Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (March 28, 2024)

1 CORINTHIANS 10:16-17

THIS IS OUR BLESSED COMMUNION.

In the name + of Jesus.

     On the eve of Passover, families around Israel would gather in Jerusalem for a communal meal.  There was a course of unleavened bread and bitter herbs, followed by a lamb which had been roasted over a spit.  Each course was interspersed by a cup of wine.  The master of the house would say a blessing over the cup and then pass it around to everyone.  The Passover meal was an expression of fellowship within the family.  But mainly, it was a commemoration of God’s deliverance of his people.

     Part of the evening included catechetical instruction.  This festival meal was never intended to dissolve into a family buffet.  To keep the significance of the meal forefront, family members had a role to play.  The youngest at the table would ask a question to be answered by the head of the house.  This is in accord with the instruction given through Moses.  “When your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses’” (Exodus 12:26-27). 

     This annual celebration of God’s deliverance was a commemoration.  It was not an annual deliverance.  They did not mark their door posts with the blood of the lamb, and no angel passed over their homes.  The deliverance happened once, and the people rejoiced over it.  The meal was a reenactment to remember that first Passover.

     When Jesus met with his disciples on the night he was betrayed, he repurposed the Passover meal.  The meal of the new covenant was not to be a reenactment of a one-time deliverance.  This meal had a promise attached to it.  Those who ate and drank the meal of the new covenant would receive blessings through it.  This is our blessed communion.

     At the Passover meal with Jesus, his disciples feasted on the body of the lamb.  But Jesus repurposed the eating.  Rather than feasting on a lamb roasted over fire, we feast on the Lamb of God who was roasted in God’s righteous judgment.  His body is in communion with the bread which we consecrate for this sacred purpose.  In the days of Moses, the blood of the lamb marked the doors of the Israelites and delivered them from death.  Jesus repurposed the blood.  Rather than brushing the blood of a lamb on door posts, the blood of the Lamb is given to Jesus’ disciples to drink.  It is in communion with the wine we consecrate for this purpose.  This is our blessed communion.

     This blessed communion, however, is no mere reenactment.  Listen to Jesus’ words:  “‘Take; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and … said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’” (Mark 14:22-24).  Jesus tells us exactly what we are receiving in this sacrament.  “This is my body.”  “This is my blood.”  And he tells us why we eat and drink it.  “For the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).  There is no reason to doubt Jesus’ words. This was a solemn occasion in which Jesus was leaving a gift to his Church.  Solemn occasions are no time for puzzles to be solved or vague declarations.  Jesus meant what he said and said what he meant.  This is our blessed communion.

     Nevertheless, most Protestant denominations regard the Lord’s Supper as a reenactment.  They know the words of Jesus.  It is not a matter of translation.  The grammar is simple, and the words are clear.  “This is my body.”  “This is my blood.”   But when human reason enters the room, it declares, “This does not make sense!  How can Jesus, who is in heaven, be on every altar on earth?  How can this sliver of bread and sip of wine contain the infinite God?  When we consecrate the elements, it still looks, smells, and tastes like bread and wine.  How can it be Jesus’ body and blood?”  If we force God to submit our human understanding, we will conclude that Jesus could not mean what he said.  “Jesus must have meant that these represent his body and blood.  That I understand!”  But if that is the case, then you are not receiving anything from Jesus.  Then the benefits are only as lofty as your own meditation.  Worst of all, the reason we would celebrate this sacrament is because Jesus said, “Do this.”  That makes this sacrament a law, something we are doing for God, not what he is doing for us.  If it is a law, it carries a threat rather than a blessing.

     But what did Jesus say?  Jesus said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood”, and we are in no position to correct him.  Jesus does not give us his words to critique them, but to believe them.  Therefore, the sacrament is what he says it is.  And it is what he says is for: “For the forgiveness of sins.”  If that is what it is for, then that is what it delivers.  It comes with a promise, not with a threat.  The sacrament is what the Lord Jesus does for us, not what we are doing for him.  This is our blessed communion.

     St. Paul wrote, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16)?  When St. Paul asks these questions, the grammar tells us that he expects the answer, “Yes.”  Yes, we do participate in the blood of Christ when we drink from the cup.  Yes, we do participate in the body of Christ when we eat the bread.  These are in communion with each other, and then they are given to be in communion with us. 

     The body which bore our sins and was given into death to pay for them is given to us.  So, we don’t just think of the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus, we are in communion with his atoning sacrifice.  The blood which was shed to redeem us is given to us for our redemption.  We don’t just think about God’s blessed deliverance, we are in communion with it.  The blood of the Lamb hits the roof of our mouth and death passes over us.  We are the beneficiaries of the atoning work of Jesus.  This is our blessed communion.

     There are some Christian churches which summon the members of their congregations to the altar with the declaration, “The holy things for the holy ones.”  Of course, what holier things are there in the church than the body and blood of our Lord?  If the Lord Jesus is present, this is the most holy thing we handle.  These most holy things are intended only for the holy ones.  St. Paul tells us why: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27).  If our church is accused of being loveless for our practice of closed communion, let the just-quoted verse be the reason why.  To deliver the body and blood of the Lord to anyone who is unworthy is to feed them with God’s judgment.  Love first seeks to honor God and his word.  Then love seeks to do good to our neighbor.  Therefore, we handle the most holy things with utmost care—both for God’s honor and for the good of others.

     Even God’s people can be disturbed by this verse.  We have heard how God has dealt with people who have treated his word with contempt.  The earth swallowed Korah alive.  Fire from heaven consumed the soldiers who tried to arrest the prophet Elijah.  The Flood destroyed the entire population of the word, save Noah and his family.  And the Lord killed the firstborn male of the Egyptians at the Passover.  We know that we do not deserve the title, “the holy ones.”  We are acutely aware of our sins.  If you are not bothered by your sins, then you have not taken the word of the Lord very seriously.  If you are bothered by your sins, repent.  If you are not bothered by your sins, pinch yourself to see if you are still alive and repent.  For, “if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner” (1 Peter 4:18)?

