Gloria Dei Lutheran Church | Urbandale, Iowa

Maundy Thursday - The Family Table

Pastor Phillips’ Sermon

Maundy Thursday Service, April 9, 2009

On this night, we remember that Jesus gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Passover. In the Passover, the Jews remembered how their people had suffered as slaves in Egypt. They remembered how God, in a very dramatic fashion, had delivered His people from their slavery. The focal point of that whole deliverance, though, was the Passover meal that they celebrated together. God’s instructions were that each family was to celebrate this meal that was prepared in haste and eaten in a certain manner. It included roasted lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

So the families gathered and they thought about what was about to take place. They had endured many years of slavery and pain but now God’s promise was with them. He said, “Eat this meal and then take the blood of the lamb and mark the door posts at your house. Eat this meal in anticipation of your freedom.” The families gathered together, huddled in faith and fear, waiting in expectation. The blood of the lamb was a signal so when that last and terrible plague, the death of the firstborn, came, the angel of death would pass over their houses and they would be safe. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor. It didn’t matter if you were the Pharaoh or a slave. It didn’t matter if you were an Egyptian or a Hebrew. What mattered was the blood of the lamb on the door posts. If the blood of the lamb was there, you were safe. But without it, nothing could protect you.

It’s amazing to think about, isn’t it? All those many people who lived in Egypt and every single household was affected in one way or another. Either they were safe or they were not. It didn’t matter who they were. It didn’t matter who lived in the house. What mattered was that blood on the door posts.

That first Passover must have been a frightening experience for those Hebrews, huddled around their tables, eating that meal with anticipation. Now, centuries later, Jesus had gathered His disciples, the 12, and they were all gathered around the table celebrating the Passover just as it had been handed down to them. They were all there, the two fishermen, the tax collectors, the brothers, all of them were there. Over here sat Peter. You know Peter, large and in charge. This guy was bold. Yeah, he was really bold. In fact, he’s the guy in the group who would always speak up with confidence when everybody else was kind of wavering. Sometimes, he talked a little too loud. One time, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Most of the disciples were kind of hesitant to answer. Then they said, “Well, some say you’re John the Baptist risen from the dead. Others say you’re Elijah. And still others, one of the prophets from old.” Jesus asked again, “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter stood up and he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” That was Peter. He sure was bold.

Later on, though, Jesus talked to Peter and He said that he would deny Him. Peter could hardly believe it. He said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Bold, yeah, he was bold. But along with that boldness, he had a tendency to be impulsive and sometimes even foolish in the things that he did. Sometimes, things came out of his mouth that, well, they just shouldn’t come out, things that he was later ashamed he had said. Jesus knew all that and Peter was still welcomed at the table of the Lord.

It wasn’t about Peter. It wasn’t about the things he said. The table of the Lord was about Jesus and what He had come to do as the Messiah. Remember what John the Baptist said about Jesus the first time he saw Him? He said, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” That’s what Jesus came to do. So it really didn’t matter what Peter had done. Yeah, it mattered because it was sin but Jesus came to take care of that sin. It wasn’t about Peter. It was about Jesus.

Maybe there’s a little bit of Peter in you. Maybe there are times when things come out of your mouth that shouldn’t. You’re arguing with somebody and you became angry. You had a mean thought in your head and then you put it into words, horrible, degrading words. Now you wish you could take those words back. And you feel ashamed, like a hypocrite. Maybe you feel like you’re not welcome at the Lord’s table. But Jesus knows all these things. And, in fact, they’re the very reason that He came. You see, it’s not about you. It’s about Jesus. He loved you so much that He gave His life for you. He gave His body and His blood for you on the cross and for your sins.

