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MAUNDAY THURSDAY: April 12, 2001
I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also 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.”
I Cor: 23-24
*****
Tonight, we observe and we remember the Institution of the Lord’s Supper - which is called by any number of names:
The Holy Communion - the Last Supper - The Holy Eucharist - the Mass and the Holy Mysteries.
We remember that night when Jesus gave us the means by which we remember His death - until He comes again - and we remember that night when Jesus gave us the means by which we can receive His life into our own lives…..
The Sacrament of His Body & Blood.
*****
It wasn’t until I graduated from seminary that I learned anything about Sacramental Theology as understood by The Anglican and Episcopal Chruch.
Sacramental Theology as we understand it is this:
The Prayer Book definition of a Sacrament is:
“A Sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.”
The basis for our Sacramental Theology is that Jesus Himself is the Supreme Sacrament.
That God uses material and physical things to:
Express Himself - J. B. Phillips In the Beginning,
God expressed Himself.
Reveal Himself- God used a physical person - Jesus Christ to
reveal Himself to us.
When we look at Jesus - we see more than a man - we see the Incarnation of God Himself.
Teach us His truths - Being physical and material beings -
God meets us where we are and communicates
with us in a physical and a material way.
True it is that - “The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”
True it is that God does communicate with us through His Creation.
To convey and to confer His special Grace upon us.
God uses material things of His creation - water, bread and wine to convey His special Grace upon us.
In the Sacrament - When we look at bread and wine - there is more than bread and wine that meet the eye.
For under the forms of bread and wine - we receive
The Real Presence of Christ Himself.
Why? - because God uses material things to convey and to give us His Grace.
St. Paul calls it a wonderful mystery - that is why it is called The Holy Mysteries.
As Anglicans, we don’t attempt to describe or to explain how this happens - for we take Jesus’ at His word for when He said: “This is my Body and this is my blood.”
St. Thomas Aquinas in a beautiful Eucharistic Hymn: “Humbly I Adore Thee, “ gives us a good perspective about the Holy Communion.
“Taste and touch and vision to dicer Thee fail,
Faith that comes by hearing, pierces through the veil,
I believe what’ere the Son of God hath told,
What The Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.”
Another on of my favorite Eucharistic Hymns is:
“Here O my Lord I see Thee face to face -
Here would I touch and handle things unseen.”
That is why Christians for two thousand years have so cherished and have so highly valued and appreciated the Eucharist - for in the Eucharist - we not only receive
The Real Presence of Christ into our own lives -
but when we come to the Altar - we have a personal encounter with the living and the Risen Christ Himself.
And that is why the Holy Communion is so special and is so precious to us.
Story:
Loaves of Bread
When I was a young boy, my father owned several empty buildings. Somehow, the City got him to store cases and cases of day old bread to pass out to needy families - for although it was around 1938 or so - many people in the deep South were still in the gips of the Great Depression.
People would line up clear out the door for two blocks to receive their two loaves of bread. I don’t know how they found out about it - more than likely - they learned of it by word of mouth - that is - telling one another where to get bread.
John Claypool -
The Greatest Bread line in the world.
When we stand in the line going up to the Altar to receive Holy Communion - we are standing in “The Greatest Bread Line in the World.”
Evangelism is when we tell other- where they may get this bread.
The Truth is that - We all are beggars - we all stand in the Lord’s own bread line to be fed - to feed upon the Bread of Heaven-
that if a man eat this bread-
he may never die - but live forever.
*****
Story:
“Mike and Ricky”
When we lived in Galveston - our oldest son, Mike struck up a very deep friendship with Ricky - as they were in the same class at school Rick’s father had died and his mother owned and ran a beer tavern. The two boys became very close.
As we were moving from Galveston to Temple, Texas - Ricky and Mike were quite upset -especially Ricky.
Ricky bought a large coin of some sort and had it sawed zig-zag in half - for each of them to have keep one-half - as a sign of their friendship - and as a sign that their friendship would endure.
They both held on to those two coins. Less than a year later - we got word that Ricky had drown - and his body was found at the bottom of a pool - where he had been taking scuba lessons.
Mike still has his coin - for to him - it is more than just a coin…..for to Mike it - represents the enduring and special relationship
The Holy Eucharist - The bread and the wine are outward signs - nothing ephemeral or misty - but the Eucharist is something real --- it is something that we can sink our teeth into.
The Blessed elements of Bread and the Wine become the outward signs of a spiritual relationship - of an enduring relationship - of an eternal and precious relationship -
That will never end -
with Him who only is the Bread of life
AMEN!
jdp+