     Who, then, is worthy to participate in the body and blood of the Lord?  Consider the Israelites at the first Passover.  The Lord had declared that his judgment was going to fall upon all of Egypt.  The firstborn in every house was to be put to death.  However, the Lord provided a refuge for the people of Israel.  Every Israelite was told to slaughter the lamb and to smear its blood on the doorposts of their homes.  God did not select a few who were worthy.  God extended the promise of deliverance to all—whether they were noble and upright or shifty and sleazy.  God’s deliverance depended upon his promise, not on the honor of the people.  Whoever believed God’s word put the blood of the lamb on his doorpost and was delivered.  It was faith in God’s promise that saved them.  There is no other way to salvation.

     So, perhaps you have had a bad week.  Perhaps there were some words that came out of your mouth that made you sound like a heathen rather than a Christian.  Maybe the shows you watched would force Jesus to leave the room.  Maybe you looked on other people with contempt because they are captive to sin and live like it.  And so, you are not holy, and you proved it.

     But just as God’s promises at the first Passover did not depend on the righteousness of the people of Israel, so also God’s promises of forgiveness do not depend on how righteous you have been.  The Lord has cleansed you in the blood of the Lamb through your baptism.  Your status as a saint is based on God’s decree, not on your performance.  Therefore, if you believe his words—that this is the body and blood of Jesus, that it is given and shed for you, and that it is for the forgiveness of your sins—then come to the feast.  The most holy things are for you, God’s holy ones who have been purified by Jesus Christ.  This is our blessed communion.

     The body and blood of Jesus are in communion with the bread and the wine, just as the word of God says.  The Lord Jesus Christ is in communion with us.  He makes us participants in his atoning sacrifice so that we receive its benefits, just as the word of God says.  We are in communion with one another, fellow saints who share the same need of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.  “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).  We share a common faith and rejoice in a united confession.  We all have the same need, the same Savior, and the same hope. 

     The holy things for the holy ones.  This is our blessed communion.  Come to the feast. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Something from ... Gottesdienst regarding Closed Communion

Here is a sermon worth reading and taking to heart.  It is in regard to the role of the pastor, specifically in regard to Closed Communion.  Closed, by the way, is better and more accurate than Close Communion.  It is the opposite of Open Communion in which the pastor does not concern himself with whomever is taking it.  Open Communion sounds loving and inviting.  Close Communion tries to do that, but I feel it raises more questions than it answers.  How close is close enough?  "My cousin is so close to me.  How can you refuse him?"

Closed Communion has been the practice of the Church from the days of the Apostles.  Therefore, we can conclude one of two things.  Either the Church has always been led by non-loving jerks, or this is the faithful, Scriptural position.  The correct answer is, of course, the latter.

Here is a well-crafted sermon which addresses these things and says it quite well.

A Sermon for Gaudete on the Stewardship of Closing the Altar by Rev. Evan Scamman — Gottesdienst

Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (April 6, 2023)

1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-28

REPENT: TURN TO JESUS.

Receive A Special Assurance Of Your Forgiveness.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The city of Corinth was a godless city, which is to say that the worship of the true God was practically non-existent before St. Paul arrived.  It is not to say that there were no gods honored in Corinth.  Corinth was a major trade center.  There were people from all over who acknowledged all kinds of gods.  Even if they did not worship them all, each one would have been considered a valid option.  So, when St. Paul arrived and began to preach there, his message would have been regarded as just another preacher who promoted just another god.

     Paul, however, taught that there are no other gods.  Already back in the Old Testament, the Lord declared, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5).  Jesus Christ did not change that declaration.  Rather, Jesus is the Lord who came in the flesh.  Now, the people in Corinth were sophisticated people.  They are similar to people in our city—multi-cultural and well-educated.  They would demand to know: “Why is the Lord the only true God?  Why should we dismiss all others?”  These are valid questions; we should not pretend that they don’t deserve an answer.  And we don’t want to give the impression that we’ve never given them any thought. 

     The answer is found in Jesus Christ.  Jesus claimed to be God.  This gives us one of two options: Jesus is God or he is not.  There is no middle ground on this.  Either Jesus is God and we fear, love, and trust in him above all things, or Jesus is a crackpot worthy of scorn.  In addition to claiming to be God, Jesus said this: “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23).  And then he did it.  Jesus died for sinners, and then he rose from the dead.  This verifies that he is the Lord, as he said.  This verifies that your sins have been paid for, as he said.  And this is why we are convinced there is no other God.

     This is the message St. Paul delivered to the Corinthians, and it is the message which the Church still delivers today.  This is the message that reveals God’s mercy to sinners.  Jesus’ sacrifice reveals that you do not need to live under the guilt of sin.  Jesus’ resurrection assures you that you do not need to be consumed by the fear of death.  There is no reason to avoid God or even to wonder if God cares about you.  The Lord God is a Savior God.  Jesus gives you full pardon for your sins.  Jesus is your refuge from death and hell.  No other god gives you salvation, because no other god saves. 

     While this good news delights our hearts, we still become fearful.  We still have doubts about our forgiveness, about God’s love, and about the finality of death.  When we feel our mortality, we wonder if our faith is strong enough.  When our conscience bothers us about the sins we continue to do, we wonder if we are really forgiven.  If our lives and our thoughts are still not pure, we wonder if our faith is real.  We have God’s promises to cling to, but our grip is not always as tight as it should be.  The good news is that it is God who holds you in his care.  And more good news: God does not limit himself to urging you to take his word for it. 

     At the first Passover, the Israelites were told to take the blood of a spotless lamb and to mark the doorposts of their homes with it.  The Lord told them that, when the angel saw the blood of the lamb, he would pass over their homes.  The blood of the lamb would deliver them from death.  Now, God could have simply said, “I will not put anyone in your home to death.”  Instead, the Israelites had something they could see.  God gave them something tangible to comfort them—blood they could see, touch, and smell. 

