Learn to Share
A sermon based on 1 Corinthians 10v16-17
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - Maundy Thursday
After the word "no," what do you think is the second word pretty much every toddler seem to learn? "Mine," right? Maybe you've seen or heard the "Rules of Toddler Possession." They go like this. 1. If I like it, it's mine. 2. If it's in my hand, it's mine. 3. If I can take it from you, it's mine. 4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. 5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway. 6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine. 7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine. 8. If I saw it first, it's mine. 9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine. 10. If it's broken, it's yours.
The truth is that kids need to be taught to share. And unfortunately so do a lot of adults. Don't we often act the same way, maybe not verbally saying, "Mine. Mine. Mine." as we grab more and more for ourselves, but by our selfish attitudes and actions, we still think and behave the same far too often. And we too need to be taught to share. But this evening by his grace and by this awesome Sacrament, Jesus teaches us to share. He teaches us to share in the blessings of his Supper. And he teaches us to share the blessings with each other. Listen to Paul's description of the sharing that takes place in the Lord's Supper, which he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17...
The truth is that kids need to be taught to share. And unfortunately so do a lot of adults. Don't we often act the same way, maybe not verbally saying, "Mine. Mine. Mine." as we grab more and more for ourselves, but by our selfish attitudes and actions, we still think and behave the same far too often. And we too need to be taught to share. But this evening by his grace and by this awesome Sacrament, Jesus teaches us to share. He teaches us to share in the blessings of his Supper. And he teaches us to share the blessings with each other. Listen to Paul's description of the sharing that takes place in the Lord's Supper, which he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17...
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
I. Share in the Blessings of the Supper
Did you catch everything being shared in those two short verses? Let's start with what one actually receives in the Lord's Supper. By now, most of you probably know the words of institution better than I do. On the night our Lord was betrayed, he took bread, gave thanks and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take and eat. This is my body..." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them saying, "Take and drink. This is my blood..." But lest some might think "is" doesn't really mean "is," that maybe "is" means "represents," or "symbolizes," or "becomes," or "changes into," God had the Apostle Paul make it crystal clear. What does he say?
"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation" a "communion" or a "sharing" "in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation" a "communion" or a "sharing" "in the body of Christ?" Of course, these are rhetorical questions, where Paul implies, "Of course they are!" The wine does not become the blood of Christ. It does not represent the blood of Christ. It shares the essence of the blood. Likewise, the bread does not become the body of Christ. It does not represent the body of Christ. It shares the essence of the body.
How can this be? I don't know. Paul never bothers to explain. God never bothers to explain. Like he does with his explanations of creation, the Trinity, and the death of the immortal Son of God, he doesn't give us an explanation. He just tells us how it is, without explaining how it works. And so I won't attempt to explain how this can be. I can't. I can only encourage you to trust the plain and simple words of Jesus, the plain and simple words of Paul.
And just as we use our computers and cars, our cell phones and TV's without a complete knowledge of how they work, we can believe that the bread and the wine truly do share and participate in Jesus' body and blood. We don't need to get the "how" to believe it. And although God doesn't tell us the how, he does tell us the "why."
"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation" a "communion" or a "sharing" "in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation" a "communion" or a "sharing" "in the body of Christ?" Of course, these are rhetorical questions, where Paul implies, "Of course they are!" The wine does not become the blood of Christ. It does not represent the blood of Christ. It shares the essence of the blood. Likewise, the bread does not become the body of Christ. It does not represent the body of Christ. It shares the essence of the body.
How can this be? I don't know. Paul never bothers to explain. God never bothers to explain. Like he does with his explanations of creation, the Trinity, and the death of the immortal Son of God, he doesn't give us an explanation. He just tells us how it is, without explaining how it works. And so I won't attempt to explain how this can be. I can't. I can only encourage you to trust the plain and simple words of Jesus, the plain and simple words of Paul.
And just as we use our computers and cars, our cell phones and TV's without a complete knowledge of how they work, we can believe that the bread and the wine truly do share and participate in Jesus' body and blood. We don't need to get the "how" to believe it. And although God doesn't tell us the how, he does tell us the "why."
This body and blood, Jesus said, are given to us "for the forgiveness of sins." And boy, do we need it!
Now, you and I may not have the same divisions that the Corinthians did, with their lack of unity, but do we always express a unity and oneness of faith? After all, we are all brothers and sisters through faith in Jesus, a part of one family. But we don't always act like it do we? Hurting each other and using each other, we think we're the only ones that matter and act selfishly, trying to set ourselves above others. And though we may not share in the pagan sacrifices made to demons, don't we sometimes try to play both sides? We join our voices to share in the praises of God on Sunday mornings, but use those same voices to hurt and slander one another the rest of the week. We share the joy of seeing what God has done for us, but then we share with the wicked things we see on our computers or TV's by participating with them in though.