Over here, this is where Thomas sat. Thomas had a tendency to get obsessed with things. For him, it was all or nothing. On the night they were celebrating that Passover together, Thomas was obsessed with Jesus. He’d left everything to follow Him. And now, Thomas was just captivated by dreams of future glory that were going to happen. You remember that triumphal entry and all the things the crowd was saying and how people were just worshiping Jesus? So he was captivated by that thought. He really wasn’t hearing what Jesus was saying about His impending death. It wasn’t getting through. He was so focused on his dreams of grandeur that nothing was getting through to him. And then the unthinkable happened, when Jesus was crucified. Thomas took that harder than all the rest. He completely lost all hope and ignored the others when they talked about Jesus rising from the dead. He stubbornly refused to believe. It was all or nothing for him and now, because of what he saw on the cross, it was nothing. Maybe he thought that he could no longer come to the Lord’s table. But it wasn’t about Thomas. It wasn’t about how focused and dedicated he’d been. It wasn’t about his dreams of future glory. It was about Jesus who guarantees us an eternal glory that can never be taken away. It’s about Jesus who gives us a hope that we’ll never be disappointed.

Maybe you’re a little bit like Thomas. It’s all or nothing with you. When you go to do something, you go all the way and then a little further. Maybe that’s the kind of person you are and, in the process of your obsession to accomplish a goal, you shut out everything else. In your obsession, you don’t even hear what other people are saying around you and the feedback you’re getting. And then the train kind of runs off the track. People around you get hurt and you find yourself sifting through the wreckage and feeling angry and hopeless. Maybe you feel like, because you made this mess, you can’t come to the Lord’s table. God knows all this. He knows all these things. And I have to tell you it’s not about you. It’s about Jesus and how obsessed He is with you and the things He’s done for you and that He loves you more than you could possibly imagine and how He came into the wreckage of this world to give us hope. Our sin did the damage but Jesus took that sin upon Himself. His love for you drove Him to the cross. It drove Him to the cross where He hung, bled and died for your sins.

Right here, this is where John sat. John was the deep thinker of the group. He hardly spoke but when he did, wow, it had weight to it. He always seemed solid and steadfast in his faith and he was part of that inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. He was with Peter and James up on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured and that experience seemed to leave him with a quiet confidence and trust in God. That is, until that night, that night when Jesus was arrested. It seemed like everything fell apart at that time. And when that angry mob showed up in the garden, John’s heart melted within him and he ran in fear and hid in the dark shadows of the olive trees. And now, John was a broken man. He considered himself a coward for what he’d done and he had a hard time letting himself off the hook, forgiving himself. Maybe he thought he could never return to the Lord’s table. But it wasn’t about John. It wasn’t about his confidence or how intelligent he was. It was about Jesus whose words not only carried weight but they also gave life. It was about Jesus who didn’t run away when they tried to arrest Him or turn away from the cross and its punishment. It was about Jesus who quietly and compassionately offered Himself as a sacrifice for us all.

Maybe you’re a little bit like John, quiet, thoughtful, not easily ruffled. You’ve always had a strong and deep faith, that is, until lately when your name showed up on that latest list of layoffs at work or when you got those test results with the worst possible news or when you found out that your spouse was unfaithful. It’s devastating. Now you’re in a world of pain and fear. Now your faith flickers like a candle in the wind. The worst part of it is that you think it’s all your fault and that you can no longer come to the Lord’s table. But it’s not about you. It’s about Jesus who says, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” It’s about Jesus who walks with us in the valley and has promised to be with us forever. It’s not about your weakness. It’s about His strength, His love and His gift for you.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed, all 12 of the disciples were there. Like a family, they’d gathered around the table and celebrated the Passover together and remembered how God had delivered His people from slavery in Egypt. It didn’t matter who was sitting at the table or what they’d done. It didn’t matter because it wasn’t about them. It was about Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And when meal had all but ended, Jesus took some bread and He gave thanks and He gave it to them and He said, “Take and eat. This is my body given for you for the forgiveness of sins.” And then He took a cup of wine that was used in the Passover celebration and He said, “Take and drink. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” When He did that, He gave a precious gift to the disciples, not only to them but to us as well. He gave a precious gift that we today call the Lord’s Supper.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been or what you’ve done. Jesus knows all these things and He still welcomes you. You see, it’s not about you. It’s about Jesus and this gift that He gives us with His body and with His blood. It’s about gathering together as the family of God around the Lord’s table and all are welcome. Amen.