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Midweek Lent 1 March 5&6, 2019Text: Mark 14:12-17,22-26 Synodical series from 2003 19:2112Theme: The Upper Room: The Place for a Feast Jesus’ concern is for disciples. It is always for those who follow Him. For example, while the forces of evil were marshalling against Him in His Passion, Jesus had His disciples in His heart. As the Apostle John reports, “He showed them the fullest extent of His love” (Jn.13:1). He knows how frail and frightened we all can be, we, too, no less than the 12. He wanted to give us all extra support and strength. That special support began the night before His death with the 12.He took them that night to a special place. There He gave them an extra portion of His tender mercy in a very remarkable and miraculous way. He took them to a large, upper room, furnished and ready, where He instituted a special feast for their sakes and for the blessing of those who would come after them. We call it Communion, “coming together, as the word means. In reality it is a feast of three “comings together”. The first communion is of…I. …bread and wine – body and blood.When you sit at the dinner table ready to eat and you wonder what you are eating, all you need do is look at the food in front of you. Chicken is chicken. Potatoes are potatoes. Corn is corn. If you want to know what other ingredients are present, you look at the food label attached to the package. It tells you all that is included.If you want to know what Jesus gives us in this feast that He specially prepared for His people in the Upper Room that night, just look at what it says: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples…Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them.” There is bread; there is wine in the cup. Bread is bread; wine is wine. And there are some other ingredients in this feast besides. Jesus continued, “Take (eat); this is my body….Take drink; this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for you.” The words are simple and clear. In this feast that Jesus prepared in the Upper Room, Jesus gives us His own body and blood, the same that was nailed on the cross. It is miraculously joined to the bread and the wine. How? I do not know. But the almighty and gracious God has spoken and makes it happen. His words stand: “This is my body…this is my blood.” They come together with the bread and the wine. This is the first communion that takes place in this meal wherever the feast is celebrated as Jesus gave it - bread and wine, body and blood are united. II. God – sinners.The second “coming together” involves persons. Do you sometimes find yourselves eating the wrong kind of foods? Many people enjoy eating what we call “junk food.” Unfortunately, eating a lot of that can cause nutritional and health problems. What we need is a well-balanced diet, a proper combination of foods with nutritional value that helps our systems function properly.Our souls need good nourishment too, so that faith can grow and maintain its strength. There are a lot of spiritual junk foods available in the religious marketplaces of our world. All of which have no eternal nutritional value for our souls. There is only one food that has value for our souls – that is the forgiveness of sin and salvation that God gives. Again, we let God’s Word tell us how this came into play that evening. In that Upper Room Jesus said, “Take it; this is my body….This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many (for the forgiveness of sins) (also in Lk.22:19; Mt.26:28). The word covenant is the key.A covenant is an agreement. Normally, there are two sides to an agreement. If you agree to sell me a car for such and such an amount, I’ll agree to buy it for such and such an amount. That would be a two-sided agreement – a two-sided covenant. It’s the way covenants are normally made.But when Jesus made this covenant with us, we did nothing for it. It is a one-sided covenant, a promise from Him to us. “You don’t do anything,” He says. “Come to this table. Come with your sins. I will heal you and forgive you here in this meal.”Sometimes we struggle long and hard against the desires of our sinful nature. Often, we lose the battle. Then we wonder if God still loves us, if He can forgive us. That’s when we need this special meal for His assurance. We receive forgiveness as Jesus promised. And we receive something more that adds to that assurance. We receive Jesus Himself. Our God comes to us with His body and His blood. He and we come together – God and sinners. This is the second communion that takes place in this special meal. And He forgives.III. People – people.Finally, this meal draws us together – God’s people to God’s people – in a special way.Sometimes I find it hard to grasp how politicians with opposing political viewpoints can attend a state dinner together and actually smile at one another, let alone give a show of civility with each other. If that were me, I’m afraid I’d have to be a good actor in order to do it. It’s tough to sit across the table from someone who bad-mouths you and ridicules you for what you stand for. Being at a meal together in such a situation would seem to be most uncomfortable.On the other hand, some of the most pleasant times in our lives center around relaxing and enjoyable meals with dear friends and relatives. Relationships are renewed and expressions of love and commitment are shared.As the evening in the Upper Room drew to a close, Jesus hinted at that kind of oneness arising from this meal we call the Lord’s Supper. He said, “I tell you the truth. I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in the kingdom of God.” There can be no closer link between friends than when they are joined with each other and Jesus in heaven. This meal is a foretaste of that oneness we will enjoy there – people to people with Jesus.This is the third communion in this feast, a coming together of people to people in Christ. Whenever we participate together in this, with this same faith in what He has graciously bestowed on us, we are drawn to Him in faith as one – people to people with their Lord. Since we all partake of His body and blood, we are united by Him. So, whenever you come to this place and receive this meal that Jesus gave on the night before His death, recall what He promised in that Place of the Passion which is called the Upper Room. There He instituted a special meal that draws us closer to Him and one another in the forgiveness He gives. God grant it in our lives of faith for Jesus’ sake. Amen. ................
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