Maundy Thursday

SERMON - Lord, Have Mercy on Me When I Come to Your Table

INI

Text: 1 Corinthians 10:14-17

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

In Christ Jesus, who would nourish us once again this evening through His Word and at His table, dear fellow redeemed:

The ancient city of Corinth was in many respects like the modern city of San Francisco. It was a port city and a center of trade. It was a city of great wealth and that wealth supported its culture. Its style of architecture, known as the Corinthian style, became so famous, that it is still emulated today. It was a city of impressive art and music, but it was also a city of tremendous moral corruption—much of it tied to the prostitution promoted by its pagan religions.

The apostle Paul was certainly concerned about the negative impact of that moral corruption upon the Corinthian Christians. His encouragement to the Roman Christians, certainly applied to the Christians in Corinth as well: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). In both of his epistles to the Corinthians, Paul directs the eyes of his fellow Christians repeatedly to the solution for every spiritual problem—Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. If Paul were alive today, he would no doubt be concerned about the negative impact of modern culture upon us, for we too are living in an age of tremendous moral corruption. The admonition we find in our text, therefore, together with Paul’s specific instruction tying the Lord’s Supper to the Christian’s relationship with Christ and reminding Christians of their close connection to each other, is just as applicable to us today as it was to the first century Christians. Picking up our Lenten theme, let us this evening pray—LORD, HAVE MERCY ON ME WHEN I COME TO YOUR TABLE! Preserve my heart for Jesus! Strengthen my faith through Jesus!

I.

God’s 1^st Commandment given on Mount Sinai was: “You shall have no other gods” (Ex. 20:3). The 1^st Commandment is an issue of the heart, as Jesus Himself explained: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt. 22:37). Love for God is the essence of the 1^st Commandment. Earlier in this same chapter of Corinthians Paul points to the history of Old Testament Israel as a warning for the Corinthian Christians. He cites numerous examples of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God—they gave their hearts to idols, and reviews the swift judgment of God that followed. Some of the Corinthian Christians were becoming involved in the pagan worship life of that city’s heathen temples. To be sure, they did not believe in the false gods—they knew them to be idols that did not exist. That, in fact, appears to have been their excuse. If the idol does not exist, they apparently reasoned, why not participate in the “fun” part of the festivals? It was a meaningless activity, after all, was it not? Hardly, Paul, says, for as he points out: “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” (1 Cor. 10:20).

My dear friends, we do not have heathen temples on every other street corner here in Mankato, nor do we have temple prostitutes attempting to lure us into their embraces. We do, however, live in a society that can lead us into any number of forms of idolatry. That may surprise some of you, but it truly is the case. Remember Luther’s explanation to the 1^st Commandment: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Anyone or anything, therefore, which we might fear, love, or trust more than God can become our idol. Therefore, I would encourage you to examine your lives and hearts and root out any idolatry! It may not be that hard to find! As one little girl once told her first grade teacher: “My daddy is going to hell.” When her shocked teacher asked her why she would say such a thing, she responded, “My daddy loves his mattress more than Jesus!” Ouch! Can we fear our friends more than our God? Yes, we can if we willingly follow them into doing things that are wrong, rather than standing up for what is right. Can we love other people more than God? Yes, we can if we violate God’s will just to please another person. Can we love things more than God? Yes, we can if those things become more important to us than our God! How can we know that? Consider how much time you spend fishing or golfing or watching the TV in comparison to the time you spend praying and studying God’s Word? Consider how much money you spend on video games or clothing or vacations as compared to the money you spend supporting the work of the Lord? Consider how much effort you spend staying in physical shape as compared to how much effort you spend staying in spiritual shape? All of these things can tell you whether or not you love things more than God. Can we trust in money more than God? Yes, we can when our savings accounts, or our investment portfolios, or our insurance policies are what let us sleep at night and not the knowledge that God Himself is present!

Idolatry is not dead and gone! It is very much alive in our United States and, unfortunately, often makes inroads into our lives. Satan is seeking to lead your heart and mine astray every day in multiple ways! If he can get us to give our hearts away to someone or something else apart from Jesus, then he gains a foothold in our lives and may well hurt our faith. That is why Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian Christians is so applicable to us today: “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry!” Do not give your heart away to anyone or anything other than Jesus! He alone deserves our loving respect and devotion, for He alone laid His life on the line in order to give us life everlasting! Let us, therefore, always pray: LORD HAVE MERCY UPON ME WHEN I COME TO YOUR TABLE! Preserve my heart for Jesus!

II.

Strengthen my faith through Jesus! Paul says, earlier in this chapter, that the children of Israel “drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (10:4). Jesus, in a very special way in His supper, draws close to us so that we too might eat and drink and thereby strengthen our faith. At the same time we are all drawn closer to each other, which also serves to strengthen our faith. Paul writes: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”

In the Lord’s Supper Jesus does something very special for us. He comes to us personally and gives to us individually His own body and blood—that very body and blood which He gave and shed for us on Calvary’s cross. How is that possible? We do not know. It cannot be scientifically tested, but Jesus says it is so and He cannot lie. He says that the bread and wine that we eat and drink in the sacrament are “the communion” of His body and blood. That word “communion” means that one thing shares in or participates in something else. Consequently, the bread and wine do not merely represent or symbolize the absent body and blood of Christ, as some Christians suggest; nor do these words permit the idea that the bread and wine are turned into the body and blood, as other Christians suggest. No, the word communion means “a sharing in” or “a participation in.” The body and blood of Christ, in other words, is truly present in a wonderful, sacramental way together with the bread and the wine within the Sacrament, even as Jesus says, for He cannot and would not lie to us.

Jesus realizes that the trials and troubles of this world can be and often are intense. Sin and its effects can wreak havoc in our lives. We need to know that He is present with us. We need to know that He is present within us…and that He will never go away! Consequently, He comes to us through His supper—a supper that He encourages us to attend with frequency, so that we might be reassured of His presence, our forgiveness, our unity of faith, and the certainty of His ultimate goal for each of our lives—that goal being eternal life!

The Bible says that our God is a “jealous” God (cf. Exodus 20:5), which means that He does not want us to give our hearts away to anyone or anything else. Does that mean that husbands and wives ought not love each other? Of course not! It does mean, however, that even the love that husbands and wives have for each other, should not be more important to them or powerful within them than the love they have for Jesus! Such a love for Jesus will, in fact, enhance the love that we have for others, because Jesus can and does purify our love and by His power He enables us to love all the better and all the more! Consequently, as we attend communion this evening, may the prayer on our lips be—LORD, HAVE MERCY ON ME WHEN I COME TO YOUR TABLE! Preserve my heart for Jesus! Strengthen my faith through Jesus! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
To God alone be the glory!