     Likewise, the blood of the Lamb of God, a lamb without spot or blemish, was shed to save you.  Now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Lord was able to give that blood to you?  And of course, he does!  The blood of the Lamb is given to you from this altar again and again as a special assurance of your forgiveness.

     When St. Paul delivered the Gospel in Corinth, he did not restrict himself to words.  St. Paul delivered gifts which Jesus himself had left for his Church.  These gifts are given in ways that we can see and smell and touch and taste.  St. Paul taught the Corinthians: “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’  In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).  

     The sacrament of the altar is no mere reenactment of Jesus’ last supper.  If it were, it would be up to us to stir up our imaginations to find any benefit from it.  It would be like going to a Civil War battle at Greenfield Village.  Watching the people in their blue and grey uniforms firing blanks at each other is pretty cool.  Some pretend that they got shot and fall down as if dead.  But after several volleys, someone declares the battle over.  The people on the ground get up and return to their units.  Nothing was really accomplished except to stir up your imagination. 

     That is not what Jesus told us to do, because the holy sacrament is no reenactment.  Jesus tells us: “This is my body, which is for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24).  Why does it matter that this is Jesus’ body?  St. Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).  Jesus gave his body into a real, cursed death.  That lifeless body was laid in a grave, and then rose from the dead.  Jesus’ body has paid for sin, sanctified the grave, and overcome death.  This is what he gives to you for the forgiveness of your sins, for deliverance from death, and to make you a partaker of eternal life.  Turn to Jesus for a special assurance of your forgiveness.

     “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:25).  These words of Jesus were much more shocking than saying that the bread is his body.  Going all the way back to the days of Noah, when God first put meat on the menu for mankind, God had forbidden the consumption of blood.  The Lord told Noah after he left the ark: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 93-4).  This was prohibition was made even stronger under the Law through Moses.  The Lord forbade his people from eating meat with the blood still in it.  He gave this reason: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.  Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood” (Leviticus 17:11-12).

     Now, Jesus told his disciples, “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 26:27-28).  Why?  Because the life is in the blood.  Jesus poured out his life-blood at the cross to make atonement for our sins—the death of Jesus for the life of the world.  But we do not feast on a dead Savior.  Jesus is risen from the dead.  He not only claimed, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), he proved that he is.  And therefore, he gives us the cup to drink, and the life is in the blood.  We receive the life that strengthens and keeps us in the one true faith unto eternal life.  Turn to Jesus for a special assurance off your forgiveness.

     If we were merely reenacting the events of Holy Thursday, we would ultimately receive nothing from our Lord.  If we served from this altar nothing but bread and wine, we would gather around a snack rather than the heavenly feast.  If all of this only represents what Jesus gave into death for us, then we are all just actors in a play.  Some celebrate this sacrament for one reason: Jesus said, “Do this.”  They do this to show Jesus that they are serious about being his disciples because they obey his commands.

     However, this is not what Jesus says about Holy Communion.  Jesus’ command, “Eat and drink,” is not about our act of obedience.  It is an invitation, like telling a man who was rescued from an avalanche, “Eat this soup.  It will warm you up.”  He does not eat it to show his obedience, but to live.  This is why we heed Jesus’ invitation to the banquet.  We need it to live.  He makes that clear when he says what this feast is for: “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).  We do not come to this altar to prove anything.  We come because there is life in the blood.  Turn to Jesus for a special assurance of your forgiveness.

     St. Paul says, “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).  So, the Lord’s Supper is a visible sermon.  The Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, delivers himself immediately to our bodies in the eating and the drinking.  We acknowledge that the forgiveness of sins comes through the body which bore our sins and the blood which was shed at the cross.  Jesus makes us partakers of his death which atones for all sin and guilt.  He gives a special assurance of the forgiveness of sins for sinners who crave God’s boundless mercy.

     We believe in one God, because there is only one God.  The Lord God is the Maker of heaven and earth.  He is also the one who has reconciled his creatures to himself by becoming one of us.  And to assure us that we are his, and that we will be forever, he delivers to us the body and blood which were given to save us.  Since Jesus’ body and blood have overcome death, so do those who receive it.  And so, we will live and reign with the one true God, and we will feast with him in the heavenly banquet—here, for a moment; there forevermore.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

BIBLE BITS: Luke 18

In the Gospel according to St. Luke, he records an incident in which mothers bring their babies to Jesus so that he would bless them.  Luke, however, does not actually use the word "bless" in his account.  The blessing is implied.  St. Luke wrote: "Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them" (Luke 18:15).

The touch of Jesus is significant.  Jesus could certainly have spoken a word of blessing upon the children.  Or the mothers could have sung a psalm for their children which proclaims God's blessings upon his people.  But the touch of Jesus was important to them.  They made the effort to go to Jesus and to deliver their children to him.

This is significant for us today, too.  While we can take comfort in the word of God which delivers God's blessings to us (i.e., forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation), the Lord knows that we need his touch.  God did not merely declare from heaven that he loves us and forgives us.  He became a man to connect himself to us, in fact, to unite himself to us.  In doing so, he exalts our humanity and, by his death and resurrection, will restore us to what God had created us to be.  He does not merely save our souls.  He saves us completely--body and soul, which is what God has created us to be.

When Jesus wants to connect with us today, he goes beyond his bare word to do so.  He could have issued Bibles to everyone and told us to read his word and said, "That is sufficient.  You need nothing more."  Instead, he chooses to touch us in physical ways.

He established the office of the holy ministry and sends out pastors who proclaim God's blessings, preach God's word, absolve God's people, and touch their lives.  When he brings us into his kingdom, he tells us to use water in connection with God's word to cleanse us of all sin.  Through the waters of holy baptism, he gives us his Holy Spirit.  When he strengthens and keeps us in the one, true faith, he gives us his body and blood in, with, and under the bread and the wine in holy communion.  

And even more, he connects us with each other.  We are all flesh-and-blood, body-and-soul people who get to support one another.  We do so not only with prayers, but also with human touch.  God designed us to have fellowship with one another.  We greet one another with handshakes and hugs.  In the early church where the culture called for it, they greeted one another with a holy kiss.  

