MAUNDY THURSDAY (1)
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Lord Jesus, in order to save sinners, you did not think it enough to reconcile us to your Father by sacrificing your body and blood upon the altar of the cross; you have also instituted a memorial of your wonder in which you give us to eat and to drink of that body and blood which you sacrificed for us so that no one can doubt that he also shares in your reconciliation. Oh gracious and merciful Lord, grant that we may observe this day on which you instituted your heavenly meal on earth to your praise and honor and to our salvation and blessing. So today convert all dead information of this day into a living knowledge; turn all indifference into a holy hungering and thirsting; may we at all times appear at your Table of Grace as acceptable guests, partake worthily of your body and blood; thus may our faith be strengthened, our love kindled, our hopes strengthened, our body and soul filled with joy, and we be refreshed and equipped for a blessed ascension. In heaven let us partake of your heavenly marriage feast where there shall be fullness of joy and pleasures at thy right hand forever more. Amen.
Quote the text here: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
Dear friends in the Lord Jesus.
The day has returned in which Christ instituted the Holy Supper. Oh,
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what an important, holy blessed day Thursday is! What a day of grace! This day is truly worthy of being commemorated by the entire Christian Church on earth in deepest devotion, in holy quiet and contemplation of heart.
Sad to say, there are in our days only too many who do not consider this day as a specially important one; they find it hard to interrupt their earthly calling for one hour to observe it. Even among Lutherans, to whom God has graciously given the pure knowledge of the Holy Supper, even among us we find among many too great a contempt for this day. For tell me, why is the L ord's house not filled today just as it will be Easter Sunday? Without a doubt because the institution of the Lord's Supper, which today is being celebrated, is considered as a matter of not too great importance.
Oh, what great blindness! Oh, what lamentable thanklessness!
Yes, it is true that the institution of the Lord's Supper is not one of the great deeds of God for the redemption of the sinful world, as the birth of Jesus Christ, his suffering and death, and his resurrection from the dead; but that does not make the institution of the Holy Supper less important. For bear in mind: what would it profit us that Christ earned God's grace for the entire sinful world by his life, suffering, death, and resurrection, if there were no means of grace by which the grace of God which has been earned for us would be offered, appropriated, given, and sealed? What would a Savior who ascended to heaven and seated himself at the right hand of God profit us, if there would be nothing whereby he would hand down to us his gifts of grace? Without the divine means of giving us these gifts, how could any person be certain that Christ's universal reconciliation and redemption is his ?
Perhaps you will say: But could not a man become just as certain of it by his prayer through the Holy Spirit? I answer: No. For then would not a person constantly have to fear that he could deceive himself and m istake the deceitful feelings of his heart for the witness of the Holy Spirit? Or, whenever he no lo nger feels grace in his heart must not a person believe that he has lost God's grace?
Therefore happy can we be! Christ has not only won God's grace for the whole world but has also instituted three precious means of grace by which he offers, gives, appropriates, and seals to men the grace he won; and these three means of grace are: The Gospel, Holy Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. They are three treasure chambers in which Christ has stored all the treasures of his grace; they are three rungs on the ladder of heaven upon which this grace descends to us; they are three overflowing fountains of grace dug and filled by Christ from which all who thirst can draw and quench the thirst of their souls; they are three hands of the Triune God with which he hands us Christ's dearly bought grace; they are three divine witnesses upon earth which audibly and visibly testify to what the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit inaudibly and invisibly testify concerning the salvation of sinners; they are three golden keys of heaven which unlock the heaven of eternal blessedness and glory prepared for us by Christ; they are the path upon which grace comes to men and the man to grace; the Word is the divine letter of grace, Baptism and Communion his inviolable, eternally valid divine seal. We have sung the truth when we sang:
Thy Supper in this vale of tears Refreshes me and stills my fears
And is my priceless Treasure. (306.6)
Hence is not this a blessed day on which that means of grace, the Lord's Supper, was instituted? Of a truth, yes; today is also a day which the
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Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
If in the past on Maundy Thursday we have occupied ourselves mostly with what Christ gives and does for us in this Supper, today let us direct our devotion to what we according to our text must do in respect to this Holy Sacrament. I therefore present to you:
THE DOUBLE DEMAND MADE OF ALL PARTAKERS OF CHRIST'S BODY AND BLOOD
IN THE HOLY SUPPER
1. Christ's Demand: "This Do in Remembrance of Me," and
2. The Demand of the Apostle: "As Often as Ye Eat This Bread and
Drink This Cup Ye do Show the Lord's Death till He Come."
I.
At the institution of the Lord's Supper, when he gave his disciples to eat of his body and gave them to drink of his blood, Christ said twice: " This do in remembrance of me;" we see that to partake of this holy Sacrament properly we are not to go through the motions; rather everything depends upon the purpose and the disposition of heart. So we see: He who goes to Holy Communion merely because it has been his custom from his youth, because he sees all good Christians do so, and because he considers this a good custom which all good Christians should observe; he who is moved to go once again to the Lord's Table only because he has made it a rule to do this at least two, three, or four times a year; he who is not reminded by his heart but alone by the passing of several months that it is again time to do this holy work, he does not comply with the demand which Christ has made of his guests; their partaking of the Holy Supper is not only not a profitable but even a harmful, yes, a damnable work.
