Can Jesus handle the Internet?

Sermon on Maundy Thursday on Matthew 26:17-30

In times like these, I need to have some good laughs before going to bed. So, it has become a cheerful habit for my husband and me to watch Trever Noah’s Shelter-in-place Daily Show late at night. When the kids are finally sleeping, when we are done working. The other night they showed a short video about a woman who had just attended a mega-church service and was on her way back. The reporter asked her: “Aren’t you afraid to get sick or to make other people sick when gathering with hundreds of people these days?” She answered promptly: “No. I am covered in Jesus’ blood. I won’t get sick. I am covered in Jesus’ blood. I have Jesus by my side.”

Trever Noah commented: “Well, you know, Jesus had Jesus by his side. And he died.” Millions of faithful people have had Jesus by their sides and died.

Faithful people have died of the virus already. And more will. Because Jesus’ liberation is not setting us free from death. It’s setting us free from the bondage of death. Of course, we will all die at one point. That’s part of life. Life is deadly. For all of us. Even for God’s Son.

So, let’s take a deep look at the first last supper in history. Let’s see what Jesus did and said to his friends. And what he meant by it.

First of all, Jesus was amazingly unprepared. He had to borrow a room for his feast, he depended on the grace of a stranger, who would let a group of young men drink at eat at his place. Quite miraculously he found one crazy enough to do so. But then, Jesus at least was together with his friends, physically in one place. It’s something I would trade in pretty much everything right now, just to be with all of you and with my friends and family. Just to hug everyone. I so miss hugging people.

Yet, it’s not how it was for the first Jews who celebrated Passover. The one we heard about in the lesson from Exodus. Back then, the people were stranded in their homes, isolated, biding their time for the perfect moment to leave. They were anxious and had no idea what the future would bring.

But they knew that God was by their side. Always. Through exile, death and devastation. Through fleeing and hopelessness. God walked with them through the desert. God fed them with bred. God was their bread and drink of life. God covered them with his love in the middle of nowhere.

At the stranger’s house in Jerusalem Jesus and his friends enjoyed some great time of fellowship. They had not much, but plenty of bread and wine. Friends, food and drink. What more do you need to be jolly? Yet, even they were overshadowed by the foreshadows of death. Even with Jesus by their side.

Throughout the last weeks pastors around the world have thought about how to celebrate communion in these times of physical and spiritual need. Last Friday pastors from around our synod gathered via zoom to discuss the topic. Of course, not everyone agreed with each other. I don’t think there will ever even be a place where all pastors agree with each other. But Bishop Mark decided to let everyone figure out what’s best for their congregations.

Now, we are about to celebrate Holy Communion in a very old fashion: isolated in our homes with the people we happen to live with, maybe anxious, with the bread we found in our kitchens and the juice or wine that was stocked. We celebrate apart but together. Because especially in times like this we need to know and feel that we are not alone. Especially if you live alone. Be assured: You are not alone. You are part of the biggest, oldest and weirdest family out there, the family of God.

Do we need Holy Communion to be saved? Nope. We don’t. But as human beings it’s not all about being saved. We also need strength to hang in and to make it from day to day. Because many of us are not ok right now. We are just not. We are struggling with this situation. We are bored or overworked or exhausted or all of the above. We are super needy. And we need to be nourished. Not only through words. Words are great, of course. I am a preacher, so, hey, of course I believe in the power of words. They can comfort and connect. Yet, we don’t cease to exist as humans with our bodies. Our bodily needs don’t cease to exist just because we are sheltered in place. It’s one thing to know that Christ dwells in us. It’s another thing to taste and feel it in bread and wine.

There are a couple of things we believe to be true anytime we take Eucharist. And I think, they are even more true right now.

I believe, that taking Eucharist changes me by overcoming my aloneness that comes with my individuality. Through Eucharist, I am physically connected with all the other people out there who have ever taken Eucharist and whoever will. By physically I of course don’t mean that we are all actually eating from the same baked bread.

That’s not even true for our practice at Christ the King. Everyone gets his or her own little waver. Still, we are bonded together physically. Simply by all becoming part of the one body of Christ. That’s the great mystery of the Holy Communion. That we are eating bread and that that is Christ. And that that way we are all one body, one church. Thanks to the Holy Spirit which finds us and gathers us around the table. Which makes that we are not bounded by physical proximity. And thanks to Christ who died to be with all of us anytime, anywhere.

So, what did Jesus actually do that last time he ate with his friends and instituted our Eucharist? He took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  

Pretty simple and straight forward. People are together, they eat bread, they drink wine. And suddenly Jesus takes that very same bread and says: That’s me, that’s my body. And then he takes a glass of wine as if he wanted to say a toast and instead says: “Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Tastes the same as before, fills your stomach just as before. Plus from now on it will nourish your souls. Because whenever you will eat bread and drink wine, it might remind you of Jesus’ love. And whenever you eat bread and hear the words “Take, eat, this is my body”, you will eat what Jesus made into signs of his love.

And whenever you drink wine or juice and hear the words: “Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” You will drink what Jesus made into signs of his love. Love in everyday essentials, that’s our God. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular. Just what we have at home. Our God makes do.

When Luther was asked how bodily eating and drinking can do such great things as forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, Luther answered: Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.” That person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

So, what does it need to take Communion properly? 4 simple things: bread and wine, the words of Institution and faith in these words. Under normal circumstances, we would all prefer to be together in one room. But nothing is normal right now. What is normal though is that Christ can meet all our needs. If we just let him. What is normal is that Christ wants to feed us with himself. So that we may abide in him and he may abide in us. That we feel his love not just as a warm, kind feeling, but as a steadfast, firm commitment to serve the most vulnerable. I am absolutely convinced that in order to do so, we need to be served first. And who else could do that properly than Christ?

So, what does that mean practically for us today? We will celebrate Holy Communion with what we have at our homes. At our homes that are our churches right now. Because they are all we have right now. And it will differ from how we have ever celebrated Holy Communion before. And it will be Holy Communion. Because we have all it needs: the elements, ourselves, and our faith. And Jesus by our side.

Maybe you chose your best plate and cup for the occasion. Maybe you chose the glass you use when having a glass of wine with friends. Maybe you picked the plate you usually have your breakfast on. We will pray and say the words of Institution together using words from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. We will break into small groups of 5 to say the words individually to each other.

No matter if you live alone or if you are the only one from your home taking part tonight or if you are many, somebody will say to you: The body of Christ, given for you. The blood of Christ, shed for you. Because it is true. No matter, how far apart we are. Because we are covered in Jesus’ blood. We have Jesus by our sides. And that means that we can protect each other and be connected at the same time. I mean, Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. I am sure, he can handle the Internet. Amen.