Maundy Thursday
1 Peter 1:18-20
"The Blood of Christ for Us"
18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
20 He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake.RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus wh is the Christ. Amen
As we gaze at the cross, as we think about the events of this week. We turn our attention to the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. We will zero in on the reality of that event. The cross was real, the pain, the suffering, the agony was real, so real that the earth shock and trembled from the dread and awe of the event.
Jesus died upon that cross. He suffered, he bore pain, he felt the sting of death, he felt the wrath of God, he lived in the human experience of knowing what sin is like. He lived knowing what the constant battle with Satan is all about. The cross of Calvary was at one time a horrible experience of suffering, but at the same time an expression of love on the part of God for all His children on earth.
As we focus on the cross of Christ, I would like our attention to be drawn to the sacrifice he made for us. I would like us to comprehend with our whole being that Jesus redeemed us with his precious blood.
The crucifixion of Jesus has in our time been sentimentalized into a pretty picture of an adoring Jesus who suffered with a smile on his face. Jesus was not crucified on a cross in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap. Jesus was crucified at a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew, in Latin and in Greek. He was crucified at the kind of place were thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Jesus died in a most worldly way, a most inglorious way at the hands of the Romans who felt nothing, no remorse, no piety, no compassion.
Peter says in the text from his first letter that
"we were ransomed not with perishable thing such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."
Jesus’ blood was let for us and because of us so that our salvation might be secure with the Father. Jesus gave of himself, he gave us his body and he shed his blood for us. He sacrificed himself once for all time. Jesus sacrified himself so we would not be called on by the father to sacrifice our body and blood for the sins we commit. Jesus suffered in our place, he gave his whole being for us.
When we come forward this evening to partake in the meal Jesus gave to us, we can think back to the sacrifice he made for us on that cross. As we eat and drink this meal this evening; let us recall the cross, let us recall the sacrifice, let us participate in that sacrifice, let us live with Jesus that horrible death so that we can understand the uncomprehensible love he had for us.
Jesus is like the mother in the following story:
A story from Scotland tells of a mother’s dramatic rescue of her child. Workmen were blasting rock in a quarry. One day after they had attached the fuse and retired to a safe place and gave the alarm they saw a three year old child wandering across the open space where danger threatened. Every passing second meant death was closing in on the child.
The workmen called to the child and waved their arms, but he only looked on their strange antics with amusement. No man dared run forward knowing the explosion was only seconds away. The child most certainly would have been killed, had not his mother appeared at this moment of crisis.
Taking in the situation at a glance she did what her mother’s heart dictated. She did not run toward her son or yell to frighten him. Instead, she knelt down, opened wide her arms and smiled for him to come. Instantly the child ran towards her. Shortly later the area shook with the force of the explosion, yet the child was safe in his mother’s arms.
Jesus spread His arms wide open for us on the cross, so that we might have eternal live. His blood was spilled for us as He saved us from the implosion of sin and death
As Lutherans, this meal spans all the dimension of space and time. During this week, it is a time to look back, to live the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to relive with Jesus his passion. This meal takes us back to the foot of the cross, it takes us back to the one who says: "this is my body given for you, " this is is my blood, shed for you". Jesus died not for someone else, not for the person next to you ,in the pew, but for you, for all of us individually. He suffered because of the great love he has for you, because you are something special in his eyes.
You are worth saving, you are God’s holy, chosen child. Redeemed not with gold or silver, but with blood, with a sacrifice of another human being. As we eat and drink this evening, we gather at the foot of that cross, we gather as if we were really there, we gather to live with Jesus.
There is a painting of the Crucifixion by Rembrandt which is very striking. As you gaze at the picture, your attention is drawn first of all to the Cross and to Him who hangs there. Then your eye, gaze upon the crowd that is gathered around the Cross and you note the attitudes and action of these people. As your eyes drift to the edge of the picture you see another figure standing in the shadow. This is Rembrandt himself. Rembrandt helping to crucify Jesus.
Rembrandt knew that he was just as responsible for the death of Jesus as were the people who did the deed over 2000 years ago. Jesus died for our indifference as well as that of Pilate. He died for our scheming as well as the scheming of Caiaphas. Jesus died for our callousness as well as the callousness of the soldier. He died for our ruthlessness as well as the ruthlessness of the crowd. He died for our cowardliness as well as the cowardliness of the disciples.
We can say "It was I that shed the sacred blood. I nailed Him to the tree, I crucified the Christ of God, I joined the mockery."
As the invitation is given to each of us, "This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." We are taken back to that first supper. We are taken back to the foot of that cross. We are taken back to the one who was willing to sacrifice himself for the sins of this generation.
Not only do these words take us back, but they also bring the crucified Christ to us today. These words bring the sacrifice he made for us into our world. They bring us a saviour who died for our sins, who died for me. These words, "This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." bring the presence of Jesus into our very lives. They bring the Jesus of the cross, and the Jesus of the resurrection in our world, into our bodies, and souls.
This meal is a way for us to experience the great love Jesus has for us in a very physical way. Jesus is coming to us in the present moment and telling us, showing us, giving us his divine love. This meal makes the sacrifice of the cross real. This meal makes the sacrifice a personal event. This meal makes the love of Jesus a personal experience for all of us. This meal bring the events of over 2000 years ago into our reality, into our hearts, minds and souls.
"This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." These words bring the cross into our present lives and makes that sacrifice a real event for us. "This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." These words bring Christ through, with, in and around the bread and wine. "This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." These words bring Christ into each of us as we experience his presence in this day.
"This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you." These words bring the cross, the sacrifice, the body and blood of Christ to us today. It does not just point backwards, but brings to us, the events of the cross, the events of the first Lord’s Supper.
In his book The Hand That Holds Me, Pastor Michael Rogness says on p.99, "The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is the most sublime moment of the Christian life, the most awe filled moment, but also at the same time the most human.
There at the Lord’s table, God comes to us----the over-whelming, majestic, creator of all the galaxies--right where we are most human and worried about so many mundane and human things, there through the bread and wine, God comes. He stoops way down and comes to us in the common elements of bread and wine as we try, but do not success at being, standing, thinking, and praying right at that moment."
God through the body and blood of Christ comes to us in this momentous moment as we eat and drink and says you are my forgiven child. The agony of the cross meets the forgiveness of the bread and wine and Christ says you are forgiven, you are mine forever.
A closing story says it all:
There is an old story of an old man who went to church every Sunday. At the moment of Communion he always felt acutely embarrassed. There was something about the whole service, especially the prayer of confession, that made him feel very unworthy. As he knelt at the altar to receive the bread, his hands always trembled as he reached out for it. He hesitated, but the minister, knowing his mood and his reservations, smiled at him and whispered, "Take it man, it’s for sinners." It is!
Thank God
"This is my body, given for you." "This is my blood shed for you."
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale April 3, 2006
