As One Who Serves: Luke 22:1-27 - Maundy Thursday

Since the beginning, the Church has taken very seriously the issue of “partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.”

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he chastises the church for their abuse of the sacrament. Some consume wine to the point of drunkenness, leaving others no portion at all. Even worse, they are so divided that they essentially have “cool kids tables” where the sacrament is celebrated and others in the church are excluded.

It wasn’t that long ago in both the Lutheran and the Presbyterian traditions that communion was celebrated only a few times per year. Sometime during the week leading up to a communion Sunday, there was a special preparatory service, which took communicants through a rigorous liturgy of self-examination and confession. If the church’s elders were satisfied that you had fulfilled all the requirements, you would be issued a token or a ticket which would admit you to the supper.

To this day, there are many faith traditions where you cannot commune unless you are a member of their church.

Growing up in the strict Lutheran tradition I did, I questioned if I was partaking of the sacrament in an unworthy manner.

That being said, the very first persons to partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner were the twelve disciples at the last supper.

Image by falco from Pixabay

When Jesus declared that one of them was about to betray him, the disciples erupt into a frenzy of accusations and finger pointing. Later, they argued amongst themselves over which one of them was the greatest.

It was as if everything that Jesus taught them in that meal went in one ear and out the other. 

Click here to read the Scripture text

This isn’t the first time the disciples have jockeyed for position. Like siblings arguing with each other as to which is their parents’ favorite, Jesus constantly had to settle these petty disputes, as he does tonight, reminding them that greatness in the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with privilege of power. To truly be great is to serve. And Jesus says, “I am among you as one who serves.”

But the disciples still don’t get it. This is why they fail so badly when Jesus is arrested.

Let’s start with Judas, the one who betrays Jesus. John’s Gospel tells us that Judas was a lover of money. He kept the common purse and used to steal the donations Jesus and his disciples received. Early on in today’s Gospel, we find Judas striking a deal with the chief priests and temple police to pay him a bounty for handing Jesus over to them. One of my colleagues suggested that Judas did this, not because he wanted Jesus dead, but because he believed Jesus would never allow himself to be arrested. He ended his own life when he realized that his scheme to gain a few extra dollars ended so disastrously.

And then there’s Peter. He, too, was absolutely convinced that Jesus would never allow anyone to arrest him. He shows his reckless overconfidence when he draws his sword and cuts off the ear of one of the temple guards, as if he and the remaining ten could successfully take up arms against the powerful religious establishment.

All told, the disciples’ minds were still set on what they believed they were going to get from Jesus. When it became clear that all they would get is arrested, they scattered like rats. This is why Peter denied Jesus three times, and the rest of the disciples deserted him.

Even though Jesus told them many times, what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem, the disciples were not prepared because their minds were set on other things. They will not understand what the Lord’s Supper is about, nor what his death and resurrection are all about, until they receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

What we learn from the disciples is that none of us comes to the Lord’s supper in a worthy manner. We come as sinners. We come even as our hearts are seeking things other than Christ and his righteousness. There is no amount of preparation that can make you worthy to receive Jesus and his supper.

Jesus doesn’t welcome you to his table because you deserve it. The meal is not a reward or a privilege to be enjoyed by a fortunate few.

Jesus invites you to his table so that he can serve you with the very best that he has: his own body and his own blood, as bread and wine; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

When we gather at the table and the gospel is proclaimed, the bread and the wine become the true body and the true blood of Jesus. And as we partake of this body and this blood, we become servants, just as Christ is a servant. We set tables where the hungry are fed and those who are estranged from God are welcomed into his embrace.

Moreover, Jesus’s service and his sacrifice of himself shows us what true greatness is in the Kingdom of God: it has nothing to do with power, prestige, or position. It’s all about giving yourself away for the sake of the other.

All that you need for eternity is set before you at this table by the one who serves. It’s not wealth, it’s not power, it’s not prosperity. It’s Jesus himself, crucified and risen.