Like those mothers who loved their babies and wanted Jesus to touch them and bless them, we also want to make the effort to come where Jesus touches us with his blessing.  In this way, we don't have to rely on how well we hear and understand God's word for our comfort.  We can have Jesus apply his blessings to us through things we can touch, taste, see, and smell.  

The blessings of Jesus came through his touch.  They still do.  

NOTE: The picture above is a painting by Lucas Cranach, the elder (1472 - 1553), on display in Frankfurt, Germany. (Source: Christ Blessing the Children by CRANACH, Lucas the Elder (wga.hu))

Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (April 9, 2002)

1 CORINTHIANS 11:26

WITHOUT A BODY AND BLOOD SACRIFICE, THERE IS NO LIFE.

In the name + of Jesus.

      Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, celebrated the Passover with his disciples.  The Passover is the festival of the Lord's great act of salvation in the Old Testament.  God's covenant people were set free from slavery and oppression.  He granted them a great victory over their foes—a victory in which Israel did nothing.  The Lord fought for them.  Israel simply feasted and rejoiced as the recipients of God's gracious work.
     The Passover, in particular, celebrated God's sparing the people of Israel from the death which was to come upon all of Egypt.  The Lord had told them, “I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.  The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are.  And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12-13)  By their annual celebration of the Lord's deliverance, they learned that deliverance from death came by the blood of the lamb.  Without a body and blood sacrifice, death was certain.  With it, there was life.
     God's deliverance has always been linked to a body and blood sacrifice.  The first came when the Lord put animals to death so that Adam and Eve could have their shameful nakedness covered by the skins of these animals.  The first recorded act of public worship was Abel's body and blood sacrifice from the flock.  Then there was Noah's thank offering after he left the ark, Abraham's offering of a ram substituted for Isaac, and all the offerings made according to the Law of Moses.  Gallons of blood were spilled over the years as lambs and bulls were turned to smoke on altars.  Upon every offering presented, the worshiper placed his hands to indicate: “This one bears my guilt.”  Over every unblemished animal, the worshiper confessed: “This one dies for me.”  Without a body and blood sacrifice, there is no life.
     Without a doubt, the Bible is a very bloody book.  It might even appear that our Lord is savage in his demand of deadly slaughter and bloody sacrifice.  But the problem is not that the Lord is vicious and inexplicably bloodthirsty.  The problem is that we are evil and incurable.  The problem is that our hearts continue to be defiant. 
     The Lord is a loving and generous God.  His gifts are given to all—the righteous and the unrighteous.  His blessings are given in abundance and variety.  God is good.  His word is good.  And he calls us to serve him according to his good word.  But we do not.  We consider ourselves to be good, even though we say horrible things about our neighbor and to our neighbor.  We seek what we can get from others rather than what we can give to them.  We still call ourselves good.  We even credit ourselves being better than God.  We boast about how we would stop wars, eliminate debt, and cure cancer.  We make great boasts with our mouths about how we would fix problems, but our schedules and our checkbooks show us that our words are empty.  We've invested nothing toward our neighbor but our own self-praise.  Boasts are easy to make when we are not accountable for them.  But we are accountable.  The Lord holds us accountable for all our boasting and pride.  You regard it as unbearable when you have to endure a braggart.  What response should a holy God have toward you when your glory-seeking comes at his expense?  Repent.  A merciless slaughter is deserved.
     And a merciless slaughter has been carried out.  Behold!  The Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world.  The Lord has laid upon Jesus the iniquity, the boasting, and the glory-seeking of us all.  “This one bears my guilt.  This one dies for me.”  Without a body and blood sacrifice, there is no life. 
     Every body and blood sacrifice in the Old Testament points to Jesus.  To save us, God took on a body in order to bear our sins.  All of our guilt is transferred to Jesus, for “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)  Jesus is presented as our substitute under God's wrath, for “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5)  Jesus is the perfect, unblemished Lamb who was slain for us.  John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)  John the Apostle declared that the pure and precious blood of that Lamb purifies us: “The blood of Jesus … cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)  Without a body and blood sacrifice, there is no life.  The body of Jesus bore our sins on the cross.  The blood of Jesus now marks us so that death and damnation pass over us.  By the holy, precious blood of Jesus and by his innocent sufferings and death, we are forgiven of all sin, saved from death and hell, and delivered from the oppression of fear and shame and guilt. 
     Now, if the body and blood of Jesus supply our life and purify us from all sin, wouldn't it be wonderful if he could supply them to us so that we are assured of life?
     Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and took the cup.  “Take and eat,” he declared.  “Take and drink,” he summoned.  “This is my body, given for you.  This is my blood, shed for you.”  Under the bread, Jesus delivers to you the body which has borne your sin.  Under the wine, Jesus supplies the blood which was shed to cleanse you of all sin.  He does not leave you to imagine his sacrifice; he makes you partakers of it.  He does not ask you to re-enact, to pretend, or to put on a play.  Instead, he provides to you what actually bestows forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation.  This is why St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)  
     Christian worship has always had two main focal points—the preaching of the word and the administration of the Lord's Supper.  The word of God does much more than deliver information to us.  God does not tell us about body and blood sacrifices just so we can know what life was like in the days of Noah, Moses, and David.  In his word, God communicates with us.  He professes his love and grace in many ways.  By words and actions, he revealed to his people of old that without a body and blood sacrifice, there was no life.  And his word shows us that this is fulfilled in Jesus.
     The other focal point of Christian worship is the sacrament of Holy Communion.  [Sadly, the COVID-19 quarantine is forcing us to fast for a while.]  “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)  The death of Jesus Christ was a body and blood sacrifice.  It did not merely picture forgiveness, it purchased forgiveness of sins.  Likewise Holy Communion does not merely picture the death of Jesus, it delivers Jesus' body and blood.  Whenever we celebrate the sacrament, we are proclaiming the Lord's death.  We are confessing: Jesus' body and blood were given into death to atone for our sin, and Jesus' body and blood are now given here to us to forgive our sin.  By delivering the body offered on the cross and the innocent blood shed there, Holy Communion gives here what Jesus won.  It is a communion—a uniting with Jesus so that everything he won he gives to us.  The body and blood of Jesus Christ were not only given into death for us, they also conquered death for us.  Therefore, we feast on life itself.  We take into our bodies that which lives and reigns forevermore, so that we will live and reign forevermore.
     “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)  We do not slaughter lambs, burn up bulls, or mark our doors with blood.  We do not even bother with seder meals.  There are no promises connected to these.  Instead, we proclaim the Lord's death by word and sacrament.  This is where we find the promise which sets us free from the slavery to sin and the oppression of guilt.  But even more, it delivers us from death.  For, the blood of Jesus marks us righteous, and the body of Jesus sustains us as we journey toward our heavenly home.  In this way, Jesus makes us partakers of a victory that we did nothing to win.  Instead, we feast and we rejoice that we are the recipients of God's gracious work.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

