Sermon - Maundy Thursday 2023 - 1 Cor. 11:23-32

In communion we receive the Lord’s humble service

1. Jesus humbly delivers to us His true body and blood: For the forgiveness of our sins; To serve us by His death

2. We humbly receive Jesus’ body and blood: We examine ourselves, We confess our sins, We receive forgiveness, strength, and life

On Maundy Thursday in Roman Catholic churches and various types of Baptist and Pentecostal churches the focus of the service is on the rite of foot washing. The pope will often make a big deal about washing a dozen poor peoples’ feet. Now there’s nothing wrong with doing a foot washing ceremony, but it does kind of miss the point to make a show of washing feet. Jesus washed their feet as an example of His humility, love, and service, telling them that they should also humbly love and serve one another daily. “I have given you an example, that you should do just as I have done to you… just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” The early church continued to wash feet, not so much as a liturgical practice, but as a service to those who came to church, because foot washing was a regular part of daily life. 

It’s somewhat backwards to have the pastor make a big show of him washing someone’s feet, because it doesn’t really serve the neighbor today, and it puts the focus on the pastor’s supposed humility instead of Christ’s actual humility. So the focus of Maundy Thursday isn’t so much about our humble service, although that’s important too, rather the focus is on Jesus’ humble service to us. On the night when Jesus was betrayed the most significant thing our Lord has delivered to us is His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. In Communion we receive the Lord’s humble service.

On this night we remember that Jesus humbly delivers to us His body and blood. Every Christian should have the words of institution memorized and learned by heart: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.””

With those words we learn to believe that in the sacrament of the altar we have life and salvation, because the bread is His body and the contents of the cup is His blood. It’s a mystery how this can be, since it can’t be scientifically verified, but our Lord said it, and so we trust Him and take Him at His creative and powerful word. We don’t doubt it, but we firmly believe that He has here given us His body and blood. As often as we partake of this sacrament we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes, because this is the very same body and blood sacrificed for us upon the cross. Here our Lord humbly serves us, not just by washing away the dirt on our feet, but by dying for us and forgiving the sins which cling to our souls.

Because the Lord’s Supper delivers Jesus to us in the flesh, we are instructed to receive His body and blood with humility, lest we sin against our Lord’s sacrificial body and blood. “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. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” It is therefore necessary that we regularly examine ourselves and confess our sins before receiving the sacrament. It is good to go to individual confession and absolution for this very purpose. This evening you received individualized absolution, hopefully familiarizing yourself with the great comfort in the absolution so that you might hunger for it even more often. 

When you humbly receive Jesus’ sacrificial body and blood, there is a great blessing given to you. Just as misusing it damns you and makes you sick, so does properly using it give you forgiveness, strength, and life! It is medicine for our sickly souls, making us stronger and more vigorous to bear our crosses, and love and serve our neighbor. It gives comfort to the lonely, since in this meal we are united with the whole heavenly host. The sinner receives forgiveness tangibly, not just hearing with the ears, but tasting the Lord’s favor. In this meal God blesses our bodies, not only redeeming our souls from death, but redeeming our bodies as well. In this meal we are united with Christ, His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection are ours! God gives us this life-giving gift not just once a year, but regularly, even weekly, because He always humbly serves His people.

May you always desire to receive the Lord’s Supper frequently and faithfully.