Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: 1. Corinthians 10,16-17. Holy Thursday

Saturday, April 16, 2022

1. Corinthians 10,16-17. Holy Thursday

1. Corinthians 10,16-17 2222

Gruendonnerstag 31

Tiburtius and Valerianus, Martyrs at Rome 229

14. April 2022

1. ℣ God forbid the I should glory; save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

℟ In Him is salvation, life and resurrection from the dead: by Him we are redeemed and set at liberty (Galatians 6,14).

O Lord Jesus Christ, You He comes to us in bread and wine, You are close to us; inspire us to now joyfully sing a new song, so that we praise the miracle that is now happening in this Sacrament. Amen. (Singt nun froehlich ein neues Lied elkb 228,1 Gottfried Martens 2004).

2. »The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.«

3. The Sacrament of the Altar brings Christ to us. The cup with the wine is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread is a participation in the body of Christ. There is only 1 cup and 1 bread, for there is only 1 Christ.

4. The Corinthians, however, acted like there are many christs and therefore many cups and many bread. Paul chastises them on account of this. When they gather as the church they divide themselves into factions, and each group receives the Sacrament apart from the others (1. Corinthians 11,17-19). Paul tells them when they do this they are not eating the Lord’s Supper. To eat something other than the Lord’s Supper is serious business with serious consequences.

5. The Lord’s Supper is instituted by Christ to give us His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. The Sacrament gives us God’s mercy and grace. If you’re not eating the Lord’s Supper, then you are not being given God’s mercy and grace; forgiveness is absent, and consciences are thus uncertain about the Lord’s absolution.

6. Unity in the Christian faith can be fractured in a myriad of ways. Unrepentant sin, hateful attitudes and false doctrine are but a few. these drive a wedge between Christians and that effects the Church as the body of Christ. Paul exhorted the Corinthians to put aside their factions and gather together as one Church and receive together the Lord’s Supper. You are 1 in Christ; act like it.

7. In Christ, we who are many are 1 body, that is, the Church. »There is 1 body and 1 Spirit … 1 Lord, 1 faith, 1 Baptism. 1 God and Father of all, who is over all, through all and in all« (Ephesians 4,5). That’s what Paul told the Ephesians. And to the Corinthians he said: »For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes« (1. Corinthians 11,26).

8. „During this Lenten season we have heard our Lord’s call to intensify our struggle against sin, death and the devil—all that prevents us from trusting in God and loving each other. Since it is our intention to receive the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ on this night when He instituted this blessed meal for our salvation, it is proper that we complete our Lenten discipline by diligently examining ourselves, as St. Paul urges us to do. This Holy Sacrament has been instituted for the special comfort of those who are troubled because of their sin and who humbly confess their sins, fear God’s wrath and hunger and thirst for righteousness.

9. „But when we examine our hearts and consciences, we find nothing in us but sin and death, from which we are incapable of delivering ourselves. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ has had mercy on us. For our benefit He became man so that He might fulfill for us the whole will and law of God and, to deliver us, took upon Himself our sin and the punishment we deserve.

10. „So that we may more confidently believe this and be strengthened in the faith and in holy living, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples and said: „Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you.“ It is as if He said: „I became man, and all that I do and suffer is for your good. As a pledge of this, I give you My body to eat.“

11. „In the same way also He took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: „Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.“ Again, it is as if He said: „I have had mercy on you by taking into Myself all your iniquities. I give Myself into death, shedding My blood to obtain grace and forgiveness of sins and to comfort and establish the new testament, which gives forgiveness and everlasting salvation. As a pledge of this, I give you My blood to drink.“

12. „Therefore, whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup, confidently believing this Word and promise of Christ, dwells in Christ and Christ in him and has eternal life.

13. „We should also do this in remembrance of Him, showing His death—that He was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. Giving Him our most heartfelt thanks, we take up our cross and follow Him and, according to His commandment, love one another as He has loved us. As our Lord on this night exemplified this love by washing His disciples’ feet, so we by our words and actions serve one another in love. For we are all one bread and one body, even as we are all partakers of this one bread and drink from the one cup. For just as the one cup is filled with wine of many grapes and one bread made from countless grains, so also we, being many, are one body in Christ. Because of Him, we love one another, not only in word, but in deed and in truth.

14. „May the Almighty and Merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit, accomplish this in us“ (Altar Book 507-8).

15. One in faith, in love united,

All one body, You the head,

When we meet, by You invited,

You are with us, as You said.

One with You, and one another

In a trinity sublime,

See in us Your sister, brother,

One in every place and time (When You Woke That Thursday Morning lsb 445,4 Jaroslav J. Vajda 1919-2008).

This is most certainly true.

16. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

17. Let us pray. O dear God, through this wonderful sacrifice of Your suffering, You have commanded us to remember Your Passion and proclaim it. Move us to make use of this Sacrament of Your body and blood, that Your redemption may bear fruit in us daily. Amen. (Martin Luther, Die Gebete Luthers, #18; Stratman 37).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Saturday, April 16, 2022

1. Corinthians 10,16-17. Holy Thursday

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