Sermon for 3/1/23: Midweek Lent 1 (Lord's Supper series)

This continues our sermon series for the season of Lent: our series on the Lord's Supper. It is never a bad thing to return to the Catechism so that we may continue to grow in faith toward God and appreciation for His gifts to us.

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The Nature of Holy Communion
Exodus 16:1-21

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The Lord delivered His people Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. It was a time of great rejoicing as the Lord delivered His children from Pharaoh, bringing them across the sea on dry ground and washing away Pharaoh’s army. It was a day of victory, a day of release for the captives. God had shown strength with His arm and given the sons of Jacob a new beginning as His chosen people.

It would not take long, though, before that new beginning was spoiled, just as it didn’t take long for Noah and his family to spoil the new beginning after the flood. The people began to wonder how they would survive out in the wilderness. Like newborn babes, hungry for nourishment, the newly redeemed Israelites soon began to notice their hunger pangs. But instead of inquiring of the Lord, instead of trusting in Him to provide for them, they began to grumble against Moses and Aaron. “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

The people were hungry. They were in a wilderness, without food or water. They thought that they had it better back in Egypt as slaves. But the Lord was merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He promised to rain down bread from heaven for them so that they could eat and be satisfied. The Lord heard their grumbling, and though they deserved to die, He responded with love: “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” And that is exactly what happened. God was faithful to His promise. In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; in the morning, the dew settled. And when the dew had gone up, there was a fine substance on the ground. Moses told them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.”

This was bread from heaven. God provided it to ease their physical hunger. He fed His newborn children so that they would not go hungry in the wilderness and die. But it didn’t sustain them forever. They still died eventually. It offered no lasting benefits. And there was a reason for that: this miraculous feeding was meant to teach them something about what God would do in the future. This was a sign, the full significance of which would not be revealed until the coming of Jesus. St. John records for us our Lord’s own interpretation of these events: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

So this miraculous feeding of the Israelites pointed to the coming of the Christ and the gifts of salvation that He would bring. In the fullness of time, God would rain down bread from heaven once again for His people. He would give them His Son, who is Himself “the bread of God…who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Christ is the new and greater manna, for He does not come merely to satisfy your physical hunger. He comes to satisfy those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” He alone can satisfy the hunger of your souls. Whoever eats of this bread—whoever eats of Jesus Christ—will live forever, for His flesh and His blood nourish and strengthen the soul unto eternal life.

“Lord, give us this bread always,” begged the disciples. And so He does. Every time you are gathered around His gifts of Word and Supper, Christ feeds you with heavenly manna, just as He fed the Israelites in the wilderness. He feeds you with holy food, as we just sang:

We eat this bread and drink this cup,
Your precious Word believing
That Your true body and Your blood
Our lips are here receiving.

As you feast on His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, the Lord gives you the spiritual nourishment that your souls need for the journey. Jesus knows that you need such nourishment. He knows that the journey through the wilderness of this world is long and difficult. He sees your daily battle with your sinful flesh. He knows your physical ailments. He knows you grumble at the gifts He gives, just as the children of Israel did long ago. There is a part of you—a sinful part—that thinks that what God has done for you is not good enough. There is a part of you that longs to return to your spiritual Egypt, to the captivity of your sins. But He is merciful. He is slow to anger. He abounds in loving faithfulness.

He does not want you to faint or grow weary. And so He comes, week after week, inviting battle-weary sinners to commune at His Table, until you finally reach the heavenly Promised Land. Now is not the time to grumble, to long for the days of your captivity as Israel once did. Now is not the time to complain that God means to harm you. Now is not the time to worry that you might not appreciate this salutary gift if it is offered too frequently.

Now is the time to receive in faith the gifts our Lord wants to give. Luther tells us in his Large Catechism: “…By Baptism we are first born anew. But…there still remains the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in mankind. There are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes we also stumble. Therefore, the Sacrament is given as a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so that it will not fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger.”

This is manna from heaven, life-giving bread, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. That is your spiritual sustenance as you wander through the wilderness of this world. That is the Lord’s salutary gift to you—a gift that is undeserved, to be sure, but one that comes from your loving and faithful Lord. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

          The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.