Maundy Thursday Homily

Upside Down yet Rightside Up: Maundy Thursday
by Rev. Lance Armstrong O’Donnell, Pastor
St. Philip Lutheran Church and School
Chicago, Illinois

Maundy Thursday
1 April, A.D. 2010
Jer 31.31-34; Heb 10.15-25; Lk 22.7-20

Introduction

I like a sermon that has rich application for daily life. These are helpful to me and I know that they are helpful to others. But there is also a place in our life together for straight-up teaching, a time to sit at the feet of Jesus and just learn. This evening’s reflection on one particular aspect of The Lord’s Supper is one of those sermons... That being said, if you listen closely you will see that there is a clear application of this teaching to you and your life...

I. The Blood of the Old Testament

Key to a fuller understanding of The New Testament and The Lord’s Supper is the Passover instruction of Exodus 12 regarding the shedding of and placement of the lamb’s blood. The lamb was to be slaughtered and the blood swiped over the door’s lentel. Then, as you may recall, the lamb was to be thoroughly roasted. No blood was to be found. Why? We get an answer to this in the instructions that God later gave to Moses called the book of Leviticus:

"If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." (Leviticus 17:10-11, ESV)

This prohibition against ingesting blood would be in direct contrast to the animistic and pagan practices of the non-Israelite peoples. For many of these peoples drinking the blood of animals was part of a fertility cult, as if fertility came from an animal and not from God. For many animists and pagans--even today--the blood of animals was used to “feed” and appease deities that lived in the ground, the “underworld.” However, The LORD--as the first commandment makes clear--does not tolerate rivals.

Indeed, the God of Israel, with these prescriptions in Leviticus 16 and 17, makes clear He--God--“reserved all blood for himself as the life-giver. It had to be given back to him... It could not be handed over to other gods and demons, since they had no right to use it.” (--Kleinig, John W. Leviticus. Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture, 366. St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 2003. I am indebted to Dr. Kleinig for much of the material here.)

The “life is in the blood” because the life comes from God. So, as theologian John Kleinig explains, “Life-giving blessing could not be obtained from the blood of animals, but only from God and from contact with him in worship.” --Kleinig, Leviticus, 368.

Again, it is not that blood wasn’t used. On the contrary! As the Letter to the Hebrews tells us:

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrews 9:22, ESV)

Blood is all over the Old Testament. It is simply, though importantly, that it wasn’t to be ingested. For “the life is in the blood” and God--the author of life--had a plan for the blood...

II. The Blood of the New Testament

Which brings us to the seemingly scandalous pronouncement of Jesus that we remember and celebrate this evening:

“Take and drink, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Taking the Word of Jesus seriously about what this is, how is this not a violation of God’s taboo?

The answer to that question has everything to do with God’s Word and sanction.

Eating Christ’s body and drinking His blood doesn’t violate the taboo because Jesus is God and God is the author of all life, and the Scriptures are clear with regard to the worship and life of the Old Testament, to quote Dr. Kleinig , that “[God] did not allow anyone to take the life of any animal unless he himself had sanctioned it (Gen 9:304).” (Kleinig, Leviticus, 366.) Again, God is the author of life and God doesn’t allow that life to be taken without his sanction.

Clearly, God sanctioned the cross.

Thus, to continue the quotation from Dr. Kleinig, “Christ’s institution does not really violate that taboo because it [The Lord’s Supper] is the ultimate reason for it [the taboo].” (Kleinig, Leviticus, 366.)  That is to say, the Old Testament restriction on ingesting blood was reserved until the complete and final sacrifice was accomplished on the cross. Thereafter the Blood of God would not be offered in sacrifice but given as a gift. 

Thus, the basic principal obtains. As in the Old Testament, so also in the New:  Life-giving blessing can be obtained only from God and from contact with him in worship... in accordance with His Word.

And God’s Word is clear that his will is that we receive forgiveness and blessing through contact and faith in Christ. Luther puts it this way:

In the NT we have been freed from attachment to external places.  . . . Our spiritual place is Christ, because God has determined that he will not hear [anyone] except through this place, Christ. . . . Christ is our one and only place, our time, and everything else required for prayer. Just as the Jews had no other sanctuary than the one in Jerusalem, so we have no other sanctuary than this one, Jesus, the Son of Mary. (from WA40, quoted by Kleinig from “Where Is Your God?” 128)--Kleinig, Leviticus, 370.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude by paraphrasing the words of Dr. Kleinig:

By means of [Christ’s] blood he conveys to worthy communicants  (1 Cor 11:27-32) all the eternal blessings that he gained for the faithful through his self-sacrifice. By giving his blood to drink, he sprinkles [our] hearts, [our] consciences (Heb 9:13-14; 10:22; 12:24; 1 Pet 1:2). Through his blood [we] have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Mt 26:28); 1 Cor 11:25; Eph 1:7). His blood justifies [us] before God the Father (Rom 5:9) and cleanses [us] from all impurity (Heb 9:14; 1 Jn 1:7). [We] can therefore approach God the Father through his blood in Holy Communion (Eph 2:13; Heb 10:19). By means of that blood [we] are consecrated as priests together with Christ (Heb 10:29); 13:12) and equipped for [our] priestly service of him (Heb 13:20-21). As priests whose robes have been washed with his holy blood (Rev 7:14), [we] can use his blood to overcome Satan and triumph over the powers of darkness (Rev 12:11). (Kleinig, Leviticus, 371.)

Christ’s triumph is ours in Holy Communion. If that is not a reason, in repentance, to come frequently to the Lord’s Table then I do not know what is.

May the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.