A Pastoral Concern re: COVID-19 and Holy Week

NOTE: This congregational letter is also being  mailed out to all our members and prospective members as not everyone sees this blog, looks at the email blast, or has Facebook.

Greetings in the name of our Savior!

It was strange to have to suspend our Divine Services a few weeks ago.  We have made the most of it by offering Facebook Live broadcasts of our services and by putting recorded services on YouTube (search for “Good Shepherd Novi” and they will pop right up).  I also encourage you to make use of your time with your family to have home devotions.  God's people should make it a priority to talk about God's word, and by making it a part of the family conversation (perhaps after supper) you get to build each other up.  While we often use our busy schedules as an excuse for failing to do this, most of us have the time to do it now.  Make the most of this time!  For an order of service you can follow, look to www.GoodShepherdNovi.org under the COVID-19 quarantine resources.  Tweak it as you see fit.  If you should desire other materials, call the church office and request it.

If it is strange to have services suspended in general, it will feel especially out of place during Holy Week.  Based on the input of several nurses who are seeing first-hand the effects of COVID-19, based on the fact that we seem to be adding 1,000 cases of COVID-19 to Michigan on a daily basis, and based on the fact that I am not willing to risk the spread of COVID-19 to our members no matter how bold they feel, I cannot in good conscience open the doors to everyone who desires to be in God's house throughout Holy Week, even on Easter Sunday.  We are continuing to observe the 5th Commandment: “We should fear and love God that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.”  But we will most certainly honor the 3rd Commandment: “We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and his word, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.”  Therefore, we will still have Holy Week services (schedule at the end of this letter) on Facebook Live and posted to YouTube, but we will not be able to meet together as a whole congregation.  Bulletins and hymns for each service can be found through links on our church's web site: www.GoodShepherdNovi.org .

While we must endure this cross for the foreseeable future, how glorious it will be when we all gather together again!  We will keep you informed about when that service will be, and we will make it an exceptional day of thanksgiving and celebration.  

Our services are centered on Word and Sacrament.  I am able to administer the Word over the internet (although it is a weak substitute for real, personal proclamation), but not the Sacrament.  Therefore, many of us are observing a fast from the Lord's Supper.  This is not done by our choosing, but out of difficult circumstances.  Still, there are ways you can partake of the body and blood of Christ for the strengthening of faith and for the assurance of forgiveness.  Your pastor is here to serve you, as best as he can, by administering the sacrament to you in a small or even private setting.  

There is a schedule for you to come for Holy Communion during Holy Week at the end of this letter.  To reduce the risk of COVID-19 as much as possible, we will adopt the following protocol.

– Call me from the sidewalk when you arrive.  I will open the door for you so that you do not have to touch the handle.  The door to the chapel will already be propped open.  If you choose to wash your hands as soon as you come in, use the kitchen sink.  This will enable you to wash your hands and avoid touching a door handle immediately after you have washed.
– I will limit the number of people who come in for a service to no more than ten who will be asked to space themselves out in the chapel.  If you happen to arrive and see a number of cars in the parking lot, please be patient and wait until the previous visitors leave.  Understand that I will not be able to take your phone call if I am conducting a service.  If you want to come inside and wait, you may go to the fellowship hall.  I will try to keep the door handle disinfected, but if several people choose to come in together while a service is going on, I will not be able to wipe the door handle down while I am conducting the service.
– Take a bulletin labeled “Order of Service for Shut-Ins.”  This order of service will be only 7-10 minutes.  The bulletin you take will be strictly for your use.  Take it home when you leave.
– When you come for Holy Communion, we will limit the tables to three people on each side of the altar.  Spread out.  You will take the host in your hand.  You may choose between the individual cup or the common cup.  Studies have shown that the risk of spreading disease through the common cup is minimal.  It will be washed thoroughly after each use.
– When you leave, I will either open the door for you, or you may back out to avoid touching the door with your hands.
– Any handles on doors, faucets, toilets, etc... which would have been touched during someone's visit into the church will be disinfected after they leave.  As much as possible, I will do what I can to limit any risks to people who come in for the Lord's gifts.

If you receive this letter in the mail, you will find some self-addressed stamped envelopes which you can use to send your offerings into church.  While we may not be meeting together, expenses have not ceased.  We especially want to remember that the work of our synod continues with training of future pastors and teachers as well as with missionaries in the USA and around the world.  Huron Valley Lutheran High School is also continuing with online classes.  Your generous offerings are always beneficial and pleasing to our Lord who remains generous and faithful to us even in challenging times.

If there is anything in particular that I can be doing for you during this COVID-19 isolation, please let me know.  I am willing to come and see you—whether at home or in a hospital.  God bless and keep you.

