Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday; the day where the historic and catholic church celebrates Jesus’ intuition of the Lord’s Supper; often referred to as the Eucharist. From the Gospel of Matthew 26:26-30;

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Our gracious Lord gives us in his blessed Sacrament not symbols or shadows of things to come but His very Body and Blood for faith and the remission of our sins. In the Holy Supper we actually receive the medicine of immortality because in it Christ’s bride, the Church, receives the very Body and Blood of Her Lord shed for her sins. Thanks be to God!

I can think of no more beautiful reflection on the wonderful gift of the Lord's Supper than one of my favorite communion hymns by none other than Martin Luther himself; O Lord We Praise Thee:

O Lord, we praise you bless Thee, and adore Thee, in thanksgiving bow before Thee. Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish our weak souls that they may flourish.O Lord, have mercy!


May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary, that our sins and sorrows did carry, and Thy blood for us plead in all trial, fear, and need.O Lord, have mercy!


Thy holy body into death was given, life to win for us in heaven. No greater love than this to Thee could bind us; may this feast thereof remind us!O Lord, have mercy!


Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee that Thy blood should bless and sustain me. All our debt Thou hast paid; peace with God once more is made.O Lord, have mercy.


May God bestow on us His grace and favor to please Him with our behavior and live as brethren here in love and union nor repent this blest Communion!O Lord, have mercy!


Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us; grant that heavenly-minded He make us; give Thy Church, Lord, to see, days of peace and unity.O Lord, have mercy!

It’s Ain’t About The Recipe

Here’s my random thought of the day: If you think that the recipe used to prepare the bread for the Lord’s Supper is what makes it valid, you are really missing the point.

If you tell someone who can’t eat wheat that it's "better safe than sorry" that they consume something that makes them sick in order that we follow the right recipe, you do damage to this member and only cause them doubt what it is that they receive at the Sacrament of the Altar.

So, stop it. You are receiving the Body of Christ even if your "bread" recipe doesn’t match a gold star selected recipe from a nonexistent Palestinian cookbook from two thousand years ago!

The sacrament is not made valid because we follow a recipe from Betty Crocker but rather it is the very Word of God joined to the element of simple bread and simple wine for the cup. It is the Lord who is running the verbs and not your cup and three quarters of genetically modified wheat, (which Monsanto hadn’t yet got around to modifying when the Eucharist was first instituted) which makes this Sacrament a sacrament.

Just saying…

And for fun, here is what Lutherans teach in the Small Catechism concerning the Lord’s Supper:

The Sacrament of the Altar

As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

Where is this written?

The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write thus:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.

After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Take, drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?

That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?

It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?

Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.

But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.

iPad And iPhone Apps As A Means Of Grace, It's Only A Matter of Time

I stumbled across a story last week that highlighted an iPhone / iPad app that allows Jews to now “visit” the Western Wall. The reason that visit is in quotation marks is that the visit (allowed at any time except the Sabbath or on religious holidays when electronic gizmos are said to be forbidden) is only visit in a virtual sense and the notes left in pixilated Western Wall are really only emails.

It’s really only a matter of time before such things hit the Americanized Christian church scene. Already there are pastors who encourage their members to utilize Twitter during the Sunday worship services in order to "make it not suck". How much longer before some enterprising pastor tells his people to just stay home and attend the weekly gathering in only a virtual sense. Who wants to bet that the local media will be on hand when this little stunt is perpetrated?

In a country that for the most part has no ties to the historic Church which confesses a Jesus who comes to us in a real, actual presence in the Holy Supper and instead looks to a crucified Lord who can only be with us poor humans in a spiritual sense, it won’t take that much of leap for someone to suggest a virtual spirituality in, with, and under the iPad. Mark my words, it’s gonna happen. The only question is which purpose driven or soul winning congregation does it first.

When spirituality is divorced from Christ’s presence in the Word and in the Sacraments, iPhone or iPad apps as a means of grace is just a minuscule step away. Mark my words…