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| Painting by Stephen Dawson |
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Grace and Peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Son of God came to be
with us in the incarnation, being born of the Virgin Mary in the town of
Bethlehem.
The Son of God left us when
He bowed His head on the cross and said,
“It is finished.”
“It is finished.”
The Son of God came to be
with us, for death and the grave could not hold Him down. He was resurrected.
The Son of God left us forty
days after the resurrection when He ascended to heaven to be seated at the
right hand of God the Father almighty.
He came, He left, He came, and
He left.
We are now forced to ask,
“Are we now alone?”
“Are we now alone?”
No, we are not.
“When Christ had arisen from
the dead and was just on the point of going into heaven, as He parted from His
own He comforted them once more with the assurance, ‘Behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.’”[1]
This is comforting for us to
hear. He will be with us to the end of
the age. That is certain.
Indeed, Christ is not some
religious founder who only gives a bunch of theories, ideas, and inspirational
bumper sticker slogans, dies, and then leaves nothing more than a bunch of
philosophies. Furthermore, Jesus is not
like a jolly good ol’ fellow that only exists in our midst when we remember him. He is not dependent upon the strength of the fond
memories passed down from generation to generation. He also is not some iconic figure that exists
in our midst through statues and monuments erected to exert his ongoing
presence in our midst.[2]
Jesus Christ and His church
are really different from the rest of the creation and the rest of the great
leaders and teachers of the world. Yes,
“the Christian Church differs from all other religious organizations in that
she has not only the teachings of her founder, but she [also] has the founder
Himself in her midst. Her Savior, her
Redeemer, her helper, her protector is not absent from her but is really and
truly present at all times and in all places.
This is the highest, sweetest, most blessed, and greatest comfort that
the Christian Church has.”[3]
The Evil One and the World
attack this reality though. The World is
convinced that we are on our own, left to fend for ourselves, and the Evil One
will do everything possible to strip you of the Lord’s ever present
comfort. Satan will attempt to convince
you that you do not have Jesus, that Christ is no longer with His church, and
that all we have is a faint mere memory of Jesus.
Thankfully, Jesus and this
Gospel are more than a philosophy or an ideology, for if Jesus and His Gospel
were only a religious idea, you and I would only have Christ’s Gospel as long
as we could keep it in our mind, so that it could give us comfort.
Very much, Christ is not
some floaty and intangible Lord off in the distance or some dusty memory, but
He is the ever present Lord for you, His Church.
But if He is ever present, where
shall you look to find Him?
Should
you look in the deep caverns of your hearts?
No,
we do not look to our hearts, for all that we will find in our hearts are layers
upon layers of sin.
Should
you look upward to the heavens and construct a spiritual ladder to find Jesus
and put Him in your midst?
No,
we cannot climb high enough.
Should
you construct a time machine and transport yourself to 32 AD to have Jesus in your
midst?
No,
our Lord is not back there today. He is
no longer on the cross. He is no longer
in the grave. Yes, at the cross
forgiveness was won for you, but there it was not given out.
So where
should one look to find Jesus, for He is truly in our midst? Where can one find the comfort of forgiveness
and His abiding presence? Dear friends,
look no further, He is here with you tonight.
Where?
He
is here in your midst. Our Lord is here
having His word spoken to you. The Lord
is here with you in the bread and the wine, His holy meal that He instituted
that Maundy Thursday two-thousand years ago for you.
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| Painting by Stephen Dawson |
Forgiveness,
the Lord’s abiding presence, and comfort are all here in your midst. No need to look inward, backwards, forwards,
or upward! Here before you, the Lord
delivers Himself in the bread and the wine, for He is truly present in this Holy
Meal. “In the Lord’s Supper Christ gives
[you] the consecrated bread with the words, ‘Take and eat, this is My body
which is given for you,’ and the consecrated cup with the words, ‘Take and
drink, this is My blood which is shed for the forgiveness of your sins.’ With these words the Savior clearly wishes to
say: ‘Take My body and eat it, not as food for your body but as that body which
was given into death for your sins; take My blood and drink it, but not as
drink for your body but as that blood of the reconciliation which was shed on
the cross for the forgiveness of your sins.’”[4]
In
the Lord’s Supper, “Christ takes ordinary bread and wine, ordinary earthly
things, and uses them to give Himself to us. Completely to us. Nothing of
Himself held back from us. ‘Here I am,” He says, “given FOR YOU.’”[5]
Blessed
Saints, tonight we remember that we are not only washed clean, body and soul,
through Holy Baptism in His name, but the Lord also is present in our midst
giving us “His body into [our mouths] and His blood into the dust of your
flesh. And thereby you are transformed,
changed from a lowly son of the dust to an adopted son of God most high. Every natural food we take into our bodies is
transformed into our bodies. Only the
supper of our Lord [though] is different, for this food transforms you into
that which it is. You, the Church, are
the body of Christ and the blood of Christ.
When you [eat and drink, Christ goes into your bellies and] you assume
[Jesus’] rightful place on the Father’s heavenly throne.”[6]
“Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. 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.”[7]
Tonight,
these words are for you and they testify that Jesus is not a mere memory or an
abstract idea, but is with you and for you.
He is with you always, to the end of the age. He invites you to His Table, so that what was
finished at Calvary and given over might be received with certainty by
you. Take, eat; Drink of it, all of you,
this is how much He loves you.
The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] C.F.W. Walther,
Gospel Sermons: Volume 1 (St. Louis,
MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 215.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid, 217.
[5] Donavon Riley,
“Midweek Lent VI, Lord’s Supper Meditation 5” https://thefirstpremise.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/midweek-lent-vi-lords-supper-meditation-5/
(1 April 2015).
[6] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Copyright
2014), 175.
[7] The Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis,
MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 197.
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