Maundy Thursday 2012

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Theme: Sacred Sustenance

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

There are no coincidences with God. The idea of coincidence as a surprise synchronization of seemingly unrelated events simply reveals human inability to see the whole picture. God doesn’t suffer from such limitations. What happens for us sequentially can happen for Him simultaneously. We are subject to chronology. He enjoys the freedom of eternity. But we should not conclude therefore that God is aloof. He does not confine Himself to some parallel universe. And we should not reason that because there are no coincidences for God we governed by some fatalistic determinism. God has not abandoned us to chaotic and unpredictable forces.

But apart from His mercy what we are ruled by is sin, decay, and death. When we abandon God we are exposed to wickedness. We are easy prey for Satan. The Holy Spirit allows this so that He may convict the heart of selfishness, arrogance, and unbelief. As we commence this sequence of holy days let us remember our own sin is a sickness unto death. Let us with new resolve come with penitent hearts and humble minds.

Dear friends, Jesus was not given to novelty. In the Divine equation the shedding of blood equals forgiveness. So the timing of Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper was not happenstance. He was observing the annual Passover celebration with His disciples. Year after year, century after century the Passover lamb was consumed in remembrance of God’s deliverance from slavery. The lamb’s blood gave protection from the avenging angel and its meat nourished God’s people. God ratified His covenant with blood. Now Jesus would execute the new covenant.

He memorialized His death by giving the first portion of the divine inheritance. Jesus said, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”1 In doing so He declared an end to all blood-letting. He announced that the sacrificial system was now obsolete. The Bible tells us that at the dedication of the temple alone Solomon sacrificed twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats2. Innumerable are the sacrifices that happened over the centuries. All of those were superseded by the one sacrifice of Christ.

The Scripture says, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”3 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.4

It is this very life-giving blood that is offered to you. Though the world mock it, the unbeliever despise it, and the skeptic shun it; is to the Christian the most sacred participation available to us in this life. Holy Communion is tied intentionally and inseparably to the forgiveness of sins. It is a means of grace. And it is the means of grace that most closely connects the believer to His suffering and bloody sacrifice on the cross.

Baptism is incorporation into Christ’s death and resurrection. As such it involves a transfer from Satan’s dominion to Christ’s kingdom. The Lord’s Supper then sustains life in that kingdom by continually gifting the believer with the favour won by His sacrifice. It involves a tangible affirmation of God’s reconciliation in Christ. Humans have a limited capacity for love. The inclination to forgive is not a natural human tendency. But Christ is an endless reservoir of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Forgiveness is the power and fruit of the crucifixion.

It is not a private treasure but the currency of exchange among us. Circumcision marked reception into the Israelite community. Membership in the community qualified one to participate in the Passover. Baptism marks reception into the Trinitarian community. Membership in the community qualifies one to share in the Eucharistic feast. The parallels are intentional and the latter supersedes the former. But everything happens in its appropriate time. Participation in Holy Communion involves a public confession of truth. Not all are yet ready to confess. Not all are yet ready to participate. The Holy Spirit must mature us so that our faith is child-like but not childish.

Gathered there, in that Upper Room were twelve disciples- soon minus one. How does the Saviour model for them not only their ministry but their mindset, their ‘heartset’ toward every human being? The task of the one in lowest position is undertaken; He bends to bathe their soiled feet. The Immortal One who condescended in His Deity now stoops in His humanity. The Redeemer who lifts sinners from death and decay bows down in humility. He who is alone to be worshipped kneels to serve. Their King is now their domestic; their Lord acting as their slave. Here He shows them in modesty what it means to be robed with His majesty. His splendor is expressed in simplicity.

Uncertain and soon to forsake their Lord they would nevertheless carry His light into a dark and pagan world. All but one would be martyred for the cause. Through the Holy Spirit the apostles began a transformation of the world. But it wasn’t achieved by first acquiring status or capital with the world. God doesn’t require showy things of you either. He requires humble things. He doesn’t demand pretentiousness but godliness. He seeks not a flashy Christian appearance, but an honest and respectful demeanor. He asks you to reverence Him through service to your neighbour. He wants you to walk in step with the Spirit and not be controlled by the pace of the world. He knows when you are tempted by fads so He has given you the permanence of His truth. He knows when you are lacking self-worth so He has honoured you with the bestowal of His name. He knows when you are plagued with self-doubt so He has supplied you with the merit of His Son.

Just as Jesus’ self-giving of His own life in the Sacrament of the Altar was not based on novelty, so too His fulfillment of redemption. The world needs salvation not innovation. Christ did not come to design a new strategy for an old problem; the conquering of sin doesn’t necessitate invention. He came to offer the only solution, the one planned and purposed from the beginning. He came to re-invest life with immortality. He came to restore the image of God to humanity. He is the new Adam, the firstborn from the dead, the Resurrection and the Life. He is your Sovereign. You are safe in His care. That promise is sealed in blood. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Maundy Thursday
5 April 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Matthew 26:28
2 See 2 Chronicles 7:5
3 Hebrews 10:11-12
4 Hebrews 8:12