“THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING”
Holy (Maundy) Thursday
April 2, 2015
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
I will offer You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
Psalm 116:17 (ESV)
When Martin Luther revised the Mass in the sixteenth century, the changes that he made were not quite in line with those of the more radical reformers, such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli. Luther saw no need to do away with chanting, vestments, candles, artwork, or any of the other things that characterized the liturgical worship of his day. He changed the language of the liturgy from Latin to the vernacular, not necessarily for theological reasons, but simply so that the common people (most of whom were uneducated) could understand what was being said. The one theological issue that he had with the Mass of his day was the teaching that it was a sacrifice that merited God’s favor. This, according to Luther, denied the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and so Luther removed from the Mass anything that stated or suggested that it was such a sacrifice. He believed, as do we who bear his name today, that in our worship of God and particularly in the Lord’s Supper, we aren’t giving God anything or doing anything for Him. On the contrary, He is serving us with His gifts of salvation and we are merely receiving those gifts with thanksgiving.
Despite all of this, our sermon text for this evening speaks about sacrifice. In fact, it comes from the appointed psalmody for Holy Thursday (verses 12-19 of Psalm 116), which is a song of praise that centers on sacrifice. It is part of a group of psalms (Psalms 113-118) known as the Hallel. This group of psalms was used by the ancient people of God at the Passover, being sung by the Levites as the Passover lambs were being sacrificed at the temple and by the Jewish households as they ate the Passover meal. When Matthew reports the conclusion of the Last Supper and says: “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30), there is no doubt that this “hymn” was, in fact, the Hallel. It speaks of sacrifice, to be sure--not a sacrifice of atonement but a sacrifice of thanksgiving. As we commemorate and celebrate the Lord’s Supper this evening we will examine how it is a remembrance and a proclamation of what God has done for us in Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Our celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance. This is what the Savior Himself told us that it was to be since, when He instituted the Sacrament, He said: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). When we commune at the Lord’s table we are remembering with thanksgiving the once-for-all sacrifice of atonement that Jesus offered for us when He suffered and died on the cross, but we are not by any means repeating that sacrifice. Indeed, we cannot, because that sacrifice on Calvary’s cross was the complete and perfect sacrifice, making full and complete atonement for all human sin of all time. That’s what Jesus meant when He said from the cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Nothing can be added to what Jesus has done, and it would be an insult to Him if we were to make any attempt to add to it.
But in saying that the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance, we do not in any way mean to suggest that that one-time sacrifice of Christ has no continuing significance for us. On the contrary, in receiving the Sacrament, we are receiving, right here and now, the gifts of salvation that Jesus purchased for us by the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood on the cross so many centuries ago. And what are these gifts of salvation? Martin Luther tells us in the catechism: “These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words” (Small Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar). In, with, and under the visible elements of bread and wine, we receive the very body and blood of Christ--the same body and blood of Christ that were sacrificed and raised again--and with them we also receive everything that Jesus gained for us by His sacrifice and confirmed for us in His resurrection from the dead. The Sacrament takes us back to Calvary but it also brings Calvary and all of its blessings to us.
Our celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance, but it is more than just a remembrance. It is also a proclamation. “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,” writes Paul to the Corinthians, “you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). When we commune at the altar we are confessing our faith and when we commune together at the same altar we are confessing the same faith. That’s why, until about the middle of the twentieth century, Christians of all denominations practiced what we call “close Communion,” which is limiting communing together to those who share the same confession of faith. It wasn’t until the ecumenical movement of the 1950’s influenced mainline Protestants that many church-bodies stopped the practice, concluding that what a person believes when coming to the Lord’s table doesn’t really matter. To my knowledge, today the practice is observed only by the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, confessional Lutherans, and perhaps a few other conservative evangelical groups. Nevertheless, communing together at the same altar is a confession that the communicants are united in the doctrine taught by the fellowship that is administering the Sacrament.
It is also a confession regarding the Christ who has come, who comes even now, and who at the end of time “will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead” (Nicene Creed, Article II). In communing we are proclaiming our anticipation of the return of our Savior and of, as we say in the prayer of thanksgiving in one of our Communion liturgies: “celebrat[ing] with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end” (Lutheran Service Book, page 161). That’s why the Lord’s Supper has been called “a foretaste of the feast to come” (Lutheran Service Book #955). Here we give thanks for what the Lord has given us in the past during the earthly life and ministry of Jesus, what He gives us now through His Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, and what He will give us when He returns at the end of time and welcomes us into His kingdom of glory.
So tonight and every time that we gather together in the name of Jesus around His means of grace we offer a sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. It’s not a sacrifice of atonement, to be sure, since the one sacrifice of atonement has already been offered perfectly, once and for all, on the cross at Calvary. But we do offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. One of the earliest names used by Christians to refer to the Lord’s Supper was “the Eucharist.” It is derived from the Greek word eucaristia, which means thanksgiving. We give thanks to the Lord, remembering what He has done for us and proclaiming His goodness as we anticipate the even greater gifts that He has in store for us when He returns in glory. This is a somber evening for sure, but it is nevertheless a joyful one for us because tonight and every time that we come together in worship our Savior gives Himself to us for our spiritual nourishment as we live in His grace on our way to the glory that He prepares for us even now.
Amen.
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead you to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in the lives of you, His people. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.