When Christ says: "This do in remembrance of me." he demands not only that his guests not partake of his Holy Supper thoughtlessly, but with holy devotion of heart; he also tells them wherein this devotion must consist, namely, in " remembrance " of him. This tells us: The chief thing is not that the guests at communion picture to themselves Christ's whole suffering in all its details, in order to be moved to sympathize with Christ, and if possible even be moved to tears; no, Christ's own person is to be the subject, the real center around which all their devotion, all their thoughts and feelings should revolve, as they partake of his holy body and blood.
Christ's religion is entirely different from all other religions. All other religious founders have directed their followers only to their doctrine and not; to their person; the more earnest they were about their doctrine, the more they; pointed them away from their person. All other founders of religion have impressed upon their followers, that it does not depend upon who teaches them but rather upon what is taught them. They have boasted that one proof of the truth of their religion is that they themselves would gladly be forgotten just as long as their teachings, their religion would remain and be observed.
Not so Christ. He constantly pointed to himself, to his person, as the chief thing in his religion. He not only says, that his doctrine brings light and truth, shows the way, and gives life, but he says point-blank: " I am the Light of the world. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jn 14,6. "I am the Resurrection, and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Jn 11,25. " I am the door. I am the bread come from heaven." "Come unto me, all ye that
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labor and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest." Mt 11,28. "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." Jn 8,24b. And in the night that Christ was betrayed, in that night before his last suffering and death, when he instituted his Holy Supper, made his testament, and fixed his last will, he again said: " This do in remembrance of ME." As Christ's person therefore is the heart and center of the whole Christian religion, so it should also be the real center every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper.
The guest that Christ wants at Communion is only he who feels himself drawn not only by Christ's doctrine, but above all, by his very person; who not only considers Christ's doctrine as true but who clings to Christ as truth personified; who not only busies himself daily with Christ's doctrine, but who stands in a continual private relation with Christ himself; who is not only a friend of Christ's teaching but, so to say, is a personal friend of Christ himself. While his body goes to the Lord's Table his spirit is on Golgatha, kneels there before Christ's cross, embraces his feet, and drinks there his blood streaming from the five wounds.
A true guest should regard it something terrible that an entire church denomination teaches that only a sign, a symbol, of Christ's body and blood is in Communion. That is robbing this heavenly Meal of the kernel which the guest is seeking and leaving behind an empty shell. He should not want to know anything of Christ's Supper without Christ himself; on the contrary, Christ's very own person should shine brightly as the true star of heaven; Christ's body should be the manna in the wilderness which he desires to eat; Christ;s blood the water from the rock of salvation which he wants to drink. That person can say with the hymn:
Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills the breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest. (350,1)
Is it not amazing, my friends, that this humble Savior who says of himself: "I seek not mine own honor," nevertheless at the institution of his Holy Supper demands of all guests: " This do in remembrance of me "? When Jesus had his whole life full of disgrace and contempt behind him, did he want to provide for his posthumous fame? Since his contemporaries had dishonored him, was Jesus intent upon receiving the honor of posterity? Was Jesus in his last hours busy seeing to it that even if he would die a disgraceful death, he would not be forgotten but that after his death his name would live on among men?
My friends, these are the most foolish thoughts ever. How could Christ have wished for the honor of the world which disappears like a vapor? he who dwells amid the praise of all the angels? to whom the cherubim and seraphim, reverentially covering their countenance before him, sing the Thrice holy? he to whom God the Father has "given a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father "? Phil 2,9b- 11.
No, no, not for his sake but the sake of his guests Christ demands: " This do in remembrance of me." As the true God of the Christian wants to be honored by all creatures in heaven and on earth, not from the desire of honor, as the unbelievers blasphemously claim, nor because God wants to have his glory increased, but alone from love to his creatures, because they can be saved only if they know their Creator in his glory and give him all honor, so also Christ demands that all guests partake of his meal in remembrance of him, in honor to his name, not for his sake but because only then will they share in the treasures of grace which he has placed, offers, imparts, gives, and seals to them in this mea1.
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Finally, what does the Lord really intend to say with the words: " This do in remembrance of me "? Christ himself clearly indicates this when he says: " Take eat; this is my body, which is broken for you;" and secondly: " Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for you for the remission of sins;" and when he adds to both the remark: " This do in remembrance of me." He wants to say: When you partake of my body and blood, you are not to think of yourself, nor of your works, but of me and my works; do not think of me coming on judgment day as a stern Judge on the clouds of heaven, but as I hung on the cross as your Redeemer and Savior, as I suffered, died, and shed my blood, and doing that not for myself or as a martyr for my doctrine but " for you," that is, " for the remission of your sins."