In Christ,
Pastor Schroeder

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Palm Sunday         April 5 at 10 AM
Maundy Thursday         April 9 at 7 PM
Good Friday         April 10 at 7 PM
Easter Sunday         April 12 at 10 AM
Private Communion is available by appointment at any time.
Private Communion is available during Holy Week without appointment at these times:
Monday, April 6         8:00 AM – Noon and 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Thursday, April 9  8:00 AM – Noon
Friday, April 10         8:00 AM – Noon
Saturday, April 11 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

A Pastoral Concern: The Church Militant, Pastoral Care, and the Coronavirus

So much can be said about the current concerns with the coronavirus.  One article is here at the blog of Gene E. Veith.  It is hard to be concise when addressing pastoral concerns and allaying the fears of members, but here goes.  Please pardon me if this rambles.

The first thing we are all to remember is that we are the redeemed children of God.  That means we remain in God's care at all times and in all circumstances.  God is quite aware that the coronavirus is going around the world and has many concerned and fearful.  God knows that the world has been corrupted and that disease is common.  Just ask generations past about the Plague, small pox, and malaria.  While these diseases may have brought many lives to a swift end, none of them has removed a person from the kingdom of God.  Whoever believes in Jesus will live, even though he dies; and some are brought into everlasting glory and peace through diseases.  But we look for the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting--whether we die by disease, disaster, or peacefully in our beds at 95 years old.  We are redeemed children of God.  We are safe and secure in God's Church and in Jesus' care.  Fear not.

But we are in the Church Militant.  We continue to fight daily against the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh.  The devil uses the troubles of this world (including the coronavirus) to instill fear and panic in us.  Our own sinful flesh is an ally.  We are tempted to use sickness and disease as excuses for avoiding Christ, his word, and his sacraments.  While common sense tells us to stay home when we are ill, it is fear and panic which causes us to avoid the Church.  The fact is, we are in the Church Militant.  We struggle.  We battle.  We fight against sin and temptation.  And we cannot stand on our own.  The very fact that we are going to die ought to have us recognize that we need something outside of ourselves to sustain our faith, to stand against sin and temptation, and to overcome death.  God has granted it!--the word and the sacraments.  Our fears ought not keep us away from the Church; they ought to drive us to the altar of our Lord with great zeal and urgency for our comfort.  We are in the Church Militant, and no one gets out of it alive.  Our hope and victory come only through Jesus, and he comes to us only in the word and the sacraments.  Therefore, as much as it remains in our power, we will gather for worship for the forgiveness of sins, for comfort in our fears, and for strength to continue the battle.

Still, there are some practical concerns about the spread of disease.  Much of these concerns are easily addressed.  Wash your hands, a lot.  Stay home when you are sick.  Do you want to avoid shaking hands?  Fine.  Many do that when they are nursing a cold anyway.  Wear a mask?  If you think it helps, go ahead.  There is nothing wrong with caution, as long as caution is not driven by panic.


What about other concerns, such as the use of the Common Cup in Holy Communion?  For centuries, the Christian Church used only the Common Cup for Holy Communion.  And the Church has survived many epidemics along the way.  I recall the AIDS scare is what introduced the individual cups into our usage--again, driven by panic rather than information.  The fact is, many studies have demonstrated that the Common Cup is not a petri dish.  Communicable diseases do not get communicated well at all with the Common Cup.  The precious metal (gold, silver), the alcoholic content in the wine, and the repeated wiping with a purificator (cloth) all limit any chance for disease to make it pretty much irrelevant.  (If you think the individual cups are a more sanitary option, consider how much they are handled before you get one.)  Most importantly, Holy Communion is the body and blood of Christ, given by our Lord for the blessing and benefit of his people.  This is nothing to be avoided, but cherished.  It is not to be feared, but desired.  It is not death in the cup, but life.  Fear not.

Finally, what about the care of the sick and dying?  Simple: The pastor cares for the sick and dying.  He sits with them, prays with them, communes them, and serves them during their final moments, which also may be their most fearful moments.  The pastor does not flee; he stands his ground and serves God's people as long as they are in the Church Militant.  If the pastor becomes a casualty along the way, so be it.  It is still Christ's Church, and he will provide a way for his people to be cared for.  After all, this is the Church Militant.  People die, but none are lost.  Jesus delivers people to glory, and the pastor serves as best he can to comfort, to absolve, and to care for the people under his charge until God delivers them to the Church Triumphant.  Eventually the pastor, whether succumbing by disease or age, will be delivered there too.

If you have any specific concerns about coronavirus or any other grave fears, speak to your pastor.  And for future reference--there will be other epidemics in the future.  There always are.  In the case of future epidemics, re-read this article and substitute the latest health concern wherever you read "coronavirus."  It will still apply.

Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (April 18, 2019)

LUKE 22:7-20

THREE WORDS OF TRUTH: 

“Take and eat.  Take and drink.”

In the name + of Jesus.

     Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” (Luke 22:8)  This was an annual remembrance of the Lord's powerful deliverance of the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.  While the Passover feast recalled God's gracious deliverance in the past, the meal was basically a reenactment of that night.  Unleavened bread was eaten.  A lamb was slaughtered and its blood shed.  Its body was roasted on a spit and consumed.  They did not feast to be delivered; they only commemorated what God had done in the past.  At this feast, each generation was to learn about God's salvation.  The Lord had instructed them, “When your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” (Exodus 12:26-27)  This word was the main thing in the Passover, along with the eating and drinking.  For this honored the Lord, recalled his faithfulness, and remembered his deliverance.
     The Lord Jesus met with his disciples to celebrate the Passover.  It was at this meal that Jesus instituted a new meal based on a new covenant.  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)  Take and eat.  Take and drink.  This is given and shed for you.  And so, the Church continues to gather and to feast as our Lord calls us to do.
     Jesus calls us to partake in the new covenant because the old covenant did not grant the gifts our Lord wanted us to have.  The very first covenant God had made should have granted life, but it did not.  God had placed Adam in the Garden of Eden with two special trees—the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)  By obeying the word of the Lord, Adam and Eve would have been confirmed in holiness.  They would have feasted on the Tree of Life to live as God's saints forevermore.  You know how the story ends.  They tried to steal what God had wanted to give them for free.  By eating what God had forbidden, they brought sin and death upon themselves and all mankind.
     So, their story goes; and for us, it goes on and on.  Nothing changes for sinners.  Like Adam and Eve, we crave what God forbids.  We feast our eyes on the riches, the successes, and even the spouses of others, scheming to get what God has chosen to not give us.  We fill our ears with gossip and slander, hoping that the worst reports about others will overshadow our own shortcomings.  We long to feed our egos with people telling us how pretty, how smart, and how cool we are, and we get angry when others do not notice our accomplishments or praise our efforts.  We feed the cravings of our egos and our bodies.  But no matter how much we feed our sinful cravings, they are never full.  The sinful flesh always demands, “Feed me more!”  And no matter how much we cater to our flesh and feed it, the only reward it can guarantee is a grave. 
     Therefore, Jesus established a new covenant.  He does not give us conditions to meet, which will only result in another failed covenant.  Instead, he declares, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20)  Jesus set the terms of this new covenant—that he supplies the benefits, and we simply receive them.  What man had tried to steal by eating, Jesus gives again for free.  This new covenant was foreshadowed by the Passover, and it is fulfilled by Jesus.  At the first Passover, death fell upon every house in Egypt.  But while the Egyptians shrieked and grieved over their dead, the Israelites feasted on the lamb which had been slain.  The blood of the lamb marked their homes and spared them from death and grief and sadness.  Jesus Christ is that Lamb.  And to make us participants of this new covenant, Jesus summons us, “Take and eat.  Take and drink.”  By this eating and drinking, we receive what Jesus has promised to give.
     The Passover was a feast to commemorate what God had done in the past, but the Lord's Supper is neither a reenactment nor a mere commemoration.  (Jesus) 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)  Take and eat.  The body which bore your sin was given into death as the ransom price that sets you free—this Jesus gives to you in the bread.  Take and drink.  The innocent blood which was poured out at the cross to appease God's wrath—this Jesus gives to you in the cup. 
     Take and eat—for you.  Take and drink—for the forgiveness of sins.  By eating what was forbidden, man brought sin and death upon all.  Now, by eating and drinking, man receives forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation.  Take from the tree of life which is the cross.  The fruit which hung from that tree is Christ, and those who eat and drink his body and blood will live forever.
     Take and eat; take and drink.  “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)  And, indeed, we do; for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)  But the body and blood of Jesus are not merely remembered; they are given and consumed.  The new covenant is not merely reenacted.  By eating and drinking, you participate in the body and blood of Jesus.  This is how you receive his benefits.  We do this for Jesus' remembrance.  We remember Jesus who lived and died for us, and Jesus remembers us whom he has purchased and won from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent sufferings and death. (Luther's explanation of the 2nd Article of the Apostles' Creed)  And as we feast, God the Father remembers Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf.  He sees the blood which marks us, and death, damnation, and destruction pass over us forever.
     Take and eat; take and drink.  For here, the holy, innocent blood of the Lamb is poured into you, and the body which has conquered death is given to you.  Take and eat; take and drink.  For here, you are united to Jesus Christ.  While death and destruction go on all around us in the world, here we celebrate.  So, let us rejoice and feast and even laugh in the face of death and the devil.  Let us eat and drink and be merry; for our Lord is pleased to give us forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation.
     Our Lord summons us to the feast.  And as it was at the Passover, so it is here.  Our feast comes with words of instruction.  How can eating and drinking do such great things?  It is certainly not the eating and drinking which does these things, but the words “given” and “poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.”  These words are the main thing in the sacrament, along with the eating and drinking.  And whoever believes them has what they plainly say, the forgiveness of sins. (Luther's Small Catechism: Lord's Supper, part 3)  With this common food is an uncommon promise and a gracious word, and by it he strengthens and keeps us in the one truth faith unto life everlasting.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (April 13, 2017)

1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-28

REPENT AND TURN TO JESUS...

...And Receive A Special 

Assurance Of Your Forgiveness

In the name + of Jesus.

