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Sermon for Maundy Thursday 2016

FIRST READING Jeremiah 31:31-34

31“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
PSALM Psalm 116:12–19

12 How shall I repay the LORD for all the good things God has done for me? 13 I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God’s people. 15 Precious in your sight, O LORD, is the death of your servants. 16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds. 17 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all God’s people, 19 in the courts of the LORD’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
SECOND READING Hebrews 10:15-25

15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
GOSPEL Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written,
‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
STONES TO BREAD – Maundy Thursday

Dear friends in Christ, grace, mercy, and peace, from God our heavenly Father and from His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tonight is a night that’s rich in tradition in the Christian Church and those traditions can vary greatly from congregation to congregation. Some churches tonight will focus on the poignant scene of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples on the night before He died, and some will re-enact it. In full view of all worshipers, a husband might wash the feet of his wife, or a Sunday school teacher may wash the feet of her students, or perhaps the pastor will wash the feet of the church custodian and wipe them with a towel. The message becomes clear; humility and servanthood are the marks of the Christian Church, because they were the marks of Jesus Christ.
In another church, the focus of tonight might be confession — honest, humble, and contrite confession. And not just because we’re confessing our sins to God, but also by the confessing of our sins to each other. It’s the tradition among Christians in Africa on Maundy Thursday that, before the sacrament of Holy Communion is served, worshipers will move about the sanctuary and seek forgiveness from everyone they have hurt or offended or sinned against — known or unknown— in recent months. It may take a few minutes; it might take an hour. But the service does not continue until every worshiper has been reconciled with every other worshiper. I wonder how that would play in the North American Church, where grudges and gossip and secret sins are so prevalent among us. Frankly, I’m not so sure we have the courage to try it here.
In some churches, they have a tradition where young people, who have spent the Lenten season preparing to receive Communion, will receive it tonight for the very first time. I pray that their anticipation and wonder, their sense of mystery and awe of this holy moment — I pray that their joy would be contagious to us as we, too, hold in our hands tonight the very gift of God.
What all of these traditions have in common, is of course, that they draw us near to Jesus on the night before He was crucified, and remind us that His love is the most powerful force this world has ever known. And not simply that we would know His love, but that we would be His love in this hurting world … that we would be His servants in this self-serving world … that we would personify His grace in this harsh and unforgiving world.
When the Apostle John was old and dying he was asked to bring one last message to the church. Slowly, haltingly, he stood before the congregation and said in a whisper, “Love one another.” Then he was asked if there was anything else he would like to say. “Yes,” John said. “Love one another.” When the service had ended, his assistant asked him, “Brother John, why do you continue to repeat this same message?” And John replied, “Because if we would do this only, it would be enough.” And that’s the message we have come to receive from Jesus tonight: a new commandment that tells us to love. Tonight we will hear it. Tonight we will see it. Tonight we will eat it and drink it. And then we go from this place and we will be it.
Each Sunday afternoon throughout this journey of Lent, we have carried small rocks into the Sanctuary with us, and at the end of each service, we have laid them at the foot of the cross. There has been a complaint or two, as I went from church to church, that some people didn’t like it: that the stones were messy and left a dusty or chalky residue on their hands and clothing. At first I simply apologized for the residue, but then it occurred to me, that’s what sin is like: it’s messy, it’s unattractive, and it leaves its ugly mark upon our lives. That’s the nature of sin. You may not be able to see from where you are sitting, but the basket is sitting here on the Chancel steps and it’s almost full of stones. Those are our stones. Our sins. They represent our hatred, our gossip, our pride, our prejudice, our failure, and our fear. Tonight, Jesus will do business with those stones.
As our Lord was beginning His public ministry, the Bible tells us He spent forty days out in the Judean wilderness. We remember those forty days during Lent. At the end of that time, the Devil came to Jesus a final time and tempted Him. “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered and said, “It is written ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'” Every word, the ones we like and the ones we don’t.
Ironically, tonight Jesus has turned the stones to bread. Tonight, all the ugliness of our selfishness and sin is swallowed up by Jesus Christ. Now, the messy dust or chalky residue of our sins stains not us … they stain Jesus instead… and we’re left without a blemish. Tonight, you were not handed a stone as you came in; rather, tonight you’ll be handed a piece of bread and a promise. “This is my body, broken for you and for all the people, for the forgiveness of sin. Eat it and remember me.” The stones which represent our sins are now gone… transcended by the Bread of Life.
If we’re bewildered as to how this transaction happens, imagine how the disciples felt on that first Maundy Thursday. They didn’t yet understand that the cross was just 24 hours away. They didn’t have the slightest idea that in less than a day, every one of them sitting at that table would bale on their master. And just how clueless were they? They were still sitting at the dinner table when an argument broke out among them as to which of them was the greatest disciple! Clearly they didn’t get it! If Jesus was ever going to withhold His gift of grace, that would have been the time! If Jesus was ever going to renege on His promise of forgiveness, that would have been it! But Jesus gave them the gift anyway.
You see, that’s one of the great misunderstandings of this thing called “Holy Communion”, that we have to fully understand it before we can receive it. Do our fourth and fifth graders know all there is to know about Communion? Are they, by virtue of their instruction now “fully qualified” to receive it? Or do you — after receiving the sacrament for twenty or thirty or forty plus years — fully understand how it all works? Can you explain how something that looks like bread, and smells like bread, and feels like bread, and tastes like bread is actually the body of Jesus? I dare say, no, on all counts. All we must do is believe the promise of Jesus, and forgiveness is ours. That’s why we call it “faith.” The other myth about communion is that it’s for the righteous. Well, the righteous don’t need it; we do. Only we sinners need the gift that Jesus had to offer.
In a few moments, you will come forward to the Chancel and you’ll hold out your hands to receive of the body of Christ. You may hold a Ph.D. in quantum physics, but when you come forward your hands will be empty. You may have a stock portfolio in the eight-figure range, but when stand before me, your hands will be empty. You may have a famous name, or a glamorous job, or a loving family, or loyal friends, or a notorious past, or a glorious future. But when you come to the Altar, you are empty; and so am I. And the only thing that can fill our need tonight is the Bread of Life.
Let me close with this: A young woman, who was a first-year student at Princeton Theological Seminary, was assigned to do her contextual education at a local nursing home. Every Wednesday, Janine would read scripture and pray prayers and serve communion for the elderly who would gather. And every one of the residents would gladly receive this gift of grace … everyone, that is, except Madeline Jacks. Madeline never said a word to Janine during her visit. In fact, Madeline never said a word to anyone; she had stopped speaking years ago.
But one Wednesday afternoon, something happened. Something special, something very, very special happened. As she did each week, Janine handed the wafer to Madeline, with the words, “The Body of Christ, Madeline, given for you.” But this week Madeline spoke. Holding the wafer between her thumb and forefinger, she smiled and said, “For me. Madeline Jacks. For me.” And then she ate the Bread of Life.
My fellow sinner/saints, tonight when you come forward with your broken hearts and empty hands and shattered dreams, may you know that Jesus has taken our stones of sin onto Himself, the Bread of Life. For this truly is the Body of Christ, for you. This truly is the Blood of Christ shed, for you. For God’s Holy Supper truly is a means of grace. Thanks be to God.
Amen.

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