Paul told the Corinthians they couldn't play both sides. They were either on the side of God, or on the side of demons. They couldn't have it both ways. And friends, by our thoughts and actions that participated in the world around us, by our shared ideas with the devil, by communing with things we shouldn't have, we deserve to have no share in God's heaven. We deserve separation from, not communion with, a holy God.
But thank God for the gift you receive tonight. Soon you will take in your mouth the very body and blood of Jesus--the very bodythat hung on the cross, the very blood that poured from his side--participating with the bread and the wine. And you will receive his very body and blood and commune with God in the most intimate of ways. And you will share in the blessings that God gives you--forgiveness and a clean slate, a new life with the power to resist sin, and salvation, now and forever.
How can bread and wine give us such things? They can't. But by the power of the Word attached to that bread and wine, they are more than what they seem. They are the very body and blood of Jesus and as such can give you those blessings. They do give you those blessings. No wonder it was called the "Cup of Thanksgiving," or literally, the "Cup of Blessing!" What blessings it gives! Forgiveness, new life, and salvation! How thankful we can be! And now having learned to share the blessings that God freely gives us in his Supper, we can share the blessings we've been given with each other...
II. Share the Blessings with Each Other Now, you and I may not have the same divisions that the Corinthians did, with their lack of unity, but do we always express a unity and oneness of faith? After all, we are all brothers and sisters through faith in Jesus, a part of one family. But we don't always act like it do we? Hurting each other and using each other, we think we're the only ones that matter and act selfishly, trying to set ourselves above others. And though we may not share in the pagan sacrifices made to demons, don't we sometimes try to play both sides? We join our voices to share in the praises of God on Sunday mornings, but use those same voices to hurt and slander one another the rest of the week. We share the joy of seeing what God has done for us, but then we share with the wicked things we see on our computers or TV's by participating with them in though.
Paul told the Corinthians they couldn't play both sides. They were either on the side of God, or on the side of demons. They couldn't have it both ways. And friends, by our thoughts and actions that participated in the world around us, by our shared ideas with the devil, by communing with things we shouldn't have, we deserve to have no share in God's heaven. We deserve separation from, not communion with, a holy God.
But thank God for the gift you receive tonight. Soon you will take in your mouth the very body and blood of Jesus--the very bodythat hung on the cross, the very blood that poured from his side--participating with the bread and the wine. And you will receive his very body and blood and commune with God in the most intimate of ways. And you will share in the blessings that God gives you--forgiveness and a clean slate, a new life with the power to resist sin, and salvation, now and forever.
How can bread and wine give us such things? They can't. But by the power of the Word attached to that bread and wine, they are more than what they seem. They are the very body and blood of Jesus and as such can give you those blessings. They do give you those blessings. No wonder it was called the "Cup of Thanksgiving," or literally, the "Cup of Blessing!" What blessings it gives! Forgiveness, new life, and salvation! How thankful we can be! And now having learned to share the blessings that God freely gives us in his Supper, we can share the blessings we've been given with each other...
What do we share in the Lord's Supper? We do share in a communion with God himself. There is no more intimate a moment with him than when you kneel before the altar and receive his body and blood, when Christ physically comes to you to give you the assurance of the blessings he gives. But there's more to the Lord's Supper. We also share with one another. Paul continued, "Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
There is no more spiritually intimate a moment with each other than when we kneel side by side, all admitting we're sinners worthy of separation from God, all rejoicing in the forgiveness won on the cross and given in the Sacrament, all confessing that we are one in agreement on every truth of God's Word. You don't need to wonder what the person next to you believes--whether they believe in the real presence, or in original sin, or in justification by grace alone through faith alone. As members of Gethsemane you've indicated that you all hold to the same confessions. As members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, we proclaim our unity with those who teach the same truths of God's Word, all the truths of God's Word--nothing more and nothing less. You and I and all who kneel side by side tonight believe the same things!
Rejoice in this unity that we share, friends! A unity based on the truth! Rejoice, especially in a religious atmosphere where this is becoming increasingly rare, where in the name of unity, truth is ignored and most "agree to disagree" on what God's Word clearly says. We are like a loaf of bread, made up of many kernels of grain and even many different ingredients, but all one loaf, sharing our unity with each other. We are one body, made up of many parts, each having different functions and roles, but all one body, working together to serve our Head and Savior for the blessings that he gives.
And as we share that work, we share the wealth! We share the forgiveness that we've received from God through the Word and through the Lord's Supper, both with one another and with others, not yet a part of the loaf. We joyfully express the unity that we share in our faith by the way we treat one other with love and respect, with kindness and consideration. And as we learn to share in this way more and more, what a healthy, vibrant, godly church we'll become as we encourage one another in our faith, as we pray for one another in our struggles, as we share the work, share the joy, share the sorrow, and share our Savior!
Strengthened by the heavenly food we're about to receive, let's recommit ourselves to sharing the work of sharing our Savior with those who haven't yet shared in the blessings he gives! In Jesus name, dear friends, fellow body parts, fellow kernels in the one loaf, amen.
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