Maundy Thursday                              4-9-2009                                  

This evening we are gathered here to remember and celebrate one of my favorite things…food.
More specifically, we are here to remember and celebrate a meal, two meals actually, meals that bring us together with family, friends and community, meals that are special and sacred.

I don’t know what it is like in your home, but our home, whenever family and friends gather, there is normally a meal involved, and depending on the occasion for the gathering, it’s no ordinary meal.

For example, in the time that Julia and I have been married and had kids I have noticed that particular foods mark particular events in our family life together.
§    At Christmas, regardless of what the main course might be, bread pudding is always the dessert.  §    When Katie celebrates her birthday, she always has a cake made in the shape of a bunny and fully decorated.
§    When we spend time at the family cabin in the summer-- fresh produce is standard fare with corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and steaks from the Miltona meat locker.
§    And when we go to my In- laws in Nebraska over the Fourth of July I know that fried chicken and my mother-in-laws potato salad will feed at least three generations of Julia’s extended family.

Each of these meals is made up of foods that remind me of family and the bond of love we share.
I suspect each of you also has particular foods that are associated with particular times in your life.
§    Turkey at Thanksgiving.
§    Pizza on Saturday nights.
§    A favorite pie or baked good made by a family member that you know you can count on when ever you visit.
§    And who knows, maybe even a baked ham dinner after Easter Sunday services?

Meals such as these are filled with memory and meaning and have a way of shaping and defining who we are.  Meals such as these help us to celebrate milestones in our personal and family life.
We gather to …
§    Celebrate the baptism of a child or grandchild.
§    The first communion of a child or godchild surrounded by family and loved ones.
§    In time we gather to hear that same child affirm their faith and the gift of baptism.
§    This is followed by commencements and graduations and in time, at the proper time, a wedding reception, each marking something new and exciting.
§    And then, somewhere down the road we’ll be at a retirement dinner celebrating a lifetime of productivity.
§    And, finally, we’ll gather with loved ones at a funeral lunch, where it’ll seem odd-but-right-somehow to laugh and share memories celebrating life.

Meals and memories often go hand in hand. Meals and memories mark times of joy and celebration as well as bring comfort in the times of loss and sadness. Meals such as these not only nurture our bodies but they also nurture our souls and spirits.  They communicate love and compassion in very tangible ways.

God, too, has used food and meals as signs and symbols of great and constant love. The Bible is filled with references to moments of eating and drinking escorting people into more intimate relationships with God.
§    God provided manna in the Exodus wilderness.
§    Abraham and Sara provided a meal to the angelic strangers who visited their oasis.
§    The feeding of Elijah by the widow and her dying son.
§    In the New Testament, Jesus feeds the thousands with a few loaves and fishes.
§    Jesus eats on a regular basis with known sinners, much to the dismay of the pious and righteous.
§    Jesus provides shore lunch on the seashore after the resurrection.

And then of course there are the two primary meals mentioned and lifted up in tonight’s liturgy.

The first being the first Passover meal that reminds us of the Hebrew slaves sharing the roasted lamb, the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread and using the blood of the lamb to paint the doorposts of the believers’ homes.  This simple and hurried meal has served as a reminder of God’s promise, presence and providence.
This simple meal has served as a reminder to our Jewish brothers and sisters of who they are as God’s people. And this historic meal prepared them for their journey out of slavery and into the eventual Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey.
In that meal, God fed them and then sent them forth on a journey that would further define them, shape them, challenge and test their faith.

So around the world you will find our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrating Passover with their families, friends, community members and strangers who are always welcome.

Also around the world you will find Christians who have come together to celebrate a meal that began with a Passover meal, but was transformed and redefined, a meal we call the Last Supper, the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion and the Eucharist.

In this meal Jesus takes time to observe and celebrate one last Passover meal with his disciples, but then he takes a loaf of bread and he talks about how this bread will be his body, and how it will be broken and how we are to receive it in remembrance of him. Then he takes the cup and gives thanks and gives it to them with the message that with this cup is a new covenant, a covenant that would assure them that their sins are forgiven.

Whereas the Passover meal is filled with a multitude of foods and exhortations, this new meal is simple and to the point. Bread and wine. Body and blood.  Eat and drink. Do this in remembrance of me. All are welcomed.

And then, according to John’s gospel Jesus does some thing strange and unexpected. He wraps a towel around his waist, grabs a basin of water and kneels before his disciples and takes on the task of washing their feet. The disciples are speechless, well almost all are speechless, good old Peter is quick to protest until Jesus points out that either you allow him to wash his feet or else he will have no share of Jesus ministry and mission.

I would suspect that if the bread and wine didn’t throw the disciples for a loop, the foot washing sealed the deal. And then Jesus gave them a new commandment—that they love one another just as he has loved them. In other words, if he has stooped to wash the feet of his disciples, then they too are to wash the feet of others. Or, to put it another way, to be a follower of Jesus is to be a servant to all, to share the love they have received with all with whom they come in contact with in their dally lives.

So now the disciples have been feed and they have had their feet washed and now they are sent—as are we. 
The body and blood of Christ that we receive at this table is not just for us, it is not one of those ‘me and Jesus’ moments for us to treasure in our hearts. Rather—this meal, this holy and sacred meal is given and shed for us so that we might be sent out into the world to share Christ’s love with a broken and pain filled world. This meal is given and shed for us so that we might be sent out into the world to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and to help set people free from their self imposed prisons.  This sacred meal is given and shed for us so that we might move beyond mere lip service to actually rolling up our sleeves and making a difference in the lives of our neighbors near and far, that they too might know and experience the love of God

In many ways, this meal we celebrate is similar to the Passover meal that nourished the Hebrew people. 
For them their meal fed them for their escape from slavery and their journey into the Promised Land.
Our meal nourishes us so that we might live out the commandment to love and serve one another.
And this meal nourishes us and reminds us that Christ is present with us as we journey with Christ day in and day out.

In the days ahead -- many of you will sit down with family and friends to visit and to eat and to remember. 
And as we leave we will thank your host and hostess for their kind and gracious hospitality—in the hopes that you can do it again in the year to come.

Tonight however, we gather as brothers and sisters in faith and we too will eat and we too will remember and we too will give thanks to our host who calls us together and who sends us forth to proclaim the good news of God’s Kingdom and to serve our neighbor need, so that everyone will know that you are disciples of Jesus Christ by the love you have for one another. Amen.
   
Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran Church
Milaca, MN

(Sermon Archive)