Maundy
Thursday Exodus 12.1-14
2013.3.28 1
Cor 11.23-32
St John's Ev LC,
Victor, IA St John 13.1-15
In
the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
Feast of the Passover. For Israel, it was to be the beginning of
months, the beginning of the yearly cycle, the beginning of their new
life of freedom. They weren't going to be slaves anymore. God was
going to do that. He would free them. He would give them
this new life.
And
like any new adventure, the first big hurtle to overcome is: “well,
what now?” The prospect of new adventures is exciting and
exhilarating; but can also be scary as you step out into the unknown.
Israel
was stepping out into the unknown. Nine plagues were over with, the
tenth and worst was about to happen. It shouldn't have gotten to
this point. What devastation would take place as the angel of death
would fly over all of Egypt and kill all the first born animals and
children...except for those of the Israelites, who had put the blood
of the lamb on the doorpost.
Outside
the buildings: hysteria, confusion, a quite horrific scene. Inside,
the Passover meal was taking place. Those who were once so brutally
treated by Pharaoh, enslaved by Pharaoh, who were in a land that was
not their own, after 450 years, finally, / they would be free.
They
looked forward to this new life of freedom, this new adventure. It
was exciting and exhilarating. But before they were released, God
would give them the first steps on their journey. It was God's
rescue, after all, so He would provide them with details of their
escape, answer the first and hardest question for them: “what now?”
//
Eat.
That's “what now”.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron
in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of
months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the
congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man
shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a
household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and
his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons;
according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the
lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may
take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until
the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight...This day
shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to
the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you
shall keep it as a feast.”
So,
not just “eat,” but Feast! Begin your new life of freedom with
the glorious and joyful celebration of a Feast.
//
But,
you know dearly beloved, it wasn't just the Israelites who were
slaves. In fact, all of humanity was in slavery. The
Egyptian slavery was only one manifestation, one example of this
other, broader, more horrific slavery. That slavery had been going
on for far more than 450 years, it had been the result of
something which took place not long after the world was created.
I
am speaking of humanities slavery to sin and death. Humanity needed
to be set free. And so, about 4000 years after the Fall into sin and
slavery, God came to save. He alone could do it. No human messenger
would do; a prophet greater than Moses was needed. He sent
His Son, Jesus. He sent Him for the express purpose of saving
humanity, of freeing us from our slavery to sin and death.
How
exciting, how exhilarating. God's people were looking forward to
this new life of freedom, this new adventure out from under the
brutal treatment by Satan. / But / “what now”? All we had known
was slavery. What do we do now?
//
Eat.
And the Lord Jesus on the night
when he was betrayed [the very night before He would die on the cross
and rescue us from our Pharaoh, Satan] He took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my
body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the
same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is
the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink
it, in remembrance of me.”
So,
don't just “eat”; Feast! For this Holy Supper is “the Feast of
Victory for our God, for worthy is Christ the Lamb who was
slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God...for the Lamb who
was slain has begun His reign.”
It
is / the beginning / again. For the people of God, just as for the
people of Israel, the beginning of the new life, the beginning of the
yearly and weekly cycle of Easter celebrations, the beginning of
freedom, / is a Feast. But not just a joyous celebration with
friends and family. We are invited to join our Lord Jesus Himself
in this eternal meal. He is Himself the host, and He the Food.
Nothing else would do.
So,
you Baptized, that is, you who have been freed to be people of God,
who have been joined to our Lord's death and resurrection, come / and
on this holy night, the same night in which our Lord was betrayed
into the hands of sinful men, / let us remember Him by doing what He
commanded us to do. “Do this,” He said, “in remembrance of
me.” This is God's doing. He has freed you to enjoy this new new
life of freedom in Him / by Feasting. It is a first step /
and an eternal step.
In
the name of +Jesus. Amen.
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