of death went through the land it would Passover those houses marked with blood. As Jesus recounted the events of that evening over the roasted lamb, He and the twelve would have relived that first Passover and in doing so they became part of God’s ongoing plan of salvation for all.
But God was not done redeeming his people from their bondage. As I said this was an ongoing plan of salvation. The Passover was just the beginning, just a foreshadow of what was to come. God was not happy with this world’s reality. He was not going to let sin, death, and the devil have the last word in our lives. That is why Jesus, the perfect Son of Man and God, chose this night, chose this Passover feast, to give those who believe in Him a new reality. Yes, where there is life there is death, but now in Christ where there is death there is now life. That new life comes to each of us through the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Long ago, a lamb’s blood saved God’s people from the angel of death as it passed over their homes. Tonight, as we remember the words of our Savior, we remember that Scripture says in order for our sins to be forgiven blood must be shed. It must be perfect blood, eternal blood, from a lamb without any defect. This holy sacrifice was, thy Lamb of God, Jesus, who shed his blood upon the wood of the cross forgiving us our sins and sealing us within Himself so that the angel of death would Passover all who believe on the last day.
Why is this night different from all the rest? Because on this night we remember Jesus’ words of institution and we are there in the upper room with the twelve. We eat the very same body that was wounded for our transgressions. We drink the very same blood that stained the wood of the cross red. Jesus gives himself in this Supper as a token of our forgiveness. The curtain has been torn in two because Jesus body was torn upon the cross. The Way to God’s altar and His eternal presence is now open for all believers. Jesus has destroyed this world’s reality and He has opened up for us a new way of life, a way of life that comes only through Him. With the eyes of flesh, we are reminded, where there is life there is death. But now as we remember Jesus in the upper room, we see another reality at work. That new heavenly reality shows us that where there is death, namely Jesus’, then there is life, eternal.
It is this eternal life that we now celebrate this evening. For whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Through Jesus’ death our guilt forgiven and Jesus has washed up clean. The time of penitence has ended. The time of rejoicing has begun. Tonight we dine with the Lord. Tonight heaven and earth become one. The church in heaven and the church below join this night as we receive the gifts won for us by our Lord. Fellow redeemed, your sins have been forgiven! And as the Catechism teaches, wherever there is forgiveness there is also salvation and eternal life. Enjoy what the Savior offers because the gift of his body and blood bring hope to a world darkened by sin. May you find strength and comfort in this new life both now and forever. In Jesus name. Amen.

Sickness update: Grace - still healthy. Nathan, flu and pneumonia. Jacob, ditto. Daniel, fever and an all over miserable feeling!! Sarah, on the mend, no new symptoms. Doug, tired, but ok. Robyn, ready for a vacation!!!