          For centuries, Israelite families celebrated the Passover festival.  It was an annual reminder of the Lord's deliverance from their bondage in Egypt.  Though the Lord commanded Pharaoh to let the Israelite nation depart from his land, Pharaoh did not fear or honor the Lord.
          Therefore, the Lord sent numerous plagues to demonstrate to Pharaoh just how powerless he was.  Still, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to hear the word of the Lord.  Finally, the last plague was the plague on the firstborn.  Every firstborn in Egypt would be put to death, whether man or animal.  The Lord, however, provided deliverance for Israel.  Each household was to take a lamb and slaughter it.  The blood of the lamb would be smeared on their door posts.  And when the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over those Israelite homes.
     At midnight, the angel went throughout Egypt, putting to death each firstborn.  While the Egyptian homes were filled with death and grief, the Israelite homes were filled with feasting and joy.  The Israelite families feasted on the lamb which was slain for their deliverance.  The blood of the lamb marked their homes and saved them.  The Lord delivered Israel from death and from bondage.
     That ceremony was to be repeated annually to remind Israel of the Lord's deliverance.  It was, however, just a reminder.  The angel did not annually come to put anyone to death.  Lazy or negligent Israelites were not in danger of an untimely grave if they did not celebrate the Passover.  Still, to forsake the Passover was to despise God's salvation.  Those who did not participate did not care that the Lord had delivered them.  And those who despised God's deliverance in the past would also not look forward to the Lamb of God whose bloody sacrifice would once and for all deliver man from death and slavery.
     Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, celebrated the Passover with his disciples.  On that night, Jesus did not merely celebrate the Lord's deliverance of the past.  Jesus re-purposed this feast to be a celebration of the Lord's everlasting deliverance from sin and death.  Unlike the Old Testament Passover celebrations which recalled God's deliverance, this New Testament in Jesus' blood would actually bestow God's deliverance to all who partake in the feast.
     Therefore, this new testament in Jesus' blood has always been a central feature in Christian worship.  When St. Paul established a new congregation in Corinth, he wasted no time in telling these new Christians how the Lord bestows forgiveness upon the penitent.  Paul wrote, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)  The Lord's Supper is not merely to remember Jesus' meal with his disciples.  It is a proclamation of his sacrificial death.  And it is more.  This feast gives the benefits of Jesus' sufferings and death.  The body and blood which were given into death for sinners is given to sinners for the forgiveness of their sins.
     At the first Passover, the Israelites were feasting while death was going on all around them.  It was the blood of the slain lamb which had delivered them from death.  Death also surrounds us.  People go about their lives—eating and drinking, working and playing, talking about weather, politics, and sports.  Some are morally decent; some are crooked and crude.  But if the blood of the Lamb does not mark them, death will seize them and it will not let them go.  If one is not marked by the blood of the Lamb, he is marked by sin and, therefore, marked for damnation.  If a man does not crave this salvation, it is because his sins don't grieve him.  If he does not hunger for this feast, it is because he is satisfied to feed on worldly goods.  And if he does not yearn for Jesus' gifts, he will perish without them.
     That is why St. Paul urges us not to take this sacrament lightly.  He writes, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.  Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28)  You do not need to worry if people in the world don't crave this sacrament.  You can only answer for yourself.  Therefore we are right to examine ourselves; for, we have not attained perfection either.  We are still drawn to selfish pleasures.  We dedicate our efforts to gaining more money and we dedicate that money to ourselves.  In order to be accepted by worldly people, we learn to accept worldly attitudes and opinions.  We still crave the wrong things.  There is no salvation in these.  Examine yourselves, and recognize that sin still dwells in you.  When you recognize your guilt, repent.  Forsake your sins; for you cannot feast both on God's holy things and on wickedness.  And when you grieve over your sin, repent and turn to Jesus for a special assurance of your forgiveness.  Flee to this altar where those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied.  That is how you worthily receive it.
     Repent and turn to Jesus for a special assurance of your forgiveness.  The Lord Jesus does not present his forgiveness to you by your imagination.  Just as Jesus submitted his flesh and blood into a real death for your sins, so Jesus gives you his true body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.  He does not summon you to this altar for the sake of reenactment.  This is not a Passion Play.  The words of institution proclaim what Jesus gives you: “This is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)  Here is the body and blood of Jesus.  It was given into death to pay for your sins.  It is given to you for the forgiveness of sins.  The body which bore your guilt now alleviates you of all guilt.  The blood which was shed for your iniquity now marks you so that death and judgment pass over you.  These blessings are not merely remembered; they are given.  Just as your sins are real, so Jesus here gives you real forgiveness.  Just as death is real, so Jesus here gives you real deliverance from a cursed death to life everlasting.  Repent and turn to Jesus for a special assurance of your forgiveness.
     The Israelites joined together with a feast to remember that the Lord had delivered his people from death and bondage.  The Church meets regularly to feast in order to continue to receive the Lord's mercy and salvation.  While the world around us is dying, God's people gather together for the food that gives eternal life.  We do this in remembrance of Jesus.  We remember that our Lord was crucified and risen and that he gives us his crucified and risen body and blood for our forgiveness.  And we rejoice that our Lord remembers us.  He gives us real forgiveness through real elements so that we can be assured that God's mercy, love, and grace are really ours.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

A Pastoral Concern re: Administering the Lord's Supper

The pastor is called, among other things, to administer the Lord's Supper to the congregation.  In this role, he stands in the stead of Christ.  He speaks Jesus' words.  He becomes Jesus' hands, as it were, in giving Jesus' body and blood to the Lord's redeemed people.

But what about the pastor's reception of the Lord's Supper?  Here, there are three basic options.
1)  The pastor receives Holy Communion from an elder.
2)  The pastor administers the Lord's Supper to himself.
3)  The pastor refrains from receiving the Lord's Supper until he is able to receive it from another pastor at a different setting, such as a pastors' conference or when he is on vacation.  (This practice was not uncommon not so long ago.)

As with any ceremony, the pastor should be teaching God's people about Jesus and his salvation.  So, what lesson does the pastor want to teach?

The last of the three options can be dismissed immediately.  The pastor needs the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins as much as anyone else in the congregation.  Though he has been called to a sacred office, that does not make him sacred.  Denying himself the Lord's Supper is foolish, undesirable, and unsalutary. 

So that leaves us with the first two options.  What is the pastor hoping to teach with each?

By receiving Holy Communion from an elder, the pastor is showing that he is just as much a miserable, wretched sinner as anyone else is.  He kneels at the railing like every other member of the congregation to partake in the sacred meal and receive sacred blessings.  His actions highlight the unity he shares with the congregation he serves.

By administering Holy Communion to himself, the pastor is highlighting that he is acting in the stead of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus first administered the Lord's Supper to the apostles on Maundy Thursday, so the pastor does.  Jesus, no doubt, participated in the Passover meal.  Matthew 26:29 suggests that Jesus also drank of the cup with the apostles when he passed the communal cup around to them.  As the master of the ceremony, Jesus would have administered this meal to himself along with his guests.  Of course, Jesus does not manifest himself as the master of ceremonies anymore.  He has called ministers to speak and to act in his stead.  By administering first to himself, the pastor highlights that office.

Now, doing one does not automatically deny the other; that is to say, the pastor who kneels at the altar does not deny he acts in the stead of Christ when he administers the Lord's Supper nor does the pastor who administers to himself deny that he is united with the congregation as a wretched sinner.  But the question still remains: Which of the two ceremonies makes a better confession or teaches a better lesson?

I suppose a pastor's setting may influence his answer.  But it seems to me that the pastor does well to highlight the office he is in--that he speaks and acts in the stead of Christ to administer the gifts of Christ to Christ's redeemed people.  That office is already highlighted as the pastor speaks the absolution, reads the lessons (especially the gospel), preaches the sermon, and proclaims the benediction.  It seems consistent that the pastor's office is also demonstrated in how he administers Christ's body and blood.

Of course, this ceremony is not a matter of good versus evil.  But it certainly can be debated if one is better than the other.  I tend to think that option 2 is better.