Fresh Bread And New Wine
Sermon
A 'NEW AND IMPROVED' JESUS?
Sermons For Lent And Easter
Stories of holy communion events abound. Someone has said that the difference between a Lutheran and a United Methodist is that a Lutheran uses real wine and a United Methodist uses real bread. It is true that Lutherans use real wine and United Methodists seem to feel that Jesus turned the water at Cana into Welch's grape juice; that Lutherans use the small, round pressed wafer and the United Methodists often use a loaf of bread.
But, whatever sort of bread and wine is used, it is still a momentous occasion. On a visit to Jerusalem, I stood in an upper room much like the one that Jesus and his disciples used. Could it have been the same place, I wondered, where on that Thursday evening long ago they partook of that first last supper? Those present must never have forgotten the occasion. In retrospect, years later, it was likely still rife with memories that comforted and convicted. "Lord, is it I who will betray you?" Didn't each disciple there wonder if that weakness were not hidden in some recess of his soul, as it was in Judas? "Take and eat in remembrance of me." Remembrance, oh, yes, they will remember. Can they ever forget that night? "This is my body, this is my blood - drink all of it. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." So this is the new covenant about which Jeremiah spoke! We never realized at the time how glorious it would be!
And, as I stood there, recalling what Scripture told us about the event; I, too, thought and remembered and examined and bowed in awe that such simple elements - bread and wine - could mean so eternally much to such a sinful soul as I!
Jeremiah, in this text, speaks of a new covenant. It will be a unique relationship in which God will bind himself to his people, to be fulfilled by Christ. When Jesus invited his disciples to the table, when he blessed the food, broke the bread and shared the cup, the Lord's supper began. Before it had been only a Passover meal. Now it is more; it is a vivid, visible sign of God saying to those first Christians, and now to us, what he had said to Jeremiah: "I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
This new covenant was ratified in Jesus' death on the cross. There his own precious body was given to become food and sustenance for us, his blessed blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins, for our very life!
Thus it is that on this Maundy Thursday we gather 'at our Lord's table and drink new wine and eat fresh bread!
Fresh Bread
Two or three times a year, a family member makes several loaves of fresh, wonderful, homemade bread. It is made from a "starter," and anyone who understands bread-making knows it isn't always convenient to make bread every week, but if you don't, your starter will die. This bread, is, in my opinion, the best bread I have ever eaten. Of course, there are lots of wonderful breads: another family member makes mouth-watering poppy-seed bread. Another makes out-of-this-world Danish breakfast bread. My mother made biscuits that would melt in your mouth. And there are other favorites: the shortbread of Scotland, the scone of England, the dark rye of Germany, the hard, crusty roll of France, the tortilla of Mexico, the sour dough of San Francisco. But there is only one bread for the whole human race. Sometimes we sing the communion hymn, "Bread of the World, in Mercy Broken." We eat it at communion, the unleavened bread, Bread for the world, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We all need bread. It is called the staff of life, for it gives sustenance, nourishment, and strength. As we feed on Christ, his body broken for us, we are amazed at the spiritual vigor that comes to us.
Modern diets demand that we delete some things from our eating in order to be healthier or thinner. But the Divine Diet calls for us to partake of Christ, the Living Bread. If we fail to feed on him in our hearts, we become weak, feeble, frail, and sicken and die. We would wisely heed the invitation of the hymn which calls, "Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees."
We had dinner in a restaurant once and they served no bread. When we asked if it were not available we were told, "Of course! But our policy here is that we serve bread only upon request." That is the way Christ is offered to us, as well. He is Bread for the world, but only if he is requested. Christ died for all, but he does not force himself on any. His life is not automatically given. We must in repentance and faith ask for it, beseeching the Father, "O give us of that Living Bread that we hunger no more!"
New Wine
The Old Testament sets forth an old covenant, the covenant of the law. It was sealed in the blood of slain animals, usually a lamb. But this covenant had failed. Mankind kept breaking the law of God. What humanity needed was not a new law, but a new heart. So Jeremiah spoke of this, "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." What the law could not do, Christ came to do! God, in sending Jesus, gave us a covenant of grace, ratified again in blood - but this time not the blood of animals, but of his own Son, not the blood of a lamb, but of The Lamb.
And this covenant repeats itself each time we read the words of institution of the Lord's supper. His atoning death on the cross is remembered as "the new covenant in my blood." The emphasis is upon atonement; the means of our life and forgiveness is blood. We are saved and made one with God by the shedding of the blood of the crucified Christ.
I learned of a husband and wife who have each donated nearly 20 gallons of blood in their lifetimes. That's 160 pints of blood each! I could not help but speculate on how many lives might have been saved through the unselfish giving of their blood. It was a beautiful gift from one human for other humans - given a pint at a time. But the greatest Donor of all time sweat great drops of his blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, then spilled the rest of it on Calvary's cross-tree. And that blood, applied in repentance and faith, gives us pardon and everlasting life!
A woman once said to me, after we had sung "There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood" in a worship service, "I don't like that song or any other song that has to do with blood. I wish they'd taken them all out of our hymnal. It is unpleasant, ugly, and gory." Blood is ugly and gory, but it is the greatest liquid substance in the world for giving life. As water is essential for physical life, so blood is essential for eternal life.
The Scriptures make it clear, both in the Old and New Testaments, that blood is vital. The Word says, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins," "The life is in the blood," "We have redemption through his blood," "We are brought near to God by the blood," "The church was bought with his blood." Without Christ, our Divine Donor, we would be yet in our sins, estranged from God, without forgiveness, without hope, without peace, and dying in our lostness. The writers of the hymns and gospel songs have recognized the primary importance of the blood, so they have written, "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness," "Saved By the Blood of the Crucified One," "There is Power in the Blood," "Nothing But the Blood," and many, many more.
So, on this Maundy Thursday, remembering our Lord, we return again to that upper chamber and hear him say, "This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." In these hours before Good Friday, let us come kneeling in true repentance and faith, confessing our sins and unworthiness, and with trembling, trusting hands reach out to receive from our Lord, fresh bread and new wine - and leave this place knowing we have been given sustenance and salvation!
But, whatever sort of bread and wine is used, it is still a momentous occasion. On a visit to Jerusalem, I stood in an upper room much like the one that Jesus and his disciples used. Could it have been the same place, I wondered, where on that Thursday evening long ago they partook of that first last supper? Those present must never have forgotten the occasion. In retrospect, years later, it was likely still rife with memories that comforted and convicted. "Lord, is it I who will betray you?" Didn't each disciple there wonder if that weakness were not hidden in some recess of his soul, as it was in Judas? "Take and eat in remembrance of me." Remembrance, oh, yes, they will remember. Can they ever forget that night? "This is my body, this is my blood - drink all of it. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." So this is the new covenant about which Jeremiah spoke! We never realized at the time how glorious it would be!
And, as I stood there, recalling what Scripture told us about the event; I, too, thought and remembered and examined and bowed in awe that such simple elements - bread and wine - could mean so eternally much to such a sinful soul as I!
Jeremiah, in this text, speaks of a new covenant. It will be a unique relationship in which God will bind himself to his people, to be fulfilled by Christ. When Jesus invited his disciples to the table, when he blessed the food, broke the bread and shared the cup, the Lord's supper began. Before it had been only a Passover meal. Now it is more; it is a vivid, visible sign of God saying to those first Christians, and now to us, what he had said to Jeremiah: "I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
This new covenant was ratified in Jesus' death on the cross. There his own precious body was given to become food and sustenance for us, his blessed blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins, for our very life!
Thus it is that on this Maundy Thursday we gather 'at our Lord's table and drink new wine and eat fresh bread!
Fresh Bread
Two or three times a year, a family member makes several loaves of fresh, wonderful, homemade bread. It is made from a "starter," and anyone who understands bread-making knows it isn't always convenient to make bread every week, but if you don't, your starter will die. This bread, is, in my opinion, the best bread I have ever eaten. Of course, there are lots of wonderful breads: another family member makes mouth-watering poppy-seed bread. Another makes out-of-this-world Danish breakfast bread. My mother made biscuits that would melt in your mouth. And there are other favorites: the shortbread of Scotland, the scone of England, the dark rye of Germany, the hard, crusty roll of France, the tortilla of Mexico, the sour dough of San Francisco. But there is only one bread for the whole human race. Sometimes we sing the communion hymn, "Bread of the World, in Mercy Broken." We eat it at communion, the unleavened bread, Bread for the world, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We all need bread. It is called the staff of life, for it gives sustenance, nourishment, and strength. As we feed on Christ, his body broken for us, we are amazed at the spiritual vigor that comes to us.
Modern diets demand that we delete some things from our eating in order to be healthier or thinner. But the Divine Diet calls for us to partake of Christ, the Living Bread. If we fail to feed on him in our hearts, we become weak, feeble, frail, and sicken and die. We would wisely heed the invitation of the hymn which calls, "Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees."
We had dinner in a restaurant once and they served no bread. When we asked if it were not available we were told, "Of course! But our policy here is that we serve bread only upon request." That is the way Christ is offered to us, as well. He is Bread for the world, but only if he is requested. Christ died for all, but he does not force himself on any. His life is not automatically given. We must in repentance and faith ask for it, beseeching the Father, "O give us of that Living Bread that we hunger no more!"
New Wine
The Old Testament sets forth an old covenant, the covenant of the law. It was sealed in the blood of slain animals, usually a lamb. But this covenant had failed. Mankind kept breaking the law of God. What humanity needed was not a new law, but a new heart. So Jeremiah spoke of this, "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." What the law could not do, Christ came to do! God, in sending Jesus, gave us a covenant of grace, ratified again in blood - but this time not the blood of animals, but of his own Son, not the blood of a lamb, but of The Lamb.
And this covenant repeats itself each time we read the words of institution of the Lord's supper. His atoning death on the cross is remembered as "the new covenant in my blood." The emphasis is upon atonement; the means of our life and forgiveness is blood. We are saved and made one with God by the shedding of the blood of the crucified Christ.
I learned of a husband and wife who have each donated nearly 20 gallons of blood in their lifetimes. That's 160 pints of blood each! I could not help but speculate on how many lives might have been saved through the unselfish giving of their blood. It was a beautiful gift from one human for other humans - given a pint at a time. But the greatest Donor of all time sweat great drops of his blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, then spilled the rest of it on Calvary's cross-tree. And that blood, applied in repentance and faith, gives us pardon and everlasting life!
A woman once said to me, after we had sung "There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood" in a worship service, "I don't like that song or any other song that has to do with blood. I wish they'd taken them all out of our hymnal. It is unpleasant, ugly, and gory." Blood is ugly and gory, but it is the greatest liquid substance in the world for giving life. As water is essential for physical life, so blood is essential for eternal life.
The Scriptures make it clear, both in the Old and New Testaments, that blood is vital. The Word says, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins," "The life is in the blood," "We have redemption through his blood," "We are brought near to God by the blood," "The church was bought with his blood." Without Christ, our Divine Donor, we would be yet in our sins, estranged from God, without forgiveness, without hope, without peace, and dying in our lostness. The writers of the hymns and gospel songs have recognized the primary importance of the blood, so they have written, "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness," "Saved By the Blood of the Crucified One," "There is Power in the Blood," "Nothing But the Blood," and many, many more.
So, on this Maundy Thursday, remembering our Lord, we return again to that upper chamber and hear him say, "This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." In these hours before Good Friday, let us come kneeling in true repentance and faith, confessing our sins and unworthiness, and with trembling, trusting hands reach out to receive from our Lord, fresh bread and new wine - and leave this place knowing we have been given sustenance and salvation!