You see, the communicant really does what Christ demands in the words: " This do in remembrance of me," when he remembers Christ's suffering as he receives his body, and blood not only as a fact but when he thinks: Oh, that is the body which was given for me! That is the blood which was shed for me! I am a blessed person! 'Now I need not fear my sins nor God's wrath, neither death nor hell; for now I have that precious, valid ransom itself, by which Christ paid for the guilt of the whole sinful world and also my guilt, reconciled me with God, and won for me, grace, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, life, and salvation! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! All doubt as to my state of grace and salvation are now taken from me! You see, to receive Christ's body and blood in his remembrance means briefly this: It is received not only with the mouth but at the same time spiritually; in brief: it is received in faith.
Oh what a gracious and friendly Savior! His last will was to institute a meal for us in which not only he himself is food and drink, but in which he demands nothing from us, no gift in return, no work, no worthiness; we are only to believe in that grace which he offers, reaches out, appropriates, and seals to us, as the sweet voice of our heavenly Bridegroom sounded a 1,000 years before in the Son of Solomon: "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." Song of Solomon 5,1.
II.
My friends, by the enlightenment and impulse of the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul adds this to Christ's words: " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." And thus the apostle points out a second demand which concerns all who partake of Christ's body and blood in the Holy Supper. May I in the second place speak briefly to you about this.
If the apostle demands that all communicants " show " the Lord's death when they go to communion, it is plain he demands that, although they celebrate communion mainly for their own sakes, they do so also for the sake of their neighbor, their brethren, and the world; thus they are to preach and strongly recommend the reconciling death of the Lord. The altar at which the Holy Supper is celebrated should, as it were, be the chancel of the laity to announce the praises of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. When the minister has finished his sermon, the believers should come forward; by publicly partaking of communion they should by their actions preach the crucified Christ to the world, who was preached to them in words, and thus demonstrate that they are Christ's Church. If Christ had instituted only the office of the ministry and not the holy sacraments, no one could know, where the Church of believers which he should join is to be found; for the sermon is heard by many who do not want to be believers, to whom Christ crucified is still foolishness and an offence. Therefore, as they who have come to faith in Christ
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through the preaching of the Gospel have publicly left the world through baptism, entered the Church of believers, and sworn eternal faithfulness to Christ, So also should they repeatedly appear at the altar of the Lord, and thus testify that they still remember their covenant and are faithful disciples of the Crucified, that his Church is here.
Therefore, how gladly we should be to be diligent in going to Holy Communion! How this very age of unbelief should drive us to come to the Lord's Table often, preach the Lord's death not only to our brethren but also to the unbelieving world, and let them know that the Church of the Crucified has not yet disappeared, nor died out, nor gone under, but that there still are those who believe in him, find their salvation in him, and love him as their highest good!
When the apostle writes in our text: " As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death till he come," when he calls partaking of communion a common act of faith and an actual common confession of faith, he demands that we should celebrate Holy Communion only with those who confess the faith we do. If Holy Communion were instituted only for the purpose of eating Christ's true body and drinking his true blood with our mouth, then we could and should partake of it wherever it is rightly celebrated according to Christ's institution. But when Paul says, that thus we " do show the Lord's death," it is against Christ's will to celebrate it where our confession of faith would be contradicted.
No matter where Holy Communion is celebrated it is the banner of the faith of the church or congregation in whose midst one partakes of it. As one publicly joins the army of those to whose flag one clings and around whose banner of peace and war one assembles, so every Christian joins that congregation in whose midst and fellowship he likewise partakes of Holy Communion; if the congregation confesses the true faith, the communicant confesses the same faith; if the congregation confesses a false faith, the communicant also confesses this false faith with them; he publicly denies the true faith.
Well then, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, let us in this age in which so many no longer believe in the blessed mystery of Holy Communion, viewing it as nothing more than a meaningful ceremony, cling firmly to the words of the almighty and truthful Savior against all objections of our reason: " This IS my body which is broken for you; this IS my blood which is shed for you;" but let us on this day of the institution of this Holy Meal also write the double demand, which goes forth to all who partake of Christ's true body and blood in this meal, deeply upon our hearts. Whenever we go to the Lord's Table may we recall the word of the Lord: " This do in remembrance of me;" let us not view partaking of this sacrament as a work which pleases God, if we merely go through the motions but remember Christ and remember him in faith!
May we at all times also remember the word of the apostle: " As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death till he come;" whenever we approach the altar, let us appear confessing the Crucified to the world, being true spiritual priests, who show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. But at all times let us not assemble around this banner of faith in the false church but only there where the true Christ, that is, his whole Gospel, is confessed and preached in its purity, without mutilation and fancy trimmings.
Our faithful God has hitherto preserved unto us his precious Supper in its purity; oh let us perceive what a great, heavenly treasure we possess, faithfully esteem it more than all the gold and wealth of the world, use it correctly at all times, and unceasingly pray:
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Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide,
For round us falls the eventide;
Nor let Thy Word, that heavenly Light,
For us be ever veiled in night.
In these last days of sore distress
Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That pure we keep, till life is spent,
Thy holy Word and Sacrament. (292,1.2.)
Amen.