Sermon - Maundy Thursday 2025 - 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Christ on the Cross with Three Angels, Albrecht Durer, 1523

Redemption made Manifest

1. Not merely performing a drama

2. The redemptive body and blood of Christ are made new again

3. In this sanctuary the most precious treasure in the world is delivered to us

What happens here in the Divine Service, and throughout the church year, is not some sort of a theatrical play or a dramatic retelling of history. Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and culminating on Easter Sunday is often treated like a spectacle, something to be observed like attending one of the shows at Chanhassen, only this is more emotionally driven. Dramas are entertaining, but they’re foreign to the Divine Service, because this is no mere playacting but it is the real deal.

See, if this were merely a spectacle, something you observe, then ultimately what happens here is just a bunch of empty rituals. If they’re empty rituals, then you might treat them like a joke or some sort of casual enterprise. But instead, since this is the real deal, what happens here is quite powerful even if it happens so regularly and habitually. Here, in the Divine Service, you do not just watch redemption history, but Christ’s redemption of the world is made manifest in this room at this time among these people.

To help illustrate this, the Passover among the Israelites was more than a night of remembrance. Of course, in that meal they would bring to mind the salvific works of God, they would remember God’s mighty acts that took place in history, but it was more than that. It wasn’t just like celebrating a birthday or anniversary, where we reminisce about times gone by. Instead, at the Passover meal the Israelites did not merely remember the historical event of the Exodus, but they relived the Passover as their own deliverance. “It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.” Dearly beloved, it is the same for you this night and every Sunday!

When you kneel at this rail, the same body and blood that Jesus delivered to His apostles in the upper room is laid upon your tongue. In the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord gives to His people the very same body and blood that was crucified upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins. In this meal it is the same Christ, the same true Passover Lamb, who was sacrificed for you. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The reason that you proclaim the Lord’s death when you partake of the Lord’s Supper, is because you are receiving and participating in the very same fruits of the Lord’s death on calvary. 

Perhaps it’s hard to fathom, that the Lord of all creation, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is present here upon this altar, but here He is. Who are we that the Lord should dwell in our midst? We’re just some ordinary folks in Minnesota! Who am I to handle God’s body and blood? I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips! It’s hard to comprehend that the Lord would even bother with us, and yet, here He is according to His promise.

Thus, the Lord’s redemption of His people is not foreign to us, but is made manifest in our very presence. The still point in a turning world, the greatest moment in history, the most powerful act of love, the glory of glories is right here in this sanctuary when the body and blood of Christ is given to His people for the forgiveness of their sins. Every salvific work of God, from clothing Adam and Eve in the Garden, to rescuing Noah aboard an ark, from crossing the Red Sea, to saving Daniel from the lion’s jaws, is completely fulfilled on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and that victory is made manifest among us here at this altar when the salvation of God is received by simple Christians like us.

Here in this sanctuary the most precious treasure in all the world is delivered to us. Ponder that for a moment. What we have under the humble forms of bread and wine is a treasure that surpasses all others. Even if the richest man in the world were to offer you all of his fortunes in exchange for this treasure, what you have here is better. All the treasures in all the world couldn’t atone for even one of your sins, and yet, one drop of Christ’s blood is potent enough to forgive the sins of all the world, and the Lord bids you to eat and drink. Indeed, my cup runneth over as the blood flowed forth from Jesus’ pierced side.

Yet, the reality of what we receive does not match the things we see with our eyes, and therefore we must teach our hearts to believe that these things are far more than meets the eye. As such, Christians have long added more ceremony to this part of the liturgy in order to teach us to receive these things with faith. Remember that this is the body and blood of God, and those who take Him unworthily will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. So let us receive this divine and holy gift with the greatest love and reverence.

When pastors serve at this altar, or the elders assist them, they don’t toss things about like it’s a snack at a party, but they handle these precious treasures with the utmost care. When you approach the body and blood, you bow, not to me because I’m a servant like you, but to the Lord who is present. Then you kneel, remembering your sins and worshipping Christ Jesus who approaches you. And then the bread you eat is no cracker, but it is the body of Jesus sacrificed for you that cleanses your every sin. You either receive it directly on the tongue, or placed firmly upon your palm, because this is handled with care like we would handle newborn. Then the cup that approaches contains a liquid of inestimable worth, not just the fruit of the vine, but the fruit of the cross. Because liquids are easy to spill, we must be diligent in making deliberate movements so that it is not spilled. Inside of those little cups is God’s blood, so drink every drop, and set the cup in the basket gently, remembering that the residue inside is greater than the holy of holies. 

Dear Christians, let us this night be filled with renewed zeal and awe at what the Lord here offers. This is no silly musical theater, but the throne room of God. Here heaven and earth meet, the cross and the resurrection intersect, and God joins you to Himself in holy communion. Don’t be filled with anxiety over the enormity of this moment, for here the Lord gives you His peace which surpasses all understanding, and for that reason receive these treasures with that strange mixture of fear and love and excitement we call faith.