Maundy Thursday Sermon
for us and because of us so that our salvation might be secure with the Father. Jesus gave of himself, he gave us his body and he shed his blood for us. He sacrificed himself once for all time, so that we would not be called on by the father to sacrifice our body and blood for the sins we commit. Jesus suffered in our place, he gave his whole being for us.
When we come forward this evening to partake in the meal Jesus gave to us, we can think back to the sacrifice he made for us on that cross. As we eat and drink this meal this evening; let us recall the cross, let us recall the sacrifice, let us participate in that sacrifice, let us live with Jesus that horrible death so that we can understand the uncomprehensible love he had for us.
Jesus' like for us is like the mother in the following:
A story from Scotland tells of a mother's dramatic rescue of her child. Workmen were blasting rock in a quarry. One day after they had attached the fuse and retired to a safe place and gave the alarm they saw a three year old child wandering across the open space where danger threatened. Every passing second meant death was closing in on the child.
The workmen called to the child and waved their arms, but he only looked on their strange antics with amusement. No man dared run forward knowing the explosion was only seconds away. The child most certainly would have been killed, had not his mother appeared at this moment of crisis.
Taking in the situation at a glance she did what her mother's heart dictated. She did not run toward her son or yell to frighten him. Instead, she knelt down, opened wide her arms and smiled for him to come. Instantly the child ran towards her. Shortly later the area shook with the force of the explosion, yet the child was safe in his mother's arms.
Jesus spread His arms wide open for us on the cross, so that we might have eternal live. His blood was spilled for us as He saved us from the implosion of sin and death
As Lutherans, this meal spans all the dimension of space and time. During this week, it is a time to look back, to live the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to relive with Jesus his passion. This meal takes us back to the foot of the cross, it takes us back to the one who says: "this is my body